The funding behind my UK dream

Studying in the UK was not an easy decision. In fact, it was a dream that took me more than a decade to turn into a real plan.

At the time, I was living and working in Canada on a temporary permit. When I started rethinking what I wanted for my future, I realised that leaving Mexico had brought me closer to something I had wanted for many years: studying for a master’s degree in Europe.

But having a dream and actually deciding to pursue it are two very different things.
 

CHOOSING A COUNTRY WAS ONLY THE FIRST STEP

I had to consider the language, the culture, job opportunities, universities, tuition fees, the cost of living, available scholarships and something that was also very important to me: the possibility of building a life in that country after graduation.

My permit in Canada also had an expiry date. I had to decide whether to extend my stay there or use that moment in my life to finally pursue the dream I had postponed for so many years.

The problem was that I had no idea where to start.

I began by messaging friends who had studied somewhere in Europe, and one of them recommended Across the Pond. That recommendation completely changed my application process. Little by little, I realised that the UK met almost everything I was looking for.

Then came the next question: which university should I apply to and, most importantly, how was I going to finance it?
 

GETTING ACCEPTED WAS ONLY PART OF THE CHALLENGE

With the support of Across the Pond, I worked through the application process step by step and eventually received offers from all three universities I applied to.

However, there were still many challenges to overcome.

Because of the timing of my application, I was no longer able to apply for some of the scholarships I had considered, and my master’s programme was not covered by SECIHTI, formerly CONAHCYT. My university offers were also still conditional because I needed to meet the English language requirement.

That was when FUNED and FIDERH became a fundamental part of my financial plan.

At first, I was nervous about taking out a loan to study. Like many people, I associated debt with starting a new chapter of life under immediate financial pressure.

But I gradually learned to see it differently.

I was not simply borrowing money to pay for a university degree. I was looking for a financial tool that would allow me to invest in my education without having to base every decision during my MBA solely on how much money I had available that month.
 

MANAGING THE APPLICATIONS WHILE EVERYTHING ELSE WAS HAPPENING

My friends had warned me that funding applications required documents, time, patience and a lot of organisation.

They were right.

What made my experience even more challenging was the personal situation I was dealing with at the same time.

I was living in Canada, working two jobs, studying for my English exam and, at the same time, my father was hospitalised in Mexico with a serious health condition.

Even my choice of university changed during that period. I had originally decided to study at the University of Edinburgh, but my family circumstances made me reconsider what was best for me, and I eventually chose the University of Sheffield.

There were moments when everything felt overwhelming: university applications, paperwork, the English exam, financial decisions and a difficult family situation were all happening at once.

Having guidance throughout the process made an enormous difference.

My experience taught me that you do not need to have absolutely everything figured out from day one. You just need to start, organise each stage and move forward one document and one decision at a time.
 

THE FUNDING GAVE ME SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY

With the support of FUNED and FIDERH, I was able to complement the scholarship I received from the University of Sheffield and have access to funding that helped cover not only my academic commitments, but also the expenses involved in moving to and living in another country.

That was when I realised something I had not fully considered while preparing my budgets in Canada:

Having access to funding also gives you the peace of mind to make better decisions.

Before moving abroad, we calculate almost everything: accommodation, food, transport, university costs and personal expenses. But living in another country always brings unexpected situations.

Knowing that I had financial support allowed me to focus much more on my MBA and experience this stage without the same level of financial pressure that I saw some students around me facing.

Of course, I am very aware that this is money I will need to repay. However, the repayment terms and conditions of these financing options meant that, for me, they became a way of spreading the cost of an important investment over time rather than having to carry the entire financial burden while I was still studying.

Receiving the funds in instalments also helped me manage my money more carefully throughout my postgraduate studies.
 

MY POSTGRADUATE EXPERIENCE BECAME ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN STUDYING

One of the best pieces of advice someone gave me before I started was:

“Enjoy your year as a student, because time does not come back, and eventually we all return to working life.”

I tried to remember that throughout my MBA.

Having greater financial peace of mind allowed me to enjoy the experience outside the classroom as well.

I travelled to different cities across the UK, met people from many nationalities, joined language exchange groups, tried food from cultures I knew very little about, discovered new hobbies and, for the first time in a long while, gave myself the space to stop and think clearly about what I wanted for my future.

After many years of working, that time also gave me the opportunity to focus on myself again.

That is something I could never have fully appreciated while I was completing applications and calculating budgets from Canada.
 

AN INVESTMENT THAT MADE MY NEXT CHAPTER POSSIBLE

Living and studying abroad is a significant investment, and applying for financing can be intimidating.

It was for me too.

But today, I see FUNED and FIDERH as tools that helped turn something that had been only a dream for many years into a real experience.

They did more than simply help me pay for a postgraduate degree. They gave me the financial breathing room to focus on learning, adapt to another country, take advantage of the opportunities that appeared along the way and enjoy a stage of my life that I knew would not happen again in quite the same way.

And if I could say something to the version of myself who was in Canada, working, studying English, worried about her family and wondering whether she could really manage all of this, it would be very simple:

Start. You do not need to know how to solve everything from day one.

Thank you to FUNED and FIDERH for helping make this chapter possible, and to Across the Pond for supporting me through a process that, at the beginning, felt far more complicated than I thought I could manage.

In the end, completing my MBA in the UK was not only about fulfilling my dream of studying for a master’s degree in Europe.

It was about proving to myself that the dream I had postponed for so many years could still become a reality.

- Carolina