UCAS reports that from 2019/20 less than a third of freshers applied for a scholarship or bursary, with the main reason being ‘They didn’t think they were eligible for one’
In this guide we’ll be laying out information and resources to help you find out if are eligible for one.
Why should I get a scholarship/bursary?
- You DO NOT need to pay them back
- They can help towards accommodation costs
- You can rely less on your maintenance loan.
Difference between a bursary and scholarship
Bursary – These are more ‘means-based’ towards your household income and they are more aimed to help out students who may have difficulty affording the life at University and they may have to rely on extra funding.
Scholarship – These are based on a certain achievement or they are awarded based on excellence. These could involve achieving a certain % mark at the end of the year or it could be due to you excelling in a sport.
Places to find bursaries and scholarships
- Your University – The first place that you should check would have to be your university website to see what they can offer you.
- The Scholarship Hub – Click here to go The Scholarship Hub, this is a FREE website where you can search for scholarships at a lot of universities.
- Charities – There are some charities and organisations that work to fund students who may need support especially if they come from a low income household. Eg. Turn2Us, CrowdScholar
Sometimes these bursaries and scholarships have a low amount of applications or they have new spaces that open during clearing so it doesn’t hurt to call up your university and see if they have anything available for you to take advantage of.
Good luck at uni 🙂