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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

NHS bursary finance..rant!

8 replies

MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday · 14/04/2014 11:35

ARGHHH!

Student loans is a big enough pain but NHS bursary is so much worse!
This year I have not one but two children applying.. one will be 3rd nursing, the other a 5th year medic (the only year NHS fund their tuition)

They have to have every single piece of evidence known to man.. p60s, birth certificates for all, proof of rent agreements... you name it they want it.. and they can't accept them together with one covering letter.. I have to send one.. special delivery, and hope it gets back in time to then send the SAME stuff.. for the other (needing 4 special delivery envelopes in total.. £20!!)

And dh's forces pension aren't issuing the necessary P60s until MAY. Deadline is June....

I will be SO glad when I don't have to do this anymore. Student loans is a breeze in comparison because the girls can do that bit themselves but not this.

OP posts:

MillyMollyMama · 15/04/2014 09:52

Are you not being GIVEN money though and the other students have big debts with far less chance of getting a job? Many would say you are EXTREMELY fortunate! My neighbours seem to have plenty of money and their DD got a bursary so they seem quite generous! A medic can earn loads as a GP eventually. We are paying for my DD's GDL then Barrister's course - a cool £24,000 so think yourself lucky. Barrister pay, if you can get a job, starts at about £12,000 pa. Nurses earn way above that!

Original poster

MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday · 15/04/2014 11:10

So... 4 years of med school... NO tuition paid til 5th year. So DD1 has already accrued an extra year of debt to most students whose courses last three years... that's about 40ks worth before she enters her final year.. for which yes the tuition is paid, but her living isn't..so another 5 k debt on top.

I don't think 45k debt is wonderful for any 22 year old frankly. And she only gets the basic loan so yes we have been funding her living for the last 4 years.. we are in basic jobs nothing impressive. She works as a HCA to help make ends meet

Her sister.. nursing, IS in a better position tuition fees wise. But is still working every weekend to pay for her living.

We are fortunate..in that our girls worked their arses off at school and have chosed careers with excellent job prospects. But I think you have the wrong end of the stick if you think we, or they have had an easier time than anyone else financially because they have chosen medical careers! Utter bollocks I'm afraid.

Why are you personally funding courses instead of student loans? If you are in the position to be able to do all that I'd say you were in the fortunate position... that's more than I earn in 2 years :D

OP posts:

Original poster

MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday · 15/04/2014 11:14

*chosen. God I hate my own typos :D

OP posts:

littleducks · 15/04/2014 11:14

I don't think a good payment is an excuse for rubbish administration.

I found the system great on paper but once they switched to the online form if was a nightmare. If automatically requested things that were not required.

I would send in the documents with two cover sheets and a note to scan it in for both. Once it is there in front of a human I think they would be unlikely to reject it.

NCISaddict · 15/04/2014 11:19

I think barristers earn a little more over the course of their working life than nurses!

There is no excuse for bad administration, we have had some interesting times with the NHS bursary system. Good luck OP.

BeckAndCall · 15/04/2014 12:40

I'm with milly - getting a bursary and fees paid is worth a little bit of paperwork! But the case of your medic and nusring DC are different - sympathise with the medic and number of years but at least she's now getting a bursary.

Comparibly, we like milly are about to pay for a GDL followed by the Bar course for which there is no student loan. And a one year science masters for DS for which there is likewise no loan. So a bursary is looking good right now!

And although barristers may earn more over their career than a nurse - they may not. It's not the gravy train you think it is. I'm married to a lawyer, I know. Plenty of times when there is no earning at all. At least a doctor and a nurse should have guaranteed employment for the rest of their working lives.....

EduCated · 15/04/2014 12:45

The bursaries are generous, but the ridiculous amount of over-administration due to shit systems must be coating the NHS loads.

Ditto Student Finance. It is the most convoluted, nonsensical system I have ever had to use.

Sympathies, OP! My Aunts barely recovered from having 2 DC and her DH all applying for student finance/NHS bursaries at once!

NCISaddict · 15/04/2014 13:33

The bursaries generally only cover tuition fees, the rest is means tested and you have to have quite a low income to qualify. I agree the tuition being paid is good but having one DC who is doing a degree which is none bursary funded and one who has done nursing there has not been much difference in what we pay for/ they get from student loans. The only difference to us has been the amount of paperwork and the fact that the organisation of the bursary scheme is awful.

I have quite a few friends who are barristers and they would say you have to be quite bad at your job to be earning less than £22k pa on a regular basis.

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