Access Funds Reviews

Gotta love them, they saved my life for i am poor. - Advantages: Give you money for free..., Lovely people once you see them every week, know their pets etc., FREE MONEY! - Disadvantages: Not that much money, only once a blue moon do they give it to you, run out of money

The Individual learning account is (was) a wonderful initiative made by the Government. Any adult can apply, as it is a grant towards personal achievment, your employer cannot back it. The award is 80% off the cost of selected courses, of which there are thousands to choose from, and colleges. The first million people ...  Read the complete review

I spent six years working for the Buckinghamshire Local Education Authority, finally leaving in 1990 just as student loans were being introduced. Up until then, the LEA was paying university and college tuition fees as standard, and in addition, a maintenance grant to students dependent on parental income. What that means, is that we ...  Read the complete review

I am doing a self funded Masters course this year and have had find the £2740 tuition fees myself to pay my way through this year. It was only after christmas that I found out about the very poorly advertised Hardship Fund, seen's that I did a three year undergraduate course at this University too and didn't know anything about ...  Read the complete review

Im a student at Hull college but I live outside of Hull, in Gilberdyke. When I first started I rang up the East Riding Education Authority to see if I was eligable for any help towards my travel costs ( which were going to total nearly £40 a week!!) They told me that because i am doing A levels i am not eligable for any assistance in ...  Read the complete review

I applied for an Access Fund last month and was awarded £100 for rent and £50 for personal use. How you get them is apply to the fund at you college or university. You get a form to fill out with all your personal details to be filled in. There is a section where you write why you want or need it. At the back you have to fill in ...  Read the complete review

Do u want to get money from college then you must lie through your teeth to the man who interviews you say you are poor and have no job and it costs alot to get eat and provide for yourself at college, say that you need more money to be able to come to college. i know its cheeky but that money is there for all of you, so we must all pull ...  Read the complete review

If it had not been for access funds my life would have been a complete and utter nightmare. The assistant was incrediably straight with me, I was told right away that I would only be allowed a limited amount of money, because there was no beating around the bush I felt that I was actually being treated as a person instead of a ...  Read the complete review

Advice for all of you students who have little knowledge of the system - which is usually the majority as Universities tend not to shout about free money... I am at Liverpool John Moores Univeristy and I know the system is true for others but you should check. Being short on funds last year (my second year) I went ...  Read the complete review

Access funds are a pool of money which every university in the United Kingdom has at its disposal to give out to those students who are suffering particular difficulty in making ends meet. If you are a student at any UK university who is suffering particular financial difficulty(that is to say can't afford food - not ...  Read the complete review

I am a mature student with a daughter and a husband on a low wage. I get help from my local college`s access fund to go towards nursery fees. Without this I would not be able to continue at college to try to get my A-levels for university entrance. This is the only funding that we get so I still have to pay for books as the college no ...  Read the complete review

Wasnt quite sure this was the right place for this one but here goes. An ILA is a new initative brought in by the government to get more people back into learning. If you are aged 19 or over, you can open an ILA. They are available to everyone adn they are especially useful if you have not done a lot of learning before. The ...  Read the complete review

I am a divorced single parent doing a University degree and if it wasn't for the access fund I wouldn't be able to continue the course, which will hopefully enable me to get a better job and give my child a more secure future. It takes a long time to process the application,(sometimes up to 8 weeks) which is probably the only ...  Read the complete review

It seems we all could've qualified for access funds but didn't know about it! At least at my uni (De Montfort, Leicester). Yes, it wasn't until friends of mine told me that I, being a product of a 'convential' 2.4, all singiing all labouring family, could qualify regardless. As it seems the university had to return ...  Read the complete review

i will state now i go to University College Worcester, and have just been awarded £500 from the access fund and the £500 hardship loan. I was very supprised i got this i tell you, all i needed to go back within my overdraft limit was the £500 hardship loan!. The hardship loan for those that don't know is a loan of upto £500 given to ...  Read the complete review

Firstly If you're single with no ties - FORGET IT!!!! The Access fund isn't supposed to subsidise you when you've blown your grant down the pub! The Access fund is money, provided by the Government and administered by Colleges and Universities, to help out students who experience hardship and wouldn't otherwise ...  Read the complete review

Two things on access funds. One, as has been suggested, those who do not deserve them can often get them, sometimes purely on the basis that they can produce suitable paperwork and they apply at the right time of the year. Second, awards made can be totally at random, so it swould seem, with £250 for someone in genuine need and £350 for ...  Read the complete review

I don't consider myself to be a particularly hard-up student (doh, what am I saying, i'm nopt a student anymore, as of last month) but this year I applied for my university access fund. In the previous two years i had noticed signs on display in may and june saying that they still had thousands of pounds to give ...  Read the complete review

If you are finding it difficult to manage for whatever reason then the access fund can often help you out with some extra funds. While I was at Uni I applied to the access fund in my final year. You normally have had to have taken out a student loan and have to show your last three bank statements etc, (to show that you have ...  Read the complete review

I agree that access fund are an extremely good idea, however I feel that they are being used by many who dont need it. It is very easy to apply for a hardship fund at my University. Many of my friends have applied and got up to £700 and a minumum of £200 for applying. What you find is, that those who need the money have too ...  Read the complete review