Financial support enabled me to continue my voluntary work

Hi, I’m Marija. I’m a first year BSc Adult Nursing student at King’s College London, and I’m a Perseverance Trust Scholarship holder.

The immense honour and privilege I feel to have been chosen as a recipient of the scholarship is only paralleled by the pride I have to be studying within the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery. This is due to the incredibly large range of academic opportunities and extracurricular activities on offer to students who study here, and you can’t ignore the fact that we’re ranked as the top Nursing School in the UK and third in the world!

I discovered the Perseverance Trust Scholarship through independent research for financial support opportunities prior to the start of my course. As I was eligible, I knew I would be applying for the scholarship once I received my offer to study at King’s. So, as you can imagine, I was overcome with joy when I was awarded the scholarship as I knew how much of a financial burden would be taken off my shoulders. My joy largely stemmed from the knowledge that the additional financial support would enable me to continue my voluntary work in palliative care, which is the area that I plan to specialise in once I am qualified. Without that additional funding I might not have been able to afford to volunteer my time and I feel I would have missed out on this really rewarding and beneficial opportunity.

Having increased financial stability has allowed me to focus on continuing to achieve to a high academic standard and to concentrate on providing a personal patient-centred approach while I’m on placement. Additionally, it has allowed me to take part in various other experiences offered by King’s to its students, such as the long list of societies and activities run by the student union.

I would encourage anyone starting their journey at King’s to apply for the scholarship. The process is quick and easy, and there’s always a member of the Faculty available to you to answer any questions regarding the application process. Trust me, it will be worth it.

Good luck!

Benefits of a Perseverance Trust Scholarship

Hello , my name is Rachael Williams. I’m a first year Adult Nursing BSc student and I am so proud to be a recipient of the Perseverance Trust Scholarship.

Initially I found out  about the scholarship from a King’s College London financial support leaflet hidden among my collection of items gathered during fresher’s week. I decided that, seeing as I was eligible for the scholarship, there was no harm in applying – and I’m so pleased I did!

As a successful recipient of the award, I can now focus more on my studies without having to worry about money, and it means I now have the opportunity to afford an international trip for my elective placement  in the second year. The elective placement allows students in our Faculty to study anywhere in the UK or around the world for six weeks, and I plan to work in  hospitals and community health centres in the mountainous region of Nepal. This elective will give me the opportunity to work with the local people, and learn more about their healthcare system, culture and language for the month. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the Perseverance Trust Scholarship.

King’s College London offers so many opportunities for students, from academic and financial support, to social activities and health awareness. All you need to do is look at what’s avaliable! Since joining King’s College London after sixth form, I have explored many of these opportunities by attending academic discussions, joining many sports clubs and the African Carribean Society – I’ve even been elected Health and Wellbeing Officer for this society!

The Perservance Trust Scholarship has given me the opportunity to support myself and have financial stability as I study for my degree. I encourage everyone, who has the chance to apply for the scholarship, to do so, as it can be an incredible financial aid for a student and can open so many doors to you.

For more information on the Perseverance Trust Scholarship, click here.

Funding for nursing students explained by Melissa

My name is Melissa, and I am a postgraduate Adult Nursing student. In this blog I’ll be talking about funding.

Despite recent changes to the funding for undergraduate healthcare subjects, postgraduate diplomas are thankfully unaffected and diploma students will still be entitled to the NHS funded programme of study. This means that not only are your tuition fees paid for but, depending on whether you would be considered an independent (financially self-supporting) or a dependent student (financially reliant on one’s parent(s)/guardian), you may also be able to receive fiscal support for living costs. Click here to find out more!

So how does this process work? Once you receive an offer from King’s – whether it be unconditional or conditional – you will be prompted by UCAS to apply for your bursary. It is important to note that all students who apply to have their tuition fees paid for will receive a £1,000 annual bursary which is not means tested. So around March you can apply for your NHS Bursary, but you have until the end of May to apply and receive your allowance on time for the start of term. The application process is made simple through its step-by-step guide on what to do and, once you’ve filled in the online application with the relevant financial information, you will need to send off relevant original documentation to the given address. It is highly recommended that you use recorded delivery due to the importance of the documents.

Special allowances are also added to an individual’s entitlement, should they be eligible. This includes extra funding for childcare and adult dependents, among others. A London-weighting is also provided due to the high cost of living within a big city.

Once the whole process is complete you’ll be able to log into your account to see how much you are entitled to, and when you will receive your payment. However if your circumstances change during your studies, you are contracted to inform NHS Bursary and your allowance will follow suit. For example, if you are a classified as a dependent student living at home, and throughout the year you move out into your own accommodation, all you will need to do is fill in a ‘Change in circumstance’ form and send it off and your allowance will be altered.

Entitlement to the NHS Bursary is not at all affected by whether you possess a previous degree and/or a previous set of loans.

Lastly it’s important to stress that this may all seem rather daunting and possibly discouraging, but there are many opportunities to find work through King’s College London in order to obtain extra income. King’s also gives away annual scholarships and there is a Hardship Fund which provides eligible students struggling financially with monetary support.

Though the application process may be new and rather time-consuming, NHS Bursaries are the link to higher development and bright career aspects for many individuals. I can attest to this fact as I love my current studies and the career I’m moving into – and that wouldn’t be possible without going through this funding process. We here at King’s encourage you to research your options in regards to funding, and not allow finances to be a barrier between you and your destined career.

For the full list of funding scholarship and funding opportunities click here.

Best wishes,

Melissa Vandy

Adult Nursing