Half a Bursary offer at an Independent School???? Ever heard of?

[TestMum]

My DS has been offered a 'half a bursary,place even though I am unemployed.

Has anyone ever heard of such an offer? I thought they were means tested and if you qualified for one then the amount you were given was based on what you earn. OR....is it based on how well he did in the test?

There's another thread about this year's admissions in which it says one school had had 300 applicants for bursaries. Most of those will be lovely children who meet th academic standards and the school would be very happy to have. But they still have to whittle those numbers down to the 30 or so awards they can actually afford.

Have read all of this but the as most have pointed out it's all about how much money a school has in it's bursary pot, how many apply for a bursary and how much they want your DC. You mentioned a god parent contributing I don't think they would reduce you bursary if they contribute that money directly to the fees because that it is then not money you are earning it would be different if they paid that money to you even if you weren't paying fees. Hope that makes sense.
If you can't send your DC to the school without a larger bursary then go back to the bursar and tell him he may increase it or he may ask you to wait and he'll see see what others do, if someone turn a bursary place down (it does happen) he might have some more money.

Debts are IME listed on bursary application forms and if the school has enough money in the pot are taken into consideration otherwise they would ask you. It's all down to how much is in the pot this year and how many apply and a number crunching exercise.

middleclass - I thought debts were not considered, on the theory that 'you spent this money'. Otherwise why not take the family on an expensive holiday, paid for on a credit card, and thereby get extra bursary!?
OP - I still think it's dangerous to tell the school if someone else is helping with the fees. But I guess, like most things re bursaries, it varies from school to school

@Middleclass Thanks for coming on board. Okay, firstly, Godparent understandably can't do it. Secondly, I'm still stuck with an answer to my question.

I understand this point:

Have read all of this but the as most have pointed out it's all about how much money a school has in it's bursary pot, how many apply for a bursary and how much they want your DC.

Unless I'm going mad however, which is likely, this still doesn't explain if the parents were offered bursary amounts LESS than they were eligible for and despite the schools rigorous financial assessment process they have each managed to miraculously stump up the balance?

Is it not the case that the applicant would simply be deemed unsuccessful based on the fact that the parent/s need more than the school has funds for or willing to pay?

A friend of mine has two DDs on 50% bursaries. The school offer maximum 50% reduction and a family member pays the other half for her directly to the school. The school can't look into the finances of all your friends and family, only yours and the payment wouldn't count as your income as it isn't your money.

Have you spoken to the school about what you're considering? At the end of the day, they've looked at your situation and must see you can't afford the half fee, so what are they expecting you to do?

By offering half of what the parent is able to pay after going through their finances with a fine tooth comb, it's basically telling them no? Moreover, I am sure there are full fee paying parents who want that place. Why have those parents and children unnecessarily waiting on, 'waiting lists' when it's overwhelmingly clear the bursary applicant can't go to the school unless they were fully funded?

One poster mentioned their school specifically ask if family/friends can help. Another mentioned they are supposed to take the balance om savings. What savings are those exactly as that should have been declared on the application form?

If all those bursary applicants can suddenly come up with the money it would appear to me that they didn't actually need the help in the first place. If I was a full fee paying parent I would certainly be questioning the schools eligibility process.

@maddestmother, thanks for your feedback. You see I get that. They receive 50% as that's the maximum the school pays.

Your second point is my point entirely. Surely, like one other school I know where all the bursary applicants are put in the same pot and told yay or nay according to how much the school has to stump up and how much they want the child, we should have been deemed as an unsuccessful applicant and the place offered to someone who can afford it.

You really need to telephone the school ASAP TestMum and politely state your case - I personally know of one child offered four significant bursaries (70% - 85%) at four different schools last year. Of course he could only go to one school - presumably putting money back into the bursary pot at the other three schools. You need to find out how high up the bursary list your ds is and establish a relationship with the school if you want to be considered for more bursary funding; try phoning tomorrow and at least once a week until the 'shake up' in March when offers are accepted/declined.

The only child I know who has all their fees covered has a scholarship as well as a bursary.

"Is it not the case that the applicant would have been deemed not successful based on the fact that the parents need more more based on fact that the school has funds for or us willing to pay?"
That sums it up in a nutshell I'm afraid.
Debts can be taken into consideration it depends how you've accumulated them. I agree flash holidays are not going to be looked upon favourably but a past redundancy and living off a credit card may be more acceptable.

So have I got this right, some of you 'actually' know of a whole load of skint parents who were offered bursaries LESS than they could afford but who so happen to have a load of minted relatives who could plug the difference?

