11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi,

Trying to weigh Indie options here (while nervously awaiting State school results) and would like some opinions please.

1. Indie1 : Scholarship award with x% fee remission.
2. Indie2 : "Nominal" Scholarship award with x% Bursary.

Yes... the "x" is exactly the same in both cases, and the tuition fee is comparable.

Lets keep distance to school, school reputation etc out of the equation for the moment.

Wondering what would be a better option financially.. and implications on the DC/us... going for a scholarship or for the bursary?

Would appreciate any comments from people having experience of any of these please.

Thanks

As far as I understand it, a scholarship award is for the duration of your dc's time at the school, whereas a bursary is means tested annually. Therefore if your financial situation changes your bursary may be reduced/lost but the scholarship would remain unchanged.

Good point lemondrop.

So,

If our income reduces it might mean - in worst case - no change in bursary.

If our income increases it might mean - in worst case - 0% bursary... but maybe we might not mind it (!) as the income has increased. But I guess your point is that it leaves us completely at the mercy of the Bursar...
I don't know how it works but next year they might say "ah well... you earned 10 GBP more this year which takes you over our threshold, hence bursary reduced to 5%"

hmm... roll on 1st March

My main problem with bursaries is that they don't look at expenditure. If my income goes up and the y cut the bursary, it is understandable. But when the Bank of England base rate increases, many families will face additional expenditure. Habs said they wouldn't take it into account when assessing the level of busaries. So it is very risky for us. It is 7 years and we should plan for worst case scenario to avoid a surprise.

Our DS has not won scholarship, but if I had a choice I would prefer scholarship no matter is it was a % or a fixed amount.

Thanks for the comment nat... definitely need to consider that implication.

I suspect that bursaries may be a more negotiable amount and if the school can afford it then they stay the same amount of money payable by the parents (ie an increasing percentage as the bursary) as the fees increase.
A 25% scholarship on 12k is worth 3k, leaving 9k - when the fees double it will be leaving 18k to be found by the parents - possible that the bursary may become a better deal

Although I do not know the full circumstances of the school I would normally choose the scholarship route if it is of the same value. If your finances are affected negatively then because your child is a scholar there is a high chance that she would be given priority over another child for a bursary. If your situation improves then you will still have the scholarship whereas you will not have the bursary.

I always hate being in receipt of a bursary as I find it difficult to discuss any disatisfactions we are having. With a scholarship I feel differently!

Scholarship is something a child can put on their CV. Bursary isn't!

guest43 wrote:Scholarship is something a child can put on their CV. Bursary isn't!

Agreed guest43.

However the complication is that the Indie which has given the bursary has also given a scholarship.

But do see the point that it will be much easier to say "got x% scholarship" rather than saying "got scholarship.. oh and x% bursary"

I don't really think there is a right answer! Maybe you should consider which of the indes you prefer, ignoring the financial aspect?!