Concerns about money can affect all areas of your student experience. If you need financial help while studying at Cambridge there is a wide range of support available and a number of people you can talk to.
Budgeting
Firstly, make sure you’re getting the most out of the funds you have available. Advice is available from independent sources about good ways to work out your budget and plan your spending, for example the Money Saving Expert student budgeting planner. Cambridge SU provides financial advice including some Cambridge-focused money saving tips here: Finance (cambridgesu.co.uk).
Loans, bursaries and awards
There’s a range of financial help available to students at Cambridge, including government student loans for tuition fees and living costs, the Cambridge Bursary Scheme (Undergraduates), and College awards. For more information, see Funding | Cambridge students
Financial difficulties
If you find yourself in financial difficulties during the course of your studies, the first step is to talk to your College. Some Colleges have a finance officer but in all cases you can ask your College Tutor or Senior Tutor who you can talk to about financial concerns. There may be some financial support available from the College – in which case they can help with information on that – and they will also be able to provide you with support to access University funds, and can assist with any application you may make.
University hardship funds
A number of funds are available from the University to meet various needs. A table setting out the funds is available here: Overview of Financial Support | Cambridge students.
You can also use our student hardship fund selector to find out which fund would be best suited for your needs.
One avenue open to all registered, active students in financial difficulty is the University’s Undergraduate and Postgraduate Hardship Funds. These funds are open for applications each term and can make awards of up to £2000 for unforeseen hardship. There is an additional £1,500 available to assist with living costs due to the cost of living crisis.
For additional questions about the application process you can contact the Student Funding and Fee Policy Team.
Student Advice Service
The Student Advice Service can give you free, impartial and confidential advice on funding, and can help with navigating funding applications at the University too.