an urgent question about Cambridge-based funding

Hey all,



Sorry if I'm being too dramatic, but I've just had a bit of a heart attack...

I explained my situation as clearly as I could in this thread:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4272198&p=67153462#post67153462


So does this mean that, as I can't get a student loan for the first year I wouldn't be able to get the Cambridge bursary either if I get into Cambridge for 2017? Oh, and would I really need to pay the college fee myself too?!

I'd be fine in my second and third years, but you can't start your second year without having completed your first one!!! (((( I really want to re-apply to Cambridge!

Yes, but what I'm talking about now is the Cambridge (European) bursary.

Yes, but what I'm talking about now is the Cambridge (European) bursary.

I completely agree with @vincrows, you need to contact Cambridge directly about this.

But I'll tag @Peterhouse Admissions for you anyway

......

Hey all,



Sorry if I'm being too dramatic, but I've just had a bit of a heart attack...

I explained my situation as clearly as I could in this thread:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4272198&p=67153462#post67153462


So does this mean that, as I can't get a student loan for the first year I wouldn't be able to get the Cambridge bursary either if I get into Cambridge for 2017? Oh, and would I really need to pay the college fee myself too?!

I'd be fine in my second and third years, but you can't start your second year without having completed your first one!!! (((( I really want to re-apply to Cambridge!

I'm confused. This is undoubtedly a complicated issue, but spread across several threads. Why do you think you wouldn't be eligible for support in your first year? Would you be leaving your current course before graduating? How will you be funding the living costs? Cambridge estimate annual living expenses of at least £8500 and the maximum Cambridge European Bursary is $3500.

Her background and financial situation is in the post linked in her OP. She's already had 2 years of undergraduate education in her country, and a re-applicant to Cambridge.
And the website of Cambridge European Bursary states one of the criteria for receiving the bursary is that the applicant has not had undergraduate education before applying. (Link in my post above)

Thanks, I'd still like @dorababy1995 to clarify please. The exact details are important and I don't want to give incorrect information. I really don't understand about the concerns over the first year.

I have not had two years of higher education, only one. Technically, if I *could* drop out (I really would if I could - I'd had more time to prepare for IB English literature!), I could still get 3 years of student fiannce - I'd only lose my "gift year". However, I cannot possibly drop out because
I'm a triplet and two of us have been registered blind since birth. (My brother also has an additional disability.) Our mother raised us all by herself. She used to care for us full time so we used to live on benefits, and even now that she does have a job, we still live on the equivalent of less than £100 a month. The admissions tutor at the mature college I originally applied to said I would still be eligible for the bursary. As I didn't get in for this year (and my other choices didn't offer the support I needed), I had no choice but to withdraw my application and spend another year here. I could still drop out, but I cannot possibly do so because my brother, who also has an additional disability, is off to university in September. Due to his additional disability (this is the best way I can explain this briefly; I will obviously give official evidence), he will be unable to live independently for a while, which will mean that my mother will need to be by his side at the very least for the first week, but most likely for at least the first month. This will mean that we will practically live on the bursary I get from uni, which I'd obviously stop getting if I did drop out.

• Why do you think you wouldn't be eligible for support in your first year? - because by the time I start my first year at Cambridge if I do get in, I will have spent two years in higher education. (see above)• Would you be leaving your current course before graduating? Yes, definitely. I'd leave it now if I could.• How will you be funding the living costs? Cambridge estimate annual living expenses of at least £8500 and the maximum Cambridge European Bursary is $3500. I am going to choose a college that offers additional funding, and I can also get a grant from my home country.

Btw, would I not be eligible for the "mature" bursary? I'll be 22 by Ocober 2017.

I think you're getting confused with the Student Finance eligibility. The course+1 rule applies to those getting funding through Student Finance, placing a cap on what they can claim. If your current course isn't supported through Student Finance and you leave before graduating then it is likely that you will be eligible for the Tuition Fee loan from SF. Check with @Hugh SFE though as I'm not a student finance specialist and may well be wrong.

If you complete your current course and graduate before starting in the UK you would likely be classified as an ELQ student (equivalent or lower qualification, i.e. you don't already have a Bachelor's degree) and wouldn't be eligible for the tuition fee loan or for many of the bursaries and scholarships. There is very little financial support available to those who are studying a second undergraduate degree such as affiliated students.

You'd have to check with the Cambridge Bursary team for more information on what they mean by "Will this be your first full-time undergraduate degree?" It may be that they would consider you as you wouldn't be an ELQ student or they may include the time you've spent on your current course. Sorry, you would be eligible for more as a mature student, but be advised that this higher rate is designed to reflect the fact that your living expenses are likely to be higher.

In terms of Cambridge college-specific funding, this is something you'd have to find out about on a college-by-college level.

Hmmm... From what I've read this applies to everyone - whether you got student finance or not... I hope you're right... I'm definitely leaving this course!

Btw, I've been contacting colleges and I'm just repeating what they told me.

Thanks!


Just to add.....

I understand you're considering only one mature-college (and 2 non-mature) for your re-application to Cambridge this time around, but I strongly suggest you contact all mature colleges (except for Hughes, obviously....) for the inquiry on bursaries.

To start with, it's very rare a non-mature college accept a mature student of your age. Applicants with the age of 21 or older at the start of the first academic year are most likely to be pooled/referred to a mature college if the non-mature college you applied think you're a strong enough candidate.

And I suspect it will be even more unlikely a non-mature college accepts you AND be more accommodating than normal to give you the bursary as well even you have had an undergraduate education already elsewhere. They already have a lot of standard age applicants who are the first-time undergraduate with the need of financial aids that they need to support.
I think mature colleges can be more flexible and accommodating if they have to, for the people with non-standard background and age like you as that's what they're there for.

You can contact some non-mature colleges you're interested, of course, but I really think you should contact all the non-mature colleges you're eligible to apply.

After I got my feedback I contacted nearly all Cambridge colleges and some of them did say they accept mature students. I've been emailing with admissions offices.