Is it possible to get finance to get to uni open days?

Hello. At the moment my family have no money and I will be unable to attend any open days for universities which should be really helpful. Is there anywhere I can get a bursary or financial assistance to pay for transport?

Reply 1

PS Reviewer

Original post by cleverasvoltaire

You would have to contact each university directly and ask if they're able to fund/reimburse transport costs to attend their open day. Some will have a special fund for this, others might be able to make an exception in a special case and others might not be able to help.

Quite often the cheapest way is to find out if any friends are going to open days and ask if they might have room in their car if they're driving. I've known quite a few students who've travelled to universities all over the country without paying a penny simply by asking friends (and even people they aren't that friendly with). If someone is driving a car anyway it costs no more to have 2 passengers - plus with an extra person attending you can split up and visit different things and then swap notes on the journey home about anything particularly good/bad.

Lastly - don't dismiss your local universities. Even if you're not planning on going there it is usually worth attending an open day to get a feel for what the day can be like, what sort of information you'll get given, what halls of residence look like etc etc.

Reply 2

SlowlorisIncognito

Original post by cleverasvoltaire

As has been said, some universities will offer to reimburse your expenses in some circumstances and there are often ways to visit open days without incurring too much in the way of expenses.

However, between now and your student loan coming in, there are going to be a lot of one off costs you will/may face- from paying for your UCAS application to paying your accommodation deposit. If this is likely to be a long term problem, you need to think in advance about how you will fund these things.

Could you get a job over the summer to help fund some of this? This might also mean you could afford to attend open days in the autumn, which would still give you a chance to visit before you finalise your application.

Reply 3

ByronicHero

Ask your school if they would be willing to fund you as sometimes schools are willing to do this for students experiencing financial hardship. It is much more common to receive financial help to attend interviews (my school paid for my travel as I was living alone throughout my A levels) but it doesn't hurt to ask anyway. I didn't go to a single open day and, to be honest, doubt I would go to any if I were applying today either.