School wants to means test us

[orlag]

Ds successfully applied for a significant 6th form scholarship. Now the school wants us to means test us in order to decide how much to award (not advertised as a means tested scholarship but does say it may be means tested). I don't want to apply for a bursary, partly because I think it's a waste of time applying as we have a joint income of £55k and own our house outright (could be worth 550k) . I don't want the hassle of filling out all the forms and gathering all the evidence this year and next year. I told the school that we both work and have capital but they still want us to make the application. Frankly, it feels embarassing to apply and we would be happy to contribute towards the fees. I was expecting that we would be made an offer with the option of applying for a bursary if needed. I don't know how to approach this with the school as I don't want to sound rude or ungrateful.

Honestly, just fill in the forms. It’s not embarrassing, honestly. You’re not doing anything underhand so why would it matter. I appreciate its effort but applying in the first place must have involved forms etc.

I don't see what would be embarrassing. The scholarship is on academic merit and the exact amount is decided based on income, so you give the information and get a scholarship that reflects your circumstances.
If it said it may be means tested then you knew this was a possibility.

I don't why you're on about not wanting to apply for a bursary as a scholarship and bursary are typically different.

You could just say thanks for the scholarship offer and tell them you don't need the means tested part, you are more than happy to contribute and they should keep the bursary element for families who need it more.

Seriously! Is this really because you don’t want to fill in the formS? Or something else?

I thought we'd be offered a scholarship with the opportunity to apply for a bursary if it wasn't enough but we haven't been offered anything at all. We had a scholarship with a bursary in the past for another Dc but our income was lower then. This may sound ridiculous but I always felt inferior to the other parents and a sense of being indebted to the school.

I'm confused OP.
You've said you successfully applied for a scholarship, but now are saying you've not been offered anything.

Has your child been granted a scholarship and they decide the amount by means testing?

Yes, that's exactly right Lola. We applied for a scholarship but we don't know what it's worth until it's means tested which wasn't what we expected. We thought we get a certain percentage and then could apply for a bursary if we wanted to which is what I think happens with all scholarships.

We had bursary to up 80% of the fee at one point. No, I never felt indebted to the school. Kid got in on his own brain. They chose him over 700 other kids. If they feel that there is potential in him and that he is "worth" the effort/bursary, then why should I feel anything apart from a big thanks?

This year we got zilch as they changed the thresholds massively. If I would have felt indebted then, how should I be feeling now? your problem just makes no sense to me.

Right, but you said that it said it may be means tested. So surely you did know the scholarship value might be means tested?

I understand why you might find it pointless applying for a bursary if you know your income is over the threshold, but a scholarship isn't a bursary.

It sounds to me like you have 2 options:

1. Accept the scholarship (value dependent on household income) and pay the rest of the fees
2. Decide you don't want to accept the scholarship because the value is means tested and you don't want the hassle of filling the forms in. Then you pay 100% of the fees or find another school

It's a no brainer to me.

Thanks for explaining that Lola. I didn't realise that a scholarship could depend on household income (unless advertised as a means tested scholarship). I was always under the impression that even those on high incomes could get a scholarship as the offer was dependent on how much they wanted the child. That's why I found it a bit odd that Ds was offered a scholarship but it wasn't given any value.

Most scholarships that I've seen aren't advertised as a 'means tested scholarship'.

I've had a quick check at schools in my area to see how they've worded it.
Some are a set % (such as set % music scholarship on the condition of performing at several events or 10% for an academic one) and students can apply for more than one. They can apply for a separate bursary too.
Some are means tested and it's in the information pack.
Almost all of them have some awards that say 'up to X%' and that scholarships and bursaries might be combined.

As you've said that the pack said it 'may be means tested' then it was probably going to be means tested.

I understand your feelings about feeling indebted to the school, but remember that despite the charitable status they are a business. If the scholarship amount isn't going to make or break your schooling decision then you'd be silly, imo, to not give the info to means test it.

My DD had a 6th form scholarship anc it was made clear it was worth £0. Bursary applications were totally separate and we didn’t qualify. A friends DS was in exactly the same position at their school. Bursaries shouldn’t be linked to scholarships. However you might as well apply. You might get £0 anyway. So no harm done! They redistribute the money to a needy family. You get to pay. Everyone’s happy.

was always under the impression that even those on high incomes could get a scholarship as the offer was dependent on how much they wanted the child. That's why I found it a bit odd that Ds was offered a scholarship but it wasn't given any value

It depends entirely on the school. But yes, it is common for a scholarship to be very low or honorary, and financial awards all via means-tested bursaries.

If you do not want to be means-tested, just accept the scholarship (for it is an academic honour) and the school will be able to support a different family

At your income level it will depend on the school but you may very well qualify for significant support. Your house value - well, it depends where you live whether that is reasonable or not! One of mine is at a school where the academic scholarship won him a place, and nothing more, the fee reduction was entirely means tested. The other has a 25% scholarship and bursary support is additional. One of the schools the first one nearly went to, scholarship awards were necessary in order to apply for bursary support.

Bursary forms are a pain to fill in, yes, but schools can reward high achievers much more equitably with this policy, and it is getting more and more common.

@orlag

Thanks for explaining that Lola. I didn't realise that a scholarship could depend on household income (unless advertised as a means tested scholarship). I was always under the impression that even those on high incomes could get a scholarship as the offer was dependent on how much they wanted the child. That's why I found it a bit odd that Ds was offered a scholarship but it wasn't given any value.

Some scholarships are nominal and for reputation only. There may be specific ones offered to those who might otherwise not be able to afford full fees (if funded by a past pupil for example) , just as there are for excellence in certain subjects, sport, music, performing arts etc. This form may be to determine which is most appropriate. You could go back and say while you are happy to accept one , you feels means testing is not appropriate in your dc case.

I would have thought that at that income level, you have a chance of some of the means tested element but it will completely depend on the school and the overall fees. An honest chat with the bursar about how much the non means tested element is and what you might possibly expect with your income and property value.

I totally get where you are coming from. We have applied for scholarships before and they have had nothing to do with the money (although they are usually worth a small token amount like 5 percent of the fees) - it’s all about the kudos attached to them and raising your profile at school be it academically, musically, sport etc.... gaining access to certain privileges (I.e. DS’
Academic scholarship means he is included in the scholars programme). I wouldn’t want to bother filling out tons of forms and having someone pry into my financial affairs as the bursary process is very invasive and they want to know about everything. I am surprised that the school has done it in this way as usually scholarships and bursaries are treated separately.

I'd fill it in 55k is not much anyways. We are on this. X