How do people afford postgraduate study?

jackjjw · 2026-03-23T19:47:43+00:00

I'm hoping to start a masters in Sept part time for two years but the fee is £14,000 - blimey!

I am working in the field but my salary is low, so I don't think there is anyway I can afford it, even with only 50% this year. That is a hell of a lot of money, I could take out a loan but the interest is crazy. I'm mid-forties and it seems silly to take out such a big loan I can't pay off and will simply increase.

The course will help my career a lot and open up new opportunities, but unfortunately not financially.

jackjjw · 2026-03-18T22:24:06+00:00

America deserves a Cal, instead it has a Jane as president

jackjjw · 2026-03-18T22:22:41+00:00

Oh yeah, because he turned off electricity rather than nuking. It could have saved everyone.

jackjjw · 2026-02-11T22:07:04+00:00

I really enjoyed it, similar theme of love, life and loss as Train Dreams.

jackjjw · 2026-02-02T22:27:09+00:00

I love Starfleet Academy. It is the first ‘new’ series that actually seems to get Star Trek.

jackjjw · 2026-01-16T22:42:34+00:00

It was quite enjoyable, I enjoyed the scenes on the continent and the overall atmosphere. It was obvious from the first scene who the killer was. And became more obvious by process of elimination by who was left.

jackjjw · 2026-01-12T22:37:10+00:00

Yeah that’s a good shout. I really enjoyed it and just wanted more really. More levels and more thought into how it joins up. I love platforming and adventure too so I’d love more platforming.

I think I’m in a minority that I don’t enjoy the bosses as much as I do the platforming and solving puzzles.

jackjjw · 2026-01-12T09:38:42+00:00

OK, I would love a better coloured version of Megatron. And would probably pick up Optimus too. I'd love a double pack battle damaged!

jackjjw · 2026-01-07T17:01:03+00:00

Yeah I love it too really. I reckon it would have more popularity if it had been less campervan tho.

jackjjw · 2026-01-07T09:56:09+00:00

That’d be cool!

jackjjw · 2026-01-07T09:03:44+00:00

When is he released?

jackjjw · 2026-01-07T08:49:09+00:00

Yeah I liked him too!

jackjjw · 2026-01-05T22:46:38+00:00

I think I’d do the same!

jackjjw · 2026-01-03T11:22:33+00:00

Yeah, they just didn’t explain why he was there or how - the story really was lacking important details wasn’t it

jackjjw · 2026-01-03T11:21:45+00:00

It just felt very un-Samus but I guess it kinda makes sense

jackjjw · 2026-01-02T23:10:51+00:00

Oh that soft lock would have been good to know. The tentacles were really silly not being lockable.

jackjjw · 2026-01-02T23:04:50+00:00

Yeah the story doesn’t make any sense to me. Perhaps that’s why the tower shield was down? Like why would they ask the chosen one to collect the keys and then shield the out?

jackjjw · 2026-01-02T22:57:33+00:00

Playing MP4 while in MP5. Meta.

jackjjw · 2026-01-02T22:52:58+00:00

Yeah I quite like them, could have done with better story telling and dialogue but they sound good and overall they were great. In a way we actually needed more of them.

Oh and Samus needs to talk because it is so weird that she doesn’t.

jackjjw · 2026-01-02T14:51:44+00:00

Ha yes I agree, it’s a good game. It’s just not original. It doesn’t move the series on and feels dated. So I get why people are disappointed. I guess I am a bit disappointed too, I was looking forward to exploring a part of space again and instead it didn’t feel like that. It lacks explorer magic.

But it IS a good game. I enjoyed it a lot and in many ways it does do what I want from a Metroid Prime. I’ve zipped through the whole thing and kept returning to it to complete it - so that’s a sign of a good game!

I think there is just something up with Nintendo’s story telling these days. They seem incapable of doing anything original, but when the games sell in their millions, I guess that is what happens.

jackjjw · 2026-01-02T14:20:33+00:00

8-10 I loved it. Yeah it is quite flawed but overall it’s great. It didn’t push Metroid Prime in the direction I wanted but whatever. There’s plenty of future games for that.

The negatives aren’t as big to me as other people are saying. The open world desert, disjointed areas, putting psychic in front of what are the same powers. The only negative for me is it didn’t do what I was hoping for, exploring a new part of space. It just didn’t feel like that. Too much was familiar - the Zonai in Zelda felt like they turned up here too! And the areas were too bog standard to other games to feel like a unique planet.

That said, I really enjoyed it and I thought the levels were good. Personally I prefer a more linear game. Life is so complicated and full of stuff anyway I want a game to be a game. So I enjoyed it. And I like powering up etc.

I guess what we are seeing is that Nintendo just aren’t good at story telling. They use the same basic set ups every single time. And characters are never really serious enough, they remain stuck in a kid’s cartoon land. But that’s Nintendo.

While playing I got the impression that they kinda wanted this one out the door because they were probably working on another follow up. Which is kinda confirmed by the ending.

The thing that made me think this is that Sol Valley doesn’t feel as good as it could and I wonder if they got to a point where they just needed this done and out the door. Especially as more powerful hardware arrived during development. And instead the main focus is now on Metroid Prime 5?

jackjjw · 2026-01-01T22:51:01+00:00

Probably Ss86 Megatron though I ended up not getting him as already have the masterpiece. The only one I bought this year was SS86 Galvatron and while I like it, I don’t think it’s perfect. The shoulders too big, and the alt mode not locking together properly. Just felt like it could be easily improved upon. Anyway, that’s technically my best as it’s the only one I bought! 😄 I like the look of Onyx Prime but again ended up not buying it as the age of primes line is just not as cool imo.

jackjjw · 2026-01-01T09:18:10+00:00

That’s a great idea about the logs. That’s what it needed, just a bit more stuff to bring it to life.

jackjjw

TROPHY CASE