Scholarship Down

They stopped grants (similar to scholarship) when i started uni the people in the years above still got them but they basically phased it out. We were offered loans which paid for your course fees and ocassionally leaving a small amount over for books/stationary if your course fees weren't to expensive. The arrangement was that this loan was then paid back directly out of your wages as soon as you started earning over 10,000 but you still pay interest on the amount borrowed. So realistically you still needed a job for everything else bills, books, travel expenses etc. I worked an average of 30 hours a week dependent on classes (it sometimes dropped/increased) as well as full time uni in preston. It took me approx an hour to get there every morning and by the time classes finished the trains were very irregular so i ended up stranded on the platform most nights until a train decided to run. I finished in 2003 and in 2007 i still owed 10,000 and what i had paid only paid off that year only covered the interest plus 10.00 of the oustanding amount. My mum was absolutely horrified i was paying the maximum amount for some time but had to stop because it was similar amount to my tax and i just couldn't afford it so i lowered my payments. Im not in debt with credit cards or anything else so this is the only thing i have to worry about but if i'm honest i don't think i would do it again for what it has cost me verses the benefits. I would have gone straight into a job from college, possibly done night school or a learn on the job type course. There i go waffling again so to get to the point i really do feel for some of the poorer families who are going to stuggle to afford it now, or maybe even loose out on going because of it. I do think if they have real talent, dedication and determination they will make it through and may even find that they achieved more or are in a better situation than if they had, had the scholarship. I wish them all the best as it's already hard and now it's just got harder.

I never obtained a scholarship but my sister did. But here scholarship is more of an honour than the monetary benefit. May be it helps for the very poor students but no denial it’s really meager. In our country in govt. institutions needs a major revamp when comes to providing scholarships to the deserving students. It’s sad when such an important thing gets un noticed and suspended. I hope this gets sorted out soon and the students get a fair chance to concentrate on studies.

There are so many casualties of global market influences that many of us never even consider; and this is one of them. It is a sad situation when you consider how many lives they would have changed and how many talented people they have assisted to achieve things that would have probably been unachievable without them. I never received any scholarships myself, no, but I did go to school with a number of students that HAD received them and they were so grateful for the opportunities it gave them in life. Let's hope that the banks recognize all this scholarship program have achieved over all of these years and do everything they can to help them weather the storm.

[i]HI Anne, I got a scholarship when I was in Junior COllege already...It helps my family a lot since it was a full scholarship per semester, tuition and miscellaneous...I haven't tried working also during those time except one Summer when I had few subjects to enrolled! My Dad was working hard for us to be a full time student! ANyway, this news is very sad, hopefully, there will be individual who are willing to have a program and share their blessings with these deserving students![/i]

The only scholarship I ever got was awarded and then the university said, on some technicality that I could not use it. Something about having to many credits. The same thing happened to my husband. It took two years to get them to acknowledge they made a mistake and then 1) we had already graduated, and 2) they claimed they could not fix their mistake after that length of time. I would love to have had help but got through by working more jobs and unfortunately having to take longer to finish. I've known others who got financial aid even though their parents were doctors and lawyers and making lots of money, and those students bragged about lying on their financial aid forms. My personal view is that all of the job s in a university should be filled by students, and if they do not have the job skills, the universities should teach them. Also to even the playing field, I think all students should be required to work some kind of job while taking classes.

I got some book money, but I also didn't attend the university in a country where you have to pay tuition. The rest (like rent, food, etc) was paid through jobs I took on. My husband financed part of his education with scholarships though. Anyhow, pretty much all scholarship funds have taken a hit due to the current economic and financial crisis. Most of those funds were and probably still are heavily invested in the stock market. That one took a hit. Then donations to the funds are down. Everybody is trying to save money where they can. Most scholarship funds reduced the amount of money they pay or how many students they will finance. But there are more students than ever looking for such money to finance their education. It's really sad, how this trickle down effect is hurting all of us.

Wow!! I have not heard this one yet. But that is a shame for sure, and one thing that if they do not consider how it is going to Hurt everyone instead of help we are going to see things continue to get a lot worse instead of better. Personally I always thought a College education was to help people be able to get better jobs, and help to stimulate the economy some, and now this.

i feel sorry for these students who really need this scholarship...i was a scholar once myself and being one is not so easy as a lot of expectations may come..had to maintain grades and had to join some activities at school...it was difficult but worth it and its all with hard work..i hope they find ways to carry on with the scholarship for those recurring scholars...

Yes in fact, I myself have a scolarship :D Although the banks in my country aren't in financial difficulties, so everything will work out for me:) I hope :D Have a nice day..