Which UK Universities Offer the Biggest Bursaries?

Research has shown that the university you attend can affect the amount of the bursary awarded to you.

Typically, elite redbrick universities are the ones that offer the most support to students from low-income households.

According to The Guardian, this is due to the fact that these elite institutions tend to have fewer students from poorer backgrounds, although it is also worth noting that 67% of students are also failing to apply for funding due to concerns about their eligibility.

After an extremely tough financial year, it is more important than ever for pupils to be well informed before they make the next big step in their education.

Using The Guardians’ league tables for the best universities in 2021, Love Energy Savings has put together two lists of the top 50 UK universities, ranking their bursary funding from highest to lowest.

Here is a list ranking university bursary funding for students coming from households with incomes of £0 - £16,000 per year (caveats for universities highlighted in bold can be seen in the table below):

University	Bursary Amount (£)
Imperial College	£5,000
London School of Economics (LSE)	£4,000
Cambridge	£3,500
Oxford	£3,200
Herriot- Watt	£3,100
Bath	£3,000
Warwick	£3,000
Glasgow	£3,000
Strathclyde	£3,000
Leeds	£3,000
Aberdeen	£3,000
Swansea	£3,000
Sheffield Hallam*	£3,000
Bolton*	£3,000
Edinburgh	£3,000
Kingston	£3,000
UCL	£2,500
Exeter	£2,100
Bristol	£2,060
Durham	£2,000
York	£2,000
Dundee	£2,000
Birmingham	£2,000
Manchester	£2,000
Northumbria	£2,000
Abertay Dundee	£2,000
Aberystwyth	£2,000
Lancaster	£2,000
Southampton	£2,000
St Andrews*	£1,500
Aston	£1,500
West London	£1,500
UEA	£1,300
Loughborough	£1,200
Coventry*	£1,000
Stirling	£1,000
Sheffield	£1,000
Royal Holloway	£1,000
Keele	£1,000
Cardiff	£1,000
Nottingham	£1,000
Kings College	£1,000
Robert Gordon	£1,000
University of the Arts	£1,000
Chichester	£900
Nottingham Trent	£750
Oxford Brookes	£750
UWE Bristol	£500
Uni of Creative Arts	£500
Queen's Belfast	£440

 

University	Caveat
Sheffield Hallam	Only available to students leaving care and high-performance sports students
Bolton	Only available for high-performance sports students
St. Andrews	£1500 is available as a flat rate, to those with a household income below £34,000
Coventry	Only available to those studying in faculty of health and life sciences

 

Here is a list ranking university bursary funding for students coming from households with incomes of £16,000-£20,000 per year (caveats for universities highlighted in bold can be seen in the table below):

University	Bursary Amount (£)
Imperial College*	£4,000
LSE*	£3,500
Cambridge	£3,500
Herriot- Watt	£3,100
Oxford	£3,000
Bath	£3,000
Warwick	£3,000
Glasgow	£3,000
Strathclyde	£3,000
Leeds	£3,000
Aberdeen	£3,000
Swansea	£3,000
Sheffield Hallam*	£3,000
Bolton*	£3,000
Bristol	£2,060
Edinburgh	£2,000
Kingston	£2,000
Durham	£2,000
York	£2,000
Dundee	£2,000
Birmingham	£2,000
Manchester	£2,000
Northumbria	£2,000
Abertay Dundee	£2,000
Aberystwyth	£2,000
UCL	£1,500
St Andrews*	£1,500
Aston	£1,500
West London	£1,500
Loughborough	£1,200
Exeter	£1,050
Lancaster	£1,000
Southampton	£1,000
Coventry*	£1,000
Stirling	£1,000
Sheffield	£1,000
Royal Holloway	£1,000
Keele	£1,000
Cardiff	£1,000
Nottingham	£1,000
Kings College	£1,000
Robert Gordon	£1,000
University of the Arts	£1,000
Chichester	£900
UEA	£800
Nottingham Trent	£750
Oxford Brookes	£750
UWE Bristol	£500
Uni of Creative Arts	£500
Queen's Belfast	£440

 

University	Caveat
Imperial College	£4000 is available for students with a household income between £16,000 and £50,000
London School of Economics (LSE)	£3,500 is available for students with a household income between £18,000 and £25,000
Sheffield Hallam	Only available to students leaving care and to high-performance sports students
Bolton	Only available for high-performance sports students
St Andrews	£1500 is available as a flat rate, to those with a household income below £34,000
Coventry	Only available to those studying in faculty of health and life sciences

 

As you can see, some universities offer quite large sums of money to disadvantaged students with some surprising universities like Herriot- Watt being in the top 5 for those who offer highest bursary in both household income categories!

Well-known, elite universities, Oxford and Cambridge are also amongst the top-ranking institutions for large bursaries.

Cambridge offers £3,500 to underprivileged students, whilst Oxford university offers up to £3,200. However, both universities rank as third and fourth respectively, beneath the London School of Economics which offers up to £4,000 for those coming from households with an income of £0-16,000 and, taking the top spot: Imperial College London, which offers up to £5,000 to its least privileged students.

This extra funding could go a long way, with a bursary providing the extra help a student needs to stay on top of accommodation fees and living costs.

Applying for bursary funding 

To find out which bursaries are available to you, you can check your university’s website or prospectus. Your student services department may also be able to advise you.

Additionally, try checking out the UCAS site for more information on bursaries or conduct a simple Google search.

Top tips for applying for a bursary:

1. Cast a wide net – The more applications you submit, the more likely you are to get access to extra funding. Research is key here, talk to your university, search the web and even talk to other students to find out what options are available to you.
   
   
2. Apply early – The snooze you lose rule has never been more valid than with funding applications. Organisations and institutions receive thousands of applications from students in need of extra money, so you’ll want to get in there quick to increase your chances of approval. Just like with your assignments, late application submissions are a big no-no.
   
   
3. Provide all the necessary documents – When applying for extra funding, be prepared to share your spending habits. These applications usually request bank statements of around three months to ensure that funding goes to students that actually need it and not to frivolous big spenders!
   
   
4. Be realistic – It’s important for you to keep your feet on the ground when making bursary applications. Don’t expect to receive the highest payments from all your submissions. Work out a Plan B and just be open to the fact that you may (or may not) receive some extra help, that way you can be pleasantly surprised if you receive good news.

If in doubt, ring the university you want to apply to and ask to have a conversation with someone about the help they can give you.

If you don’t ask, you don’t get, so don’t let fear stand in the way of having a bright future.

How to manage your bursary throughout the academic year

It’s easy to spend your bursary very quickly and leave yourself with no emergency money throughout the year. Although you may have a part-time job, it may be prudent to pay some of your typical bills annually. These can be the essentials like home energy, broadband, and council tax. If you compare your home energy with Love Energy Savings, you could save a large amount of money and put your energy bills to the back of your mind. Add a reminder to your calendar if you plan to renew or cancel at the end of the academic year.

This takes away the worry of some monthly expenses, and if you have a part-time job, you can use the extra cash to treat yourself throughout the year.