Bursary / grants for University Tuition Fees

[Teara]

This is a question out of interest rather than a personal issue.

Does any sort of grant / bursary exist for students from lower income families towards University tuition fees? I've just been on gov website and gone through calculator, and for a new student (assuming 18 and just finished A levels) from a household with a combined income on £10,000 (I started at £25,000 and worked down), they are not eligible for any grants, just a loan.

If anyone out there has any experience with this I'd really like to know what you / your child received? I would like to know facts before getting into a real life discussion about it!

I received a grant towards my tuition fees (about 40%) about 15 years ago based on my parents income (upper working class, not claiming benefits or other support).

I was under the impression that given the tuition fee rises, students from lower income families would still be entitled to some assistance?

Thanks in Advance :)

Nope grants were abolished. My dd will get a bit of a bursary because we are low income from her uni and if she is careful it might not matter if she can't get a job over summer say.

Fees are paid by a loan - always have been since the hike to £9k. Students from very low income households used to get small grant as well as full maintenance loan. These grants have been abolished and all maintenance now comes in the form of a loan. Maximum loan is £8500 for students in England studying away from home (£10k+ if studying in London).

There should be no problem accessing loans and they don't put people from low income households off.

Some universities offer discretionary bursaries for students from low income backgrounds, and all offer one off payments to students in particularly impoverished circumstances (pissing your loan up the wall in week one doesn't count...)

Hi Helen,

Thanks for the reply.

Do you mind me asking how much the bursary is? And being really cheeky, what is your household income? Sorry, it's ok if that's too personal!

Did you mean they won't give her the bursary if they know she is working over summer? Good luck to her for her degree :)

When DS went to uni two years ago he got a small bursary from his college as we were on a low income. They took the info straight from the student loans people and he didn't have to apply or anything. It was very welcome. His summer job income didn't count, as far as I recall.

It was about £1000, and we were earning about 26k as I recall.

DD gets a bursary of £6k a year as our household income is below £25k. It is given directly from the university (Imperial) though, she still receives a loan for the tuition fees and maintenance. She lives at home and works during the holidays so has ended up being able to save a decent chunk of it!

are bursaries not paid back then, making them present day grants?

My DD received a scholarship for £2500, not related to income. It was an award for academic excellence (creative in her case) and the university had a variety that could be applied for. They are different now so you have to look at the university bursary/scholarship section to see what they have available.

UEA medical school was offering bursary for high grades regardless of income. Plenty of universities have funding for low income students or related to specific areas of study. Armed forces sponsor some degrees (such as engineering for Royal Navy). Also grants for specific groups such as women into engineering or Church funded grants for theology.
Sometimes you have to do an amount of research finding the income sources but university is good place to start then Directory of Grant and Award making bodies.

No they're not present day grants. Grants of old were government paid and a statutory entitlement as they were required for maintenance. Bursaries are offered completely at the discretion of the university and are just a 'helping hand' to supplement the maintenance loan. They are not paid back. Amounts vary from £500 to £3000, usually just for the first year. (Imperials is very high and very generous and not typical unfortunately!)

Kent gave £1000 last year if you got AAA & an extra £1000 if your family had a low income. Durham offered funds too.

Some universities offer a 2k bursary a year for families on below 25k a year, they mention it on their website so it's possible to check before they apply.

My DD got a bursary from Sussex based on my income and not having a parent with a degree. She got £1000 off accommodation costs in the first year.

Thanks everyone for replies! Good luck to all your kids at Uni,

Shelia, yep, this is what I had, I didn't apply for anything and wasn't expecting anything but it was a great help.

Rosatable, that is great!

So, sounds like the college bursary thing possibly varies across LEAs, as Sheila is the only person to mention it being through the college.

I was under the impression my bursary / tuition fee cheque was from government, but maybe not.

Strangely I didn't ask at the time, I just got called to college secretaries office and got given a cheque with no letter or anything, I asked her what it was for, and she said for University. Mum cashed the cheque and put it towards my tuition fees, but I was worried the whole time they would change their mind and want it back!

It would be good if anyone could shed any more light on the LEA situation!

I think I've got the gist of the bursary / scholarship stuff, it doesn't seem like it's changed much, as they were around when I was applying. I did consider a Navy sponsored degree at the time.

GRW, was the £1000 the whole bursary or on top of the bursary?

LEAs have nothing to do with bursaries - when people are saying 'Sussex give this' and 'Kent have that', they're referring to Sussex university and Kent university not Sussex or Kent LEAs.

Loans and fee loans ARE from the government, via the Student Loans Company.

Hi Titchy, I got that! Haha!
My bursary (or whatever it was) wasn't from Uni, and sounds like Sheila's son's wasn't either, as he had his from college. So where has that come from? I had mine before A level results day, so assumed it wasn't from Uni.

We 're under £25 000 and I think she gets it every year apart from the 5th.its given by the uni. No it doesn't matter if she works but for our family it means if she doesn't get work she can pay her way for the summer holidays if she comes back home.

You probably got the old grant but people don't get that anymore. I think when Sheila says college she is referring to the college of the university (e.g. Oxford, Durham and some others have colleges)

Is there a specific reason you're asking?

My ds is getting a £2k scholarship as he's a Welsh student going to Dundee University .....all 'rest of U.K.' Students doing courses other than dentistry, medicine and Nursing are entitled to this as a 'Discover Dundee'incentive....and it's non means tested!

Stopyourhavering, is that for English students too? Very generous of Dundee, I feel like Scotland values education more than England, I wanna claim ancestor rights and move to Scotland if my kids ever want to go to Uni 😂

Teara yes for all 'rest of uk' students coming to Dundee they get £2k in first year (£1k in November and £1k in Feb!)
www.dundee.ac.uk/study/scholarships/2017-sept/discover-dundee-ruk/
A very welcome gift!....and as he's studying Geography and Environmental science it will help,with field trips/ expeditions!
it's a very recent incentive....his sister didn't get this when she was at Dundee in first year 4 yrs ago!

That's very far sighted and inclusive of Dundee. What a good idea.

Yes, I should have made clear that my DS is at a London 'college' that is part of the uni. Of London. He got awarded the money in the December of the first term (making sure you aren't dropping out early on). It was £1000 in cash and a lesser amount for books/materials (£200, I think).

Ah, that's amazing.

Thanks everyone for replies, think I'll leave the thread now, I know enough to not look like a fossil when talking to young 'uns!

Good luck to all your kids at uni 😊