I can only go by personal experience. Yes, the bursaries are means tested, but that doesn't mean that they will give you the % you need even if they don't advertise the upper limit. For example; ds is currently on a 70% means tested bursary. Last year, his school raised the fees and said they were reducing his bursary, my income hadn't changed, but their literature states that bursaries are reviewed each year so I suppose the criteria they assess you against can also change.
It will also vary from school to school what they take into account. One senior school I filled in forms for wanted all your outgoings, including gas, electricity etc, whilst another classed outgoings as mortgage or rent only.
Means testing doesn't mean that they are looking at what you can afford, as it doesn't take into account daily living costs, more where you sit on their scale of assistance and as has been said depends on the size of the pot the money is coming from and how many apply.
Schools aren't interested whether you can afford it, they offer and they consider its your choice from there.

My son is at a school where most of the parents get some form of bursery. we have a 75% bursery but have to find £7500 a year from a salary of 28K. TBH if we didn't need 2 cars for work and the associated costs of petrol/maintenance we could do it unassisted.

Schools will expect you to forgo all luxuries in order to pay the fees. We have an offset mortgage so are using that facility to pay the shortfall. Goes without saying we have no new clothes or holidays.

We absolutely couldn't find the extra 50% and did discuss with the school if it could be increased but sadly it couldn't. They did their best but explained that they wouldn't be able to guarantee a full bursary for her whole school life so we had to turn it down. It was a shame as we had been open from the start that we would need at least 90% and entered her for the entrance exam with them knowing this. It seems they had many more applications for bursaries than money to pay them

But OP, wouldn't you rather have the offer so you can see if it is possible than have no offer at all?

Alsoifyou do find a way to take it or the offer increases, check how you getting work might alter the terms of the bursary.

At the school I went to means tested meant that you were means tested for eligibility for a bursary but the actual amount given was dependant on entrance exam scores.
The only person in my year on a full bursary of any sort was from a charitable bursary that the benefactor had put criteria on and she fulfilled it. She was the only applicant that year that fitted the criteria.

At the end of the day these schools are a business with a limited pot of money. It's unrealistic to assume that everyone entitled to a bursary will get 100%. They just don't have it to give. The full fee payers on waiting lists will be ones that didn't do as well in the entrance exam as the others being given offers just now.
They make the offer because it is not up to them to decided whether or not you can afford the 50% or not so better make the offer than not. Can you imagine the outcry of schools did this. Didn't make offers based on whether they thought you couldld afford it or not. How many cries of elitist snobbery would that bring?

They make the offer you decide whether you are in a position to accept or not.

I personally don't know any skint parents who were offered bursaries less than they could afford with minted relations who could plug the difference but I frequently read on here about parents who were not offered large enough bursaries. We have to state and sign on our bursary form that we've approached relatives for help and that they are unable/unwilling too and looked into charities that help i.e. exhausted all other options before applying. We do take one cheap holiday a yr that appears to built into our legit expenses and 10% of our very small assists are taken into consideration including equity in a house. It appears our school asks how much you earn, what are your assets and how big is your mortgage/rent, debts, life insurance pension other family costs eg school fees for another child then do a calculation working out what's left and then give you x% reduction what you do with it is up to you. They never ask about council tax, petrol (a big one for us as we're rural) food utilities etc although we could add these into a box marked extra information if we wanted I suppose.
We don't live a particularly extravagant life so we would very rarely eat in an expensive resturant for example or go to the opera/theatre (a passion for us pre school fees) holidays are camping type things but it not a beans and Primark existence either. Probably just a typical middle class life.

I know of one mum who's a lone parent to 3 girls. She warns minimum wage. All 3 girls are very, very bright. First 2 sat the test for local high achieving independent school and were awarded 100%bursary then 95% for her dd2. The mum's parents helped her with the 5% for her dd2.
Her dd3 sits the test and actually get the highest score of the 3. However the school is overwhelmed with applications that year (2010) and can only offer 75%. The mum simply can't manage it so her dd3 goes to the comp. The school knows her and her circumstances well but couldn't help.

Earns MW obv!

my friend applied for full fee remission for her dd and was told that should she qualify she would get 100% fees paid, so she thought she only needed to pass the entrance exam , not that it would be graded against others also applying for fee remission,friends dd got offered a place at the independent school but was not in the top percent to receive the fees, so even thought they know they cant afford to pay the place is still offered they are now trying anything and everything to raise money for the fees so she can still go, so I would guess that the schools get many people who on paper cant afford the fees but given the chance of a place find the money by hook or by crook, so places are still offered and part fees are offered so you can make your own decision about if you can find the money or what you decide you can do to get it.
its so hard though I know how disappointed my friend is about it, it would have been easier if they had just said sorry she didnt get a place.