A low-income student’s take on York’s bursary for accommodation.
What is the York Bursary?
I think the York Bursary is really important for students who might need it, so this article details how it all works so you don’t have to worry. The bursary is automatically means-tested for £1000 per year of study. It deducts a third of that off each term’s maintenance loan in October, January and April. You can ask to receive this as a direct debit, but I wouldn’t recommend this, that just seems like more work? I liked the easy automatic part personally. The bursary is assessed before each of these maintenance loan payments, so the first assessment will be in mid-October and will be received in late-October.
Note: These are the amounts I received, the amount eligible to other students may change in other years.
Advice for eligible students
Some of my mates worried about setting up a direct debit, or emailing about eligibility, but all of that is done for you, based off your initial application and maintenance loan details, so the most important thing is to sit back and let the uni do it for you. Honestly, the University of York don’t show off this bursary enough, I only heard about it by digging through the bursaries online, so check the website to see if you’ll be eligible and the amount that may be awarded, as this might depend on academic year. This bursary is really useful, so it helps to know if you’ll get it or not. While you’re at it, the uni provide a great selection of bursaries, so take a look at the rest too!
A final word
I couldn’t really afford to go out clubbing or joining as many societies as I might’ve wanted to, but the York Bursary gave me that extra bit that allowed me to embrace more of the aspects of uni life. It helps me justify an extra Courtyard pizza every now and then too. If you’re eligible, then there’s nothing to worry about, no admin that you have to do: the uni looks after all of it, and you’ll get to enjoy all that uni has to offer just a bit more!
~Ben (he/him)
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