Bursary Offer

[jefarkha]

I believe this topic has been discussed many times. I just received a letter from an independent school that my DD has been offered a bursary place subject to confirmation by their bursar after interview and later to documentary evidence of our actual earnings and a possible home visit in the summer term. The question is how likely the amount of bursary will change after all these process? DD really like the school, however, it is very much dependand on how much our DD will get the financial support. We can stretch to another 5% of the fee pay after all the analysis by the bursar. But we are afraid if the amount will change substantially. We need to make the decision by early March and not much time left. Would really appreciate comments from experience parents. Thanks in advance.

We're a year on from you and wondering the same thing.
DS has a bursary, which will be reviewed annually, in the summer term. We have another DC who is also at an independent school, but moved in year 8 from a state school, so no chance of a bursary. The fees we pay for her are not taken into account when assessing our finances (is that money is seen as income, not expenses), meaning DS's fees are a stretch, even after the bursary.
We have no idea how any change to our circumstances will affect the bursary; I recall reading that an extra £50k (lump sum?) would make little difference to what you're awarded, but presumably that depends on many variables (e.g. the cost of school fees in the first place) and absolutely cannot be a given.

I will say (you probably know this already) that the free are just one part of the costs you need to think about; DS 's school offers some fantastic opportunities for residential trips, with associated costs, and even the school uniform is eye-wateringly expensive, plus the school puts on lots of fund raising events for charities, so a fiver here, a fiver there, performance tickets etc.

Assuming you filled in the information form for the bursar accurately and truthfully then I wouldn’t expect the % to change too much, if at all.

The bursar will assess the “reasonableness” of the property you live in, be it rented or owned, as well as the assets you hold. If they are deemed to be excessive to your needs then adjustments will be made E.g. driving a less expensive car or remortgaging if you live in a house worth a lot but with only a small mortgage on it.

Bursaries are wonderful for those families who need them. They are not for middle class families who want a private school education for their DC but don’t want to change their lifestyle.

The process may seem intrusive but is nothing to worry about. They are just checking you don’t have a house in the South of France hiding away, or swanning off to the Caribbean twice a year. If you have listed all your income streams and assets then the % shouldn’t change.

Ah, Imisunderstood the OP; K thought she meant how much the bursary may change with changes in circumstances after the initial year. As I said, we find DS's fees a stretch, with bursary, so are concerned how any small change in our income may affect it at review; it's not clear what the financial boundaries are and what would tip us into losing a percentage of it that would make the fees very difficult to pay.
I only work a few hours a week, due to health issues, and DH earns less than the average wage. My mother is already contributing to the fees.

Yes, bursaries are assessed each year so if circumstances remain unchanged then the bursary should remain at the same level.

The OPs question can be interpreted two ways.

Zodlebud you answered my concerns. It's intruiguing when you mentioned if someone has property/ies abroad. I know a family who has a holiday home abroad and their DC is receiving bursaries. Not sure how much is it but I wonder how a bursar could find this kind of information.

The holiday Home might belong to siblings jointly or the title deeds might not be in their name. In which case it could well be a property they use frequently but not necessarily theirs.

The bursar would look to see that all sources of income into a bank account could be accounted for. If they do not rent it out then there would be no income so it could make it hard to trace. Likewise if a property is owned by a company then it could be hard to trace.

There also needs to be a lot of trust put into declaring all assets, particularly ones abroad and then it’s down to the bursar to do as much digging as they feel necessary.

Unfortunately though there are a lot of middle class parents who want their children to have a private education but aren’t prepared to compromise on lifestyle. Yes they are dishonest and yes sometimes they get away with it. I personally find it morally abhorrent but obviously they don’t. If you can afford a holiday home then you can sell it to put your child into the school you want instead of taking that assistance away from a child who needs it.

Nobody should ever be scared to contact a bursar to discuss their finances. Please don’t let the horror stories put you off - just be honest!!

Many thanks for responding to this thread. It's a mixed feelings between delighted and stress as we have been offered a bursary before the full assesment. We know that DD has worked hard and it's a huge achievement for her. She also has been offered 50% academic scholarship elsewhere. However, somehow we misunderstood about the bursaries application process and waited for the school to send the busaries application form and it passed the dealines. So, it is impossible for us to send to the school even with 50% scholarship. So, now we are hoping very much that the bursaries offer for this school is true and final. Thank you all for the responds.

It's strange that you didn't submit everything before the bursary was awarded.

So did you just fill in a form with figures but with no evidence?

When I made our application I had to submit all sorts of documentation, payslips, statements, proof of housing situation etc.

If you didn't lie, then you should be fine.

In terms of change of circumstances, if your circumstances do become more favourable, then it is also appropriate that you get less bursary help.