Find out whether you could be due any extra financial support
?1,000s of student funding is missed out on each year by students who don’t even know that they’re eligible for it. ..
If your only plan for paying for uni involves a Student Loan and an impending sense of doom, you’re missing out!
There’s a treasure trove of free money lodged in student grants, scholarships and university bursaries. But many students either don’t know about them, don’t think they’re eligible, or just don’t bother applying.
What’s in this guide?
- Types of funding
- Maintenance Grant
- Special Support Grant
- Maintenance Bursary (Scotland)
- Travel grant
- Disabled students’ allowances
- Dependants’ and childcare grants
- Bursaries and scholarships
- NHS bursaries
Types of student funding
Forget hunting down the back of the sofa when it comes to student funding that doesn’t need to be paid back, there are loads of options. Here’s each type, as well as what the differences between them are:
What are student grants?
Student grants are available to anyone at university who satisfies the criteria. This includes the Maintenance Grant, which is means-tested (meaning the amount you receive depends on your household income) and is available in Northern Ireland, Scotland (where it’s known as the Bursary) and Wales.
Some charities, councils and businesses also stump up funds, often with delightfully specific criteria as these weird student grants prove.
What are student bursaries?
A bursary is a pot of cash with comparatively narrower criteria, such as being for care leavers, students on specific courses, or those from lower-income backgrounds. Alternatively, the money could be earmarked for specific expenses, such as childcare.
What are student scholarships?
Student scholarships are funds aimed at attracting (or supporting) high achievers. Don’t go thinking that they’re just about being book smart, though your country, gender, course or even your eSports skills could all net you fee waivers or free cash.
What are student sponsorships and apprenticeships?
Lucrative but harder to find, degrees sponsored by a company can net you a salary and pay your fees. The trade-off is that it often takes longer to get a degree, as you’ll be working at the same time.
But whether they’re grants, bursaries, awards or endowments, they all do similar things. Just go by whether they suit your circumstances, not what they’re called!
Student Finance
We’ve outlined some of the core criteria for each type of student funding, but if you like the sound of what’s on offer, click through and check the details for yourself.
At the bare minimum, you should expect funding to have some kind of nationality and residence criteria (some funds are just for students already settled in the UK), plus limits on how much (if any) university-level study you’ve already done.
Once you’ve nailed that lot, any cash you get is paid directly into your student bank account so it’s up to you to make it last!
Maintenance Grant
Full-time students from Northern Ireland can apply for a Maintenance Grant to help with living costs and, unlike the Maintenance Loan, it doesn’t have to be paid back.
While that’s a win, remember any student grant you get means less loan (you can’t max out both cash pots unless you’re entitled to the Special Support Grant).
In Wales, the Maintenance Grant is also called the Welsh Government Learning Grant, which is not the same as the Welsh Government Learning Grant (FE), which is for students in further education.
In England, Maintenance Grants are only for continuing students who started their course before e a student after that date is ineligible. Take a look at our Big Fat Guide to Student Finance to see how it affects you.