<p>using one of the many loan pay-off calculators on the internet, I did some quick figuring -- if you borrow $125,000 in loans (combined stafford and private) and the average interest of those loans is 7.5% (which is a good rate for a private loan right now) then your payoff will be closer to $1500/month if you pay it off over 10 years. You will end up paying a total of $178,000+ including over $58,000 in interest.</p>
<p>On the bright side, I have an audition with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on July 1st, let's hope that goes well!!!</p>
<p>A year out before university is the norm in the UK. Think about doing this and saving some money and hunting down more scholarships/realistic financial options during this time. Almost all UK schools will defer your place for a year, no questions asked. </p>
<p>I did Natural Sciences at Cambridge, specialising in Zoology in my final year. You will have to study a lot more than orangutans I'm afraid. Even if there are orangutan conservation organisations in the UK, the actual orangutans are still in Borneo! I don't think it's advisable going into this with such a restricted aim. You may be very unhappy. </p>
<p>It's extremely unusual for undergraduate students to get published in scientific journals in the UK. At best maybe you'll get an acknowledgement at the end. A couple of people at my college (out for 350) got some kind of paper out of it. I was second author on a paper that was part of my masters thesis, but this is uncommon.</p>
<p>Oxford's lovely. I should know, I live here. But I'm not on holiday. I also know what it's like when it's dark at 4pm in January, it's raining and freezing, I have no money and I spend all my waking hours studying. Sheffield is an industrial and modern city in the north. Living there won't be like a summer lazing around gazing at the dreaming spires. I know you are keen and I don't want to put you off the UK (I wouldn't have stayed here for 7 years if I hated it) but think about whether you maybe be idealising something which doesn't really exist. I mean if you've never been to Yorkshire you probably won't understand a word anyone is saying for a month or so! I don't think there is anything in Sheffield that you couldn't get elsewhere with a lot less debt. </p>
<p>Jobs in Zoology are so NOT well-paid. I worked at uni of Melbourne for a year and after food and accommodation, I had enough money for 1 month of travelling and a flight home. But I had no debts to pay during that time. This was a temporary contract job with no extension.</p>
<p>Do not dismiss the advice of parents. They may not have studied abroad, but they can imagine what it will be like to be saddled that kind of debt for the rest of your life. Though it's hard to imagine now, 10 years from now life will be different. What if you want to get married? Buy a home? What if you have a child? With that amount of debt these things may be near impossible for you. People are only trying to help. Take some time out to think about it.</p>
<p>It's not just parents who can imagine what it will be like to be saddled with that kind of debt. It's lenders, too. Why would a lender give you a loan when the odds are good that, through no fault or desire of your own, you will default on your payments, and you don't have collateral for the loan? It's just not good business. That's why you're having difficulty finding lenders. And it will not get easier.</p>
<p>The lenders are also trying to tell you something. Keep open your options of working in the UK after your studies, but study somewhere that you can afford with reasonable loans. Your dream isn't destroyed, but may need to be deferred.</p>
<p>Would it be possible to go to a US school, graduate in 3 years (possible if you have AP/IB credits and/or dual enrollment credits -- you might even take some CLEP tests) and then go to a UK school for your masters? If you could find a school where you could also do a study abroad for a year in the UK, that would be even better.</p>
<p>I think you would have to take a gap year and spend some time looking for the right school and some financial aid/merit aid -- and it might not be what you wanted in the UK, but it will get you to your ultimate goal which is really what is most important.</p>
<p>omg dude, I do not envy your position. Good luck man, but honestly, that is too much money to have to worry about.</p>
<p>Aside from the money issue which everyone has already tackled, lets discuss academics. If orangutans are your true passion then you may be pursuing the wrong major/field. Someone mentioned before that if you study zoology then you'll be studying MANY animals and that person is correct. For primate studies you should look at biological anthropology programs (which just so happens to be my field). A sub-field of bio anthro is primatology which as you can probably guess (or already know) focuses on primates. Jane Goodall, for example, is a primatologist who was trained by Louis Leakey (a famous anthropologist) at Cambridge. Leakey also influenced the work Birute Galdikas who is one of the authorities on orangutans and orangutan conservation...she got her PhD at UCLA. This takes me to my next point...The vast majority of top anthropology departments are in the US, not the UK. This is coming from someone who has studied in Australia, US, and the UK under some of the best and most famous primatologists in the world. Academically speaking, I think you would be doing yourself a favor by studying in the US (if you want the names of specific schools that would be well suited for you then PM me) and maybe studying abroad in the UK for a year. You have the passion to make a great conservationist and I would hate to see you get into so much debt that you can't easily achieve your goals.</p>
