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Financial Support

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College funding

Personal Independence Payment

Young people over the age of 16 cannot claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Instead, you must apply for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP). You can claim PIP if your disability or health condition means that one or both of the following are true:

• You need help looking after yourself
• You have difficulty walking
  
  

16-19 Bursary Fund

You could get a bursary to help with education-related costs if you’re aged 16 to 19 and:

• studying at a publicly funded school or college in England - not a university
• on a training course, including unpaid work experience
  
  

Discretionary Bursaries

Your school or college will have their own criteria for discretionary bursaries. They’ll look at your individual circumstances - this usually includes your family income.

Ask student services about their criteria and any evidence you’ll need.

You can apply to a discretionary bursary if you’re over 19 and either:

• continuing on a course you started aged 16 to 18 (known as being a ‘19+ continuer’)
• have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

University funding

Tips for Disability Funding

• Start with Disabled Students’ Allowances — DSAs are the main form of financial support for students with disabilities. Because the amount you receive is determined by individual need – rather than factors like household income – this should cover any extra costs that arise from your disability or condition.
  
  
• Some funding providers might ask for your DSA assessment as part of your supporting evidence, or may not consider your application if you haven’t asked for this support.
  
  
• Be transparent – you’re not legally obligated to disclose a disability, mental health condition, or long-term health condition to a university or college. But if you do, they can let you know about funding and special support you can access – this may sway your decision when you respond to offers.
  
  
• Knowing this support exists can save you time and effort searching for funding elsewhere, as well as reassure you about your transition to student life, in general.
  
  
• Know your expenses – having a firm grasp of your living and study costs – plus any extra costs as a result of your condition– will help when working out your student budget, including which money holes you need to fill.
  
  
• Plus, a funding provider may want to know how you plan to use a grant or bursary they’re offering, when assessing your application – this might involve giving exact or rough figures for expenses.
  
  
• Knowing what these are can save a lot of time, especially if you’re applying to many bursaries and grants.

It may also be worth having some pre-prepared questions for the open day - check out:

Hot tips for Open Day Questions

Work funding

Access to Work

• Access to Work - What is it?
• Access to work funding is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions to support young people and adults with learning difficulties or disabilities into employment.
• The funding is for equipment or additional support you may need so you can work. This could include a BSL interpreter, specialist furniture, a job coach and supporting you to get to and from work.