The Student Room Group
Reply 1
Original post by McGinger
Is this true - "In the fifth year of studying, student loans from Student Finance England for maintenance and tuition fees are stopped.
From year five onwards, tuition fees are paid by the NHS Student Bursary Scheme, along with a reduced maintenance loan and a non-means tested grant of £1,000." - is that all?

I'm a medical student struggling with the rising cost of living | Metro News

From 5th year onwards (if not resits):
Tuition fees are paid by the NHS and are not repayable
Everyone gets an NHS grant of £1000 (not repayable)
You can get a reduced amount of student loan (less than £2K, I think, if final year, more if Yr 5 of 6 year degre - but not much) - repayable as normal
There is a means-tested component to the NHS bursary which some people will qualify for (not repayable, about £2.5K outside London, dependent on how long the year is, I think)
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2020-06/NHS%20Bursary%20Funding%20for%20Medical%20and%20Dental%20Students%202020-21%20%28V1%29%2006%202020.pdf
Reply 2
Original post by McGinger
Is this true - "In the fifth year of studying, student loans from Student Finance England for maintenance and tuition fees are stopped.
From year five onwards, tuition fees are paid by the NHS Student Bursary Scheme, along with a reduced maintenance loan and a non-means tested grant of £1,000." - is that all?

I'm a medical student struggling with the rising cost of living | Metro News


With a name like McGinger you might be Scottish, so on a different, more generous, funding scheme.

I think the struggle varies across medical schools - many (maybe most?) fund travel to placements, Bristol provides free accommodation at remote hospitals so it is possible to not pay rent in the final year. But funding is tight in the bursary funded years and I have heard that it is normal to live on overdrafts, which should not be necessary.
Reply 3
Why does the funding suddenly drop - what is the rationale for that?
Reply 4
Original post by McGinger
Why does the funding suddenly drop - what is the rationale for that?


You think they have thought anything through? 😂😂😂
I suspect it is a hangover from days when final year medical students could do some paid work on the wards as part of their training, and would generally get free accommodation available on clinical placements.

Those days have long gone at many places but either nobody has thought, or rather there are no funds, to change the payments
Reply 5
Original post by McGinger
Why does the funding suddenly drop - what is the rationale for that?


And if you get full means-tested bursary with extra weeks, I don’t think it drops much more than final year loans, but minimum bursary is less than minimum loan, and there are very few parents who can (or will) fund most of final year living costs. It is those in the “mid” ranges (which are not mid at all, as threshold earnings are pitiful) who have the most problems.
Hi, my son is a 4th year medical student in Scotland receiving his Maintenance loan from SFE, there’s no NHS bursary in Scotland but SFE has reduced his loan as if he is receiving the Bursary, he now has a shortfall of over £2k