Applying for educational grants

HopeAndDriftWood

Hello
I'm applying for grants to help me through uni, as my medical condition makes it hard for me to work and I have no parental support.

Does anyone have any idea on how to word the letter, what to say, etc? I found one charity who only accepted email applications, emailed Friday night and got an email this morning rejecting the application. She gave no reasoning and when I asked for advice for future applications she said she was much too busy to give me any.

Any advice would be really appreciated...made myself cry struggling to get the library for the grant book today, but somebody has stolen it

Thanks everyone.

Shiny.Side.Up

Have you tried contacting the uni itself? They normally have a disability support system in place with advisors geared to helped you out with this stuff. They'll likely have support letter templates for you and may be able to help you get money directly from the university too.

HopeAndDriftWood

I haven't yet...the disability lady isn't too friendly, and want a letter from my doctors. I've asked him for this and he said he'd do it asap, but I don't know how nice she'll be until she has it.

I'll enquire about additional financial help though, thank you for the suggestion

Oldernotwiser

Are you in receipt of the Disabled Students Allowance or have you ever applied for it?

HopeAndDriftWood

I'm applying now, waiting for student finance to schedule me an appointment, but I've been told that its very hard to get money as they are too used to people trying to get more then they need, so I'm not pinning too much hope on it!

MrsManda

With DSA you rarely get cash, but you may be entitled to equipment and money towards buying books and paying for internet access - last year I got £200 for photocopy/printing and books as I find it difficult to read journals online and can't get to the library when I'm unwell. I also got upto £15 per month for internet access.
Did you not provide a letter of support from your doctor when you applied for DSA? Can you not use a copy of that for the disability office of your university?

As for applying for grants, I received two when I was younger. You need to treat the application similar to how you would a job application. Look at the terms of the grant, who and what is the grant for? What is their selection criteria?

Then write your application based on these things. For instance I got a grant from my previous university. The first criteria was that I was local which is easy to prove - I just gave my home address. But they were also looking for people without a family history of further education and people who had had difficulties throughout their education. I was the first person to go to university in my family so made sure that was put into my application and I'd been seriously ill throughout my G.C.S.E.s and A-levels resulting in a repeated year. I put down all this information and then got my head of year to write a reference which basically reinterated the information I'd put down about my health issues and gave me an academic reference (hardworker, academically capable etc...).
The final section of the application was for saying how I'd spend the money. For me it meant I could afford to live in halls rather than commute - much better for my health as I'd have less far to travel to my lectures.

You need to find out their selection criteria and write your application keeping that criteria at the forefront of your mind. Also check what evidence if any they need and make sure you send everything required. They will not chase you for missing information.

Good luck x

student_advisor

SaucySecrets wrote: »

Hello
I'm applying for grants to help me through uni, as my medical condition makes it hard for me to work and I have no parental support.

Does anyone have any idea on how to word the letter, what to say, etc? I found one charity who only accepted email applications, emailed Friday night and got an email this morning rejecting the application. She gave no reasoning and when I asked for advice for future applications she said she was much too busy to give me any.

Any advice would be really appreciated...made myself cry struggling to get the library for the grant book today, but somebody has stolen it

Thanks everyone.

A good way to sift through charities is to use a computer programme called Funder Finder, you can't access it online, but a lot of libraries have it available on a PC somewhere in the building.
If you are finding disability services unapproachable, why not try student services or the student union for help instead?