question regarding bursary

tylerboyo

hi,
i am in uwic university, studying graphic design, in my first year.
at interviews, and welcome packs, it was advetsied, around february time, we would all receive a £1000 bursary(for all 3yrs of th course), for just being on the course. come february, the whole class of around 45 got it. apart from a select few, that accepted the offer, through ucas too late(now, we didnt accept it too late to get on the course, but the uni are saying if you didnt accept it before th end of july you arent eligible for the bursary, they are only saying this now, IT WASNT ADVERTISED AS THIS). now, this wasnt advertised AT ALL. now i just thought, whatever ill just leave it, as im quite well off for a student as i run my own business. but now, a friend of mine from the class, that also didnt receive it, has just got a reply to a letter, he wrote around 2months ago, saying he will now receive the bursasry. he was late with accepting the offer through ucas. also some1 else from the class, got it, without complaining, and he also accepted the ucas offer too late.
now, asfter my friends success, i am going too write a letter tonight, and send it off tomorrow.
any tips are appreciated. is there any legal threat i can make, for giving it to 2people, who werent eligible, and not giving it to me?
also to be eligible, you had to have 70% attendance, and i know for a fact at least 5 people, didnt meet that 70%, and still got it.
now i dont NEED this money, but now the fact, i know 2 people that shouldnt have got it, do have it, its made me determined to get it out of principle, and of course what 19yr old wouldnt want 1000 for free?
anyway sorry for the rant, any help is appreciated.
thanks in advance
tyler

Savvy_Sue

I would not, at this stage, threaten anything, just point out the facts as they apply to you:

You initially accepted that you were not entitled to the bursary because you did not accept the offer by 31 July, but you have now discovered that two people in a similar position to you HAVE received it.

You understand that attendance has to be over 70% and you have met this (I presume you have - if you haven't, I'd just slink off at this point!)

And you ask politely if there is any reason you are not aware of why you haven't received the bursary when others have.

You could also politely point out that the deadline for accepting the offer was never made clear, and suggest they amend future publicity.

Being nice often gets better results than ranting and demanding and threatening legal action. In fact I can't see what grounds you'd have for legal action unless you have a valid reason for thinking that you didn't get your bursary just because you're black / female / gay / old / disabled.