Bursary Application process

[MalbecMummy]

Hi all - we applied for a Bursary for our DS back in December and we have filled out the forms, had a home visit and now we have been asked to meet with the Registrar and Bursar. Do you think this is good news please?

If you have gone through this process what happened next?!

I applied for a bursary which we were successful for but didn't have to go to the stage of meeting anyone, it was simply a case of submitting financial info plus a case for our DD. I would say if they want to meet you this has to be a positive, they wouldn't waste their time if they weren't considering offering you a bursary of some kind.
Hope it goes well.

It's impossible to tell, as every school will do things differently. Sorry, that's not very helpful.

My guess is that it's either good news or (perhaps more probably) borderline. I doubt they'd call you in just to say 'no'

It feels very late in the process for a September start. Funds are normally attached to the confirmation of a place offer. If you are unable to take up the place without one you may find yourselves liable for a term's fees.

Thank you. It is for 2018 entry.

It's the normal time for confirming places following CE, including the awards attached to them, so I had assumed that was what was going on here.

If it's a different type of entry, then there's no telling what it might mean and my guess changes to interview as standard part of process.

Thank you AnotherNewt - it is for entry at 11+

I applied for and got a bursary for my daughter. I was called in for an interview with the bursar in the six or so weeks between my daughter taking the exam and offers being made. This meant she'd done pretty well in the exam but they wanted a face to face conversation with me about my finances (I'd filled in the financial forms a few months before) I think the purpose was to check I was being truthful and to do a bit more delving about my financial situation (I.e. As a single mum did my daughters father contribute etc) I was then told the bursar would write a report based on my interview which would go to the HM - saying whether he did or didn't think we were suitable to receive a bursary. It was then up to the HM to decide which bursary applicants he wanted. I'm not clear if your child has actually taken an exam yet though? In our case you had to score well in the exam before they'd consider you for a bursary.

Thank you so much. No - he takes the exam in January. When I started the process I asked if they would give me an idea of what bursary I would be awarded because it would be a waste of everyone's time if the sims didn't add up. He gave me the impression he would give me an indication - but it obviously depends on DS passing the entrance exam in Jan. Argghh!!!

We had bursarys but the children had to get scholarships before consideration was given to bursaries. It was good to have the reduced fees but the process was not what I'd call fair. We were encouraged to fill in a form and put all manner of things as 'outgoings' to offset against our relatively high income income. I think all schools do it differently but ours was definitely not pure - although to our advantage.

My DD passed the exams and was awarded a scholarship prior to the bursary offer being released so you may need to wait until after the exam until you find out.

My DC's received bursaries for over 12 years, at prep then at secondary. We met the bursar at the prep right at the beginning but we never met the bursar at secondary. At the prep which was very posh we met the head first I strongly suspect that we were being vetted, to ensure that we were the "right" sort of family; as a friend once said "very nice middle class family with no money who wont scare the horses". At secondary the process was more transparent my DC's had passed the 11+ pre test and part of passing was meeting school staff to ensure that they felt that you as a family were fully signed up to the schools ethos we'd not mentioned or been asked about our income. Once we had the provisional offer of a place (subject to passing the entrance exam) we were then given an indication of what we might be offered and in the Janusaey before sitting the entrance exam we were given a final figure which was slightly more than the figure given before. Every year we competed the same paper work. No interviews etc. My DC's didn't ever win a scholarship which is quite unusual in the world of bursaries. I personally would have thought an interview is a positive sign no one would call you in to say no, it's much easier for a bursar to say thanks for applying but sorry etc etc in writing than face to face.
I just want to say you need to have a realistic figure in your head about what you can actually afford, and if you don't get it think carefully before taking the place. Our realistic figure would have been too high and luckily the school knew that and offered us significantly more than we ever could have hoped for. Life is very expensive, things like cars teeth boilers etc suddenly break down and you will need money to pay for them and you need enough wriggle room to be able to do this.

As others have said, every school does it differently. In the competitive London school environment your child would need to be scholarship standard i think.

Yes every school is different. My bursary was awarded by an over subscribed very big name super selective but the school is trying to move to a "needs blind admissions policy". Unlike many they have money/assets etc.