Scholarships or bursaries

[lljkk]

Is there a central website to look for which scholarship or bursary awards are offered by individual UK Unis, perhaps organised by course (undergraduate or graduate)?

I found some scholarship schemes on individual university websites, but at least somewhat if not very buried and maybe found using a difficult filter engine. I was wondering if there exists a simpler way to search.

Thanks in advance.

I would doubt there is a simple way to search, not least because these schemes change all the time, particularly in the volatile HE climate.

maybe it's something to ask about at each open day!

You could start with the scholarship hub here

It isn't an easy thing to find and they are competitive but it is possible to find some. I raised 6k for my masters year in grants. A good first step is to set aside a day and go to a library and sit infront of the directory of grants and charitable trusts and go through the whole thing and make notes of anything you are eligible for.

Also try the postgraduate alternative funding guide site, quite user friendly.

If you post a bit more about your circumstances I may be able to suggest some more specific leads.

Age? Parent? Age of children? Single? Country/area? Course to be studied? Education level? Reason for doing so? Homeowner? Childcare costs? What you need the money for eg fees/living costs/equipment.

There is stuff out there but it takes time.

It's great you're so motivated Leather. Sadly DD has no frugal instincts whatsoever!!

It's for DD who wants to study medicine, would be Ugrad course starting 2020. We won't tick any box for low-income, but some of the scholarships seem to be based on academic ability, not needs. I'll be 52yo when she starts. Would that matter?

DD has bad sense about money. I imagine she'll be a horrifically scarred reformed clawing out of debt character on the MSE boards in 25 yrs. I'm looking just to try to reduce her future burden (and potentially ours, if she wants to study in London). She won't think it's worth looking hard at possible scholarships.. unless they are an academic challenge. She likes those.

Oh I am sorry I thought it was you doing the course. I am afraid I do not know anything about undergraduate funding for medicine.

I think a lot of students at 18 are crap with money too. I know I was then which is why I was much more sensible the second time at uni.

Is there any way she could live at home and attend a course? If you didn't already see it the Martin Lewis money programme from last week reframed the student debt argument somewhat and said to just think about it as a graduate tax.

My daughter wants to do medicine too. She is currently only 6 though

There are actually lots of scholarships and bursaries but it does take a bit of effort to apply for them and lots of 18 years olds can't be bothered because they have no real concept of money or the level of debt they are taking on.

For example, one which might be good is this one for Dr's in training

You can learn more about how to find these

*It's for DD who wants to study medicine, would be Ugrad course starting 2020. We won't tick any box for low-income, but some of the scholarships seem to be based on academic ability, not needs. I'll be 52yo when she starts. Would that matter?

DD has bad sense about money. I imagine she'll be a horrifically scarred reformed clawing out of debt character on the MSE boards in 25 yrs. I'm looking just to try to reduce her future burden (and potentially ours, if she wants to study in London).*

Have you actually looked, in detail, at the way student finance works? In particular

• tuition fees don't have to be paid upfront
• even if you're from a high income household she will receive some support towards her living costs www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator. However, higher income households are expected to contribute to their DCs living expenses, so you will likely have to supplement it (but you'll also not be paying for her travel, food, hot water etc. so to a certain extent it does even out)
• the repayments are based on how much she earns, not how much she owes. She'll repay 9% of anything she earns each year over £25k (recently increased from £21k). For instance, in her first year of working (FY1) she'll earn 26,614 and repay £145.26. These rates are not onerous. Anything still owed after 30 years is written off. There are no people who are scarred by clawing their way out of student debt.
• the debt is never yours; it is always in her name and you are not expected to make any contributions towards repayments.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes

You being 52 will not make any difference to student finance / scholarships; that's pretty much peak age for sending a DC to university.

I’m not aware of a central database. You need to look on each uni website and check details. Some exclude medicine eg Queens Belfast gives £3000 yr 1 to all GB students except med/dental/vet. Some give academic scholarships but it’s drop in ocean, mine got £1000 academic yr1. Other scholarships and bursaries tend to be for those on max loan.
She’s young you’ve got time to help her manage money/learn to cook/realise a £5 coffee isn’t essential etc and she’s got time to work. Medicine is so competitive they need lots of extras not just grades. My dc worked at McDonalds from summer after gcse, obviously good to work and save money but was good for her generally. I know some medical students who tutor online maths for school children, good way to supplement loan.