Bursary vs scholarship

[sw3]

I am asking this for my friend. Her DD got 100% bursary from a top girl school today.

I think her DD is strong both academically and musically (diploma for 1st instrument). However, the school didn't give her academic or music scholarship but a full cover bursary.

Makes sense if bursary is already 100% no need for others. But the problem is bursary is subject to annual review and if their financial conditions improves, do they need to pay? She is struggling whether to accept the offer.

Besides, wondering in the bursary/scholarship assessment, does bursary have priority? She has hoped to get scholarship and then partly being covered by bursary so that they have some funds secured for years.

Thanks.

[bupps]

Best suggestion would be to speak to the school to understand whether they have income/financial resource levels at which the bursary is tapered.

I'd hazard a guess that it's unlikely to go from 100% to 0% at a single threshold, but more likely to be a sliding scale. Which, depending on your point of view, is a reasonable thing to happen. If, for example, the parents suddenly inherit a large some of money the reasons for awarding the bursary may no longer apply. Also, don't be so sure that scholarships don't also come with conditions attached that could see them removed/reduced in future years... just different criteria applied.

[Daogroupie]

They are quite different things.

A bursary is for applicants who have met the standard but are not able to afford the fees.

A scholarship is for those who have achieved a very high standard in the exams and who the school really want to have come to the school.

Scholarships definitely work as you can see from the posts on here.

Of course busaries need to be reviewed annually to make sure students still qualify for them.

If her financial condition improves then she will be able to pay a percentage.

Schools are increasingly abandoning scholarships for bursaries.

A bursary is much safer as it is funds available each year to cover the costs.

DG

[sw3]

Tvm!

They are quite different things.

A bursary is for applicants who have met the standard but are not able to afford the fees.

A scholarship is for those who have achieved a very high standard in the exams and who the school really want to have come to the school.

Scholarships definitely work as you can see from the posts on here.

Of course busaries need to be reviewed annually to make sure students still qualify for them.

If her financial condition improves then she will be able to pay a percentage.

Schools are increasingly abandoning scholarships for bursaries.

A bursary is much safer as it is funds available each year to cover the costs.

DG

[sw3]

Thank you. But for a strong student with poor financial conditions, will they tend to get bursary or scholarship?

They are quite different things.

A bursary is for applicants who have met the standard but are not able to afford the fees.

A scholarship is for those who have achieved a very high standard in the exams and who the school really want to have come to the school.

Scholarships definitely work as you can see from the posts on here.

Of course busaries need to be reviewed annually to make sure students still qualify for them.

If her financial condition improves then she will be able to pay a percentage.

Schools are increasingly abandoning scholarships for bursaries.

A bursary is much safer as it is funds available each year to cover the costs.

DG

[Daogroupie]

They will get a bursary. DG

[sw3]

thanks. Is the logic that they can give scholarships to a broader candidates and only want to select the most competitive ones for bursaries?

They will get a bursary. DG

[nyr]

My guess is that they have a strong applicant that they want in the school. The candidate qualifies for a bursary so offer her that. From the school's perspective, it would tick the boxes for charitable status.

[sw3]

Thanks. Am I right the funding for scholarships and bursaries comes both from the school? Will there be any tax benefits if they give bursary instead of scholarship? Just curious why they wouldn't give her part academic and part bursary which is a typical combination I heard. My friend worries that they will taper the bursaries year by year...

thanks again.

My guess is that they have a strong applicant that they want in the school. The candidate qualifies for a bursary so offer her that. From the school's perspective, it would tick the boxes for charitable status.

[kenyancowgirl]

Your friend should be very happy. There is VERY little money in a scholarship award, and most bursaries are capped at around 50% - schools tend to only give 100% bursaries to children they really, really, really want to come - who are from a low financial background.

Unless your friend suddnely finds that she has won the lottery, then, if her financial situation remains broadly the same, the bursary is likely to remain at the 100% offer - for any income earned above her current status, the bursary award may drop slightly but she will inevitably still be far better off with teh bursary than she ever would be with a scholarship (which are often as little as 5-10% of fees only).

Bursaries are means tested, scholarships are not. Most private schools are moving furhter and further away from financial scholarships (as they are worth so little to the individual) and more and more bursaries are on offer - but 100% ones are very rare! So she has done very well. Some schools have "scholars" who are people who are awarded a scholarship in name only - they get no fee relief but are able to refer to themselves as scholars. Honestly, the bursary is the better of the two!