BURSARIES...AN INTRODUCTION

With school fees galloping ahead of UK inflation, most parents are very interested in ways of reducing their fees drastically, as confirmed by the current Daily Telegraph article.

With ISC statistics stating that 41,000 children (8% of total children in ISC private schools) are receiving financial assistance to reduce fees, one could be forgiven for thinking that getting a bursary was a simple matter of turning up and asking for one, however the reality is quite different.

For several years there was a trend for more money to be allocated to bursaries (based on financial means) by moving funds away from scholarships (based on merit). However, we believe that trend has reversed with schools more likely to give a bursary if the child has first won a scholarship. Additionally it is an extremely complicated process to secure a bursary, usually involving an investigation of all income and assets of not just the parents, but also other family members (grandparents for example) to a level more detailed that annual income tax returns!

The relationships between school bursars and parents has become a little "adversarial" because there are far more requests than available funds. Thus many of the larger senior schools have subcontracted out the bursary process to independent accountants to take the sting out of possible arguments with parents if their request gets denied. It can be reasonably assumed that accountants will pay more attention to the numbers rather than the emotion behind a bursary request. For this reason we have put a detailed description of the process on our website. 

Education Advisers does not give bespoke advice on bursaries, although we can give advice on scholarships. Furthermore, we have just introduced a 2016 eGuide entitled "TOP 10 TIPS FOR REDUCING YOUR SCHOOL FEES", which is available free of charge to bespoke school choice advice clients.

MAKING A UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT PERSONAL

For students applying to university through UCAS, arguably the most important part of their application is the Personal Statement. The opening sentences can make or break an application and have an Admissions Tutor either keen to read further or to deposit the application form on the reject pile. To keep him reading is to grab his attention straightaway and not use hackneyed or trite phrases such as “…I have always been passionate about…”, or ….what really fascinates me about this course is…”

You are about to make one of the biggest decisions of your life: so it is important that you give solid reasons why you want to study a subject and that your A Levels are entirely suitable for your choice of degree. You should state that your academic track record and extra-curricular activities relate to the subject you are opting to study at undergraduate level, as this all helps a university to understand why you are a suitable candidate for the course. Admissions Tutors are very keen to know that you have the experience, skills and personality that would enable you to succeed on a three or four year course.

One golden rule to be followed is never, ever, stretch the truth about your voluntary work as it will inevitably come back on you. Think really carefully about how you are going to structure your Personal Statement so that it reads well, is truthful and is about you. This might take several drafts, but it is time well spent. Never forget that your application may be the only thing that an Admissions Tutor will base his decision on. Don’t try to be clever, but rather write a Personal Statement that is to the point, clear and that demonstrates what you can offer a university.

Never be tempted to plagiarise other student’s personal statements or purchase a ready-made one online, and if you require advice and help with any aspect of your University or Higher Education applications do contact Education Advisers Limited, who have an experienced and professional team of consultants.