Charities
It is unlikely that a course lasting more than one year could be financed entirely by trust fund help. Educational charities and trusts can, however, provide supplementary help to students who may be without funding for part of their course or who, for various reasons, need help over and above that provided by public funds.
Educational charities and trusts often have specific, even unusual, terms of reference. For example, thay may be restricted to helping only students:
•on certain courses of study; or
•above or below a certain age (often 21 or 25); or
•from particular parts of Britain or the world; or
•in defined occupations, professions or industries, or who have a parent working in one of these.
A student does not usually receive more than a few hundred pounds from any one charity, although higher amounts are not unknown. Charities usually make single, rather than ongoing, payments. Payments tend to be:
•for particular items – eg, tools or equipment; or
•for a specific purpose – eg, childcare; or
•those which the charity or trust believes might make the difference between completion and non-completion of the course.
Charities are more sympathetic to students whose need for assistance is as a result of sickness or unforeseen circumstances than to students who have mismanaged their money or who have started a course knowing they had insufficient funds.
Many charities only give assistance to first-time students. Assistance is more difficult to find if you are a postgraduate or taking a second undergraduate course. Applications often take some time to process, so it is wise to apply for support well in advance of the course start date.