Student finance

Government funding for students in higher education has been changed over the last few years, replacing the previous student grants with a new re-payable loans system.

As the largest part of tuition fees is still paid by the government, students need to apply to their Local Education Authority ( LEA ) for a student award in order to become eligible to apply for a student loan. Applications forms for entry are expected to be available from LEAs in March/April. Supplies of application forms and booklets will be available from schools and colleges. Students also have the opportunity to apply using the internet.

The DfES produces two detailed booklets, Financial Support for Higher Education Students and Student Loans: Guidance on Terms and Conditions, as well as Bridging the Gap: A guide to disabled student allowances and How to get financial help as a student. Copies of these are available free (also in Braille and on audio cassette) from the DfES Information Line: freephone 0800 731 9133. Alternatively they can be accessed on the DfES website: www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport

Sponsorship

Some private companies, professional bodies, local authorities, the NHS and the Armed Forces run schemes which offer financial help to young people in higher education, often in exchange for periods of employment with a sponsor; this takes the form of a contract between your son/daughter and the employer.

There are different types of sponsorship:

• An annual salary during all or part of the course.
• A wage while working during the industrial part of a sandwich course.
• Working for a sponsor for a year before the course starts, and then being paid for further periods of training during it.
• Sandwich year employment, which may lead to sponsorship in the final year of study.

Both you and your son/daughter will have to consider the advantages and disadvantages (link to text below) of sponsorship carefully.

Advantages of Sponsorship

• extra money
• potential for work during holidays
• gaining confidence in the working world
• the possibility of a job when the course is over.

Disadvantages of Sponsorship

• making early career decisions
• ending up on a course your child does not like
• going to an institution not chosen by you and your child
• not being free to take long summer holidays
• being bound to a company for a long period of time.

Which courses attract sponsorship?

Most sponsorships are for higher education subjects related to engineering, construction and technology, but there are also sponsorships for other courses, such as retailing, finance, business, some science courses, or for very specific courses such as environmental health. A full list can be found in the Sponsorship and Funding Directory.

Applying for sponsorships

Start making initial enquiries to firms early in the first year your son/daughters’ advanced-level course. The best time to apply varies – sometimes up to 18 months in advance.

To find out more contact…

• ‘Springboard’: Sponsorship and Funding Directory, published annually by CRAC/Hobsons
• Source Careers Information Leaflet (SCILs) AT26 ‘Sponsorship and Charitable Trusts’
• ‘The Educational Grants Directory’, published by the Directory of Social Change, available through Trotman
• www.scholarship-search.org.uk – lists over 200,000 UK sources of funding
• www.freefund.com

Back to top