<p>Though orangutans have a special place in my heart, my passion lies in nature and our environment as a whole, and other animals within the field of zoology as well. Having taking Ornithology, Mammology, Reptology, and working with an entomologist, I have a passion for saving all creatures, and anthropology would get me nowhere with that! Studying in the US, I'd have to take a liberal arts year and as I explained earlier, take many introductory courses that would be useless to me as I've already done a lot of study (I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, just being honest!) Though I understand where you are all coming from in terms of finance, I'm pretty set on both studying in the UK and studying Zoology, as I have thoroughly researched it for the majority of my 18 years. It's been well thought out and I intend to maybe work for one of the organizations within the UK or something international, like the World Wildlife Fund once I graduate. Someone said something earlier about experience, which I will have as I intend to intern immediately when I get there with an entomologist (and continue putting dung beetles on the IUCN Red List =]), and any other work related to my studies later on. Also, there's the study abroad programs at Sheff in my second and third years that will give me some field experience. I intend to make my Masters thesis in my final year kick ass... basically my point is that I know I will make myself competitive for positions within the field as I'm not just some random person with an interest in Zoology, it is and will be an intrinsic part of my life, this is not the issue. </p>
<p>I am definitely not the type to sit around doing nothing. There is absolutely no way I'd be able to survive here for another year, yes it may sound stubborn but I don't really care. I'm already going into depression and I've only been out of school for two weeks, traveling and following my dreams are what I live for and not getting any closer to them here is just frustrating. Understand that yes, I have to go to the UK at least for this year. It is too late for many gap year programs, I don't have the funds for most of them, and I virtually can't live at home anymore. What am I supposed to live on the street or something? Ohh, hey at least I won't be in debt!!
I'm writing to some sponsors and asking more relatives about the cosign as of now, that is action and being realistic. If any of you could offer advice concerning FUNDING, I'd appreciate it. I know what I want to do, I am aware of the debt I am taking on god damn it, I just need to get there. </p>
<p>PS - CWalker, good on ya for the work you've done and the work you will hopefully continue to do in the future. Don't take my little rant up there as an insult, but I know all about Louis Leakey and his understudies, for Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall it was pure luck getting to work with him (in my opinion, especially in Fossey's case, she was an occupational therapist before she started working in the Virunga mountains!). Anyway, I'm definitely pursuing the correct field for what I want to do, thank you for your input though.</p>
<p>"I desperately need any advice anyone can give on my situation, as for me it is quite a desperate one." "I know what I want to do, I am aware of the debt I am taking on god damn it, I just need to get there."
Sorry fairy godmothers do not exist on this forum. You got some really good advice, especially from cupcake. I wish you tons of luck - you will need it. (PS I too am a zoology major)</p>
<p>Has your father looked into getting an equity line of credit on either your home residence or his apartment building? How much can he afford to contribute to your education from his salary?</p>
<p>I am linking this article about graduate jobs in the UK. very far from £30,000 per year fresh out of school.</p>
<p>Is</a> the future bright for graduates? - Salary Centre - MSN Money UK</p>
<p>Well if you're set on Sheffield then I wish you all the luck in the world...and if you ever want a tour of Cambridge let me know.</p>
<p>cynthia, I have lived in the UK for a good part of my life. I applaud you for reaching for your dreams, but please also factor in the HIGH HIGH cost of living in the UK. NOt just the basic dorm room, college dining, etc, but also the cost of say, a bottle of water and a sandwich when you are sightseeing. Good luck, and I hope you figure this out. Have you considered taking a job to help pay for your education in your gap year?</p>