University scholarships
University scholarships

The Best University Scholarships For Students And How To Apply

If you’re looking for a scholarship, look no further.

If you’re a prospective student researching university costs and wondering what help is available, there’s good news as you might be eligible for a scholarship to help you out. University scholarships are extra funding provided by universities or private companies to help students with the costs of studying— and just like grants and bursaries, they don’t need to be paid back.

The catch is that not everyone is eligible for university scholarships and they can often be quite competitive. However, we’ve put together this guide to help you understand what extra funding might be available and how you can apply for scholarships in the UK to make sure you don’t miss out on any extra support.

In this article:

What is a university scholarship? 

A scholarship is a type of extra funding for students to help cover the costs of tuition fees and sometimes living costs. You won’t have to pay back a scholarship which can make university more affordable for those eligible.

There are many different university scholarships available and UK universities run scholarship programmes and sometimes external companies also provide them. However, there is often set criteria needed— for example, you may need to be a low-income student, an ethnic minority or be exceptionally academically gifted to be eligible to apply.

Scholarships are often quite competitive as universities can only accept a select number of students, which is why academic performance is often looked at as part of the application.

Different scholarships will offer different benefits, but here are some examples of how a university scholarship might work:

  • Your tuition fees could be paid in full
  • You could get a discount on your tuition fees
  • You could receive cash payments each year to help with the cost of living
  • You could receive cash payments each year to buy course materials, such as a laptop or headphones

While there might be a lot of competition for scholarships and you might not be eligible to apply for one, there are lots of grants & bursaries available which is another form of extra funding for students that you can apply for.

How to find university scholarships in the UK

There are different types of university scholarships available in the UK which look at different eligibility criteria. Some examples of scholarships include:

  • Academic excellence scholarships— these are offered to students who receive exceptionally high grades
  • Sports or music scholarships— these scholarships offer support to gifted or talented students
  • Personal circumstances and financial need—offered to students who may need extra funding
  • Subject-specific scholarships— sometimes universities will offer support to students on specific courses
  • Marketing or industry scholarships— companies sometimes offer scholarships to students as well as work experience in specific fields

There are hundreds of university scholarships out there so it can take some research to find out what your university offers and what might be available to you but it’s well worth taking the time to do, as you never know what you might be eligible for. In fact, often some scholarships have really specific and unique criteria which could be perfect for you, and means the competition isn’t as high.

If you’re considering applying for a scholarship here are some good places to start:

We’ve also got more info on scholarships specifically available for ethnic minorities further down in this article.

How to apply for university scholarships

Once you’ve done your research and decided what university scholarships you want to apply for you’ll need to gather some information to help support your application. This will often vary based on what type of scholarship you’re applying for, but here are some things you might need to provide:

  • Past qualifications including GCSE results and predicted grades
  • Your household income
  • Any awards you’ve won related to your future degree
  • Proof of your sports or music achievements

Our best advice is to start your research early and apply as soon as you can, but it’s never too late to apply. In fact, you can apply for some scholarships after you’ve started university as they might only offer support for one academic year. You should start applying around about the same time you’re applying for student finance and for universities.

Every scholarship application is different and some might even require an in-person interview to get to know you better, so it’s best to be prepared and read the eligibility criteria carefully.

Scholarships for ethnic minorities

If you’re an ethnic minority you might be eligible to apply for a range of scholarships. Scholarships for minorities might also look at income as well as academic performance, so remember to read the criteria carefully to see if you’re eligible.

1. Bank of England Black Future Leaders Sponsorship

This is a scholarship for students entering their final year of an undergraduate course and will provide £5,000 towards living costs as well as a paid internship for 8 weeks. You’ll need to be from a Black or Mixed background, have a household income of less than £50,788 a year and be interested in a career in finance or banking.

2. The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship is available to ethnic minority groups wishing to start higher education in law, science, technology, business, finance, the arts, engineering, maths and creative sectors such as fashion and media. The scholarship will help to cover costs associated with studying and applicants will have to opportunity to be mentored by leaders in their chosen field.

3. Open Futures Scholarship at The Open University

To be eligible you need to have a personal income of no more than £25,000 a year and be a prospective student of The Open University.

4. Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students at Cambridge University

Stormzy launched this scholarship in 2018 to help young Black students wishing to study at Cambridge University. The scholarship will cover the full tuition costs and provide a maintenance grant to help cover living costs and expenses totalling up to £20,000.

5. Royal College of Music Scholarship

For students wishing to study at the Royal College of Music, the university offers extra support for students from minority backgrounds. The scholarship can either be the value of full tuition fees or used to help cover living costs.

Scholarships for international students

As an international student, UK university fees can be really expensive so it’s a wise idea to look for extra funding if you can. Luckily, there are a lot of university scholarships aimed at attracting international students too if you need extra financial help.

If you’re an international student looking for a scholarship here are some places to look.

  • British Council— The British Council offers two types of scholarships for international undergraduate students. GREAT Scholarships are open to a wide range of students while Commonwealth Scholarships are based on academic excellence.
  • SI-UK is a hub for international students that allows you to view and search for scholarships across UK universities.

Hopefully, this has given you more of an idea about what scholarships are and what might be available to you. Student loans are increasing next year, so it’s always a good idea to stay one step ahead and work out what you might be eligible for before you start applying to universities.

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