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February 2021
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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:
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.
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