Full scholarship for uni. Is this possible

[Sadusername]

I was having a casual conversation with a friend who told me that one of her neighbours DC had received a Full scholarship to a university in th UK. I didn't realise such a thing was possible. I checked on the university' s website and there are entrance exams you can sit to be eligible for a scholarship of £1200 and a number of other scholarships you can combine up to a value of £2700 per year. This university has an entrance tariff of 300 points and I think results of over 320 warrants an excellence scholarship. I saw no reference to full scholarships, my friend might have misunderstood, she isn't as interested in the topic as I am. But has anyone heard of full scholarships being given to high flying students, which aren't publicised on web sites?

She probably meant that the child had been awarded the maximum amount available.

Well you can get a grant if you are on a low income. You might also get a bursary from your Uni if you are on a low income. You might also get money from your Uni for having good grades, though this tends to be the less desirable Unis who have more trouble getting students with good grades. Some Unis also offer sport bursaries.

DS's mate was from a low income backround, got great grades and (in my opinion, rather foolishly) went to a low rated Uni. He used to get thousands of pounds.

Yes, I think she means the full amount of the bursary.

There'd be absolutely no point in not publicising heavily any such support - they are designed to attract high fliers!

I got a full scholarship for my degree, I started in 2011 but as far as I know that kind of financial support is much less available these days :( it could definitely be possible though

And our charming not current government has (or is about to) converted the maintenance grant for children from low-income families into a loan.

Unfortunately I think she means bursary, they can be called titled scholarship though: National Scholarship Programme! I get a bursary each year (£900 per year) on top of my student loan and grant; also a short-term loan from a company.

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/media/2156425/b_s_grid_england_2015_entry.pdf.
This is a link to scholarships and bursaries. There does seem to be quite a bit of variation, as to what universities offer. But nothing that looks like a full scholarship. Well done Theneedygonzales, how did you manage that?

Some US universities do this - it is called being "needs blind". Harvard does it (college.harvard.edu/admissions/choosing-harvard/affordability) but I think others with big endowments do too.

DD has been offered a full fee waiver (covering £9k fees) and a cash bursary of £4.5k from Goldsmiths. The fee waiver is only offered to residents of Lewisham and the bursary is a Disabled Students' Scholarship. She will get a maintenance loan as well, and will continue living at home to save on rent and travel.

She has had a tough time getting through her A Levels, I've had to raise her as a single mum on benefits and full time carer as her disabilities are too severe for me to be able to work. She hasn't had the opportunities that most others her age have had. I'm very proud of what she's achieved and I'm so pleased that good universities are able to offer these opportunities for students like her.

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/fees-funding/

That sounds brilliant Smoked. Well done to you and your DD.

Smoked gammon. A massive well done to you and your daughter.

My niece got an excellence scholarship, nominated by her school and that is roughly £1000 a term. They had a lovely presentation ceremony for it not long after she started.

It wouldn't make sense for complete scholarships covering fees and maintenance to be offered to UK students, when student loans exist. Such scholarships would each cost the university a huge amount of money (9k for fees plus whatever maintenance offered) but not actually help more students to attend, since UK students can already access student loans.

Top up bursaries for maintenance and scholarships (1-2k or so) to high achievers are much more common. Both can be viewed as effectively giving discounts on the fees i.e. typically students pay full 9k fees from loans but then get a couple of thousand back as bursaries or scholarships.

Back when fees were "only" 3k (with the rest paid from block grants to universities from the government) it was more feasible to offer full fee waivers.

Universities do have a very small number of larger scholarships for home students, with very specific criteria (such as the Lewisham residency mentioned above).

Congratulation to your niece. I suppose if you were choosing a London university the right bursary could make all the difference between affording it or not. Eg, engineering at City offers a £3000 a year bursary for AAA to do engineering. KCL £5000 a year for law. (AA*A) For some courses it may make London doable. But the competition must be fierce.

My brother got a full scholarship to a US university. They paid his tuition fees (astronomical) and provided a maintenance grant as long as his GPA remained at 3.8 (I think) or higher.

My other brother did a degree as a mature student with his place of business sponsoring him to do so. The paid his tuition and provided him with a maintenance grant with the proviso he worked for them for at 3 years after graduating.

I come from a family of high flyers apparently.

You can get full scholarships at post grad level. Might it have been that? They are called studentships and cover all your tuition fees plus about £13k pa of living allowance for the full term of the degree (typically 3 years for a phD.)

I researcheduniversity scholarship exams at school and had my school enter me for one. I had to sit three three hour exams without preparation in which you wrote very long essays on all kinds of really interesting general and moral topics. I loved it and I won a scholarship although it did not cover all the costs or fees. That was purely on academic merit.

Some people I think can get the army to pay for them through university or sometimes a potential employer so worth checking that kind of thing out.

My nephew is part-funded by an engineering company. He has to work there (paid) every summer and for a few years afterwards.

I know a couple of people who had a full fees scholarship offer (£9k PA) in 2012 to a RG university as their backup choice, but both made their first choice Oxbridge offers instead. The following year the scholarship criterium changed and required you to firm the university to qualify, plus I don't think it was quite as generous either.

At my old (fairly rich) Cambridge college there were various bursaries / scholarships that you could apply for.

They were usually slightly random eg "scholarship available for archeology student who was born or raised in Pembrokeshire" as they are provided by ex students who would generally want to give a scholarship to the equivalent of themselves.

Apparently yes, it is still possible. It certainly was, a few years ago.

Girls in Physics is a popular one. Lots of grants, DC said a classmate would have made a 'profit' if they were not capped.

The 'bigger beasts' have industry or country-specific or individual bequests for the highest flyers. They can cover all fees as well as reasonable living costs even in central London.

No, they are not 'generally available'. The serious ones are one-off or possibly one per school of study if they are backed by global companies. They are effectively grants since there is no obligation to repay. Tend to be awarded through the university. Needless to say, award holders will have stood out well over others in the most competitive of colleges, and have to maintain that level of performance over the years. I suppose it is similar to the major US awards, just relatively rare. You certainly do not need to apply, so there is not need to invite 'applications'.

Many US universities will give scholarships to very well qualified applicants from low income families.

The Sutton Trust runs summer schools in the U.S. for disadvantaged students from state schools in the UK. I believe they prioritise those who have been in care, live in deprived areas, attend schools where few pupils progress to higher education , get EMA and are the first in their family to go to university .

I had an academic achievement scholarship of £5k over 3 years of my undergrad degree (former college turned university) and now receive a full fee scholarship plus £500/month to do my MA at the same uni.

I had 2 A's and 2 B's at A-level, and a 1st in my undergrad degree.

Full scholarships are generally given to international students.
www.scholars4dev.com/5642/scholarships-in-uk-for-international-students/