Kings Student Money Mentors

National Student Money Week – Extra Support from King’s!

(Credit – ‘Vasily Koloda’ at Unsplash)

Hi there! I know that being a student at this time with the current cost-of-living crisis can be really difficult. There can be a lot of anxiety regarding how you might manage at university. At King’s College London, we are committed to supporting you through this and you’re not alone in this journey. 

Whether you’re facing unexpected hardships or just need a little extra help to get by, KCL has got your back with a range of financial aid options.

What funding is available?

King’s Living Bursary: 

This bursary is specifically for home fee students with a household income of £42,975 or less. This bursary aims to alleviate the day-to-day financial pressures of university life. The level of bursary you receive depends on your household income. You don’t need to apply for this bursary as eligible students will be automatically contacted by the King’s College Funding Team.

King’s Student Fund

Students receiving the King’s Living Bursary may also be eligible for the King’s Student Fund to provide further support. If you experience a sudden financial hardship or change in circumstances, you can apply for this fund to help pay your rent, bills or travel. King’s Student Fund is open to Home Students and you can receive up to £3,500.

King’s Hardship Fund: If you’re not receiving the King’s Living Bursary then this one’s for you. This fund is open to all home-fee students, including undergraduates, postgraduates, and those on an NHS funded year. Similarly to the King’s Student Fund, if you experience a sudden financial hardship or change in circumstances, you can apply for this. Make sure to get in touch and apply for this as soon as possible. If you’re successful, you could receive up to £3,500.

International Hardship Fund: 

What about international students? This fund is available for any international or EU students experiencing financial hardship. You could receive up to £6,000 to support your finances. Note that to apply for this fund, students must have made provision for their studies but have experienced an unforeseen change of circumstances.

 Kings Medical and Dental Fund:

The King’s Medical and Dental Fund provides financial support for undergraduate students in need of financial support who are Home, EU or international and on a Medical or Dental programme. If successful, you could receive anywhere from £250 to £5,000.

MBBS Conference Scheme:

Presenting any research you have undertaken is a great way to boost your portfolio. The drawback is that conferences are expensive. The MBBS Conference Scheme provides funding for medical students who wish to present their research at a conference. Students can receive funding ranging from £150 (for online conferences), to up to £1,300 (for worldwide conferences). Funding can be used to cover registration, travel and/or accommodation. Make sure to check the eligibility criteria on Keats before applying.

Broadening Horizons Award:

This funding opportunity is aimed at increasing the number of ‘widening participation students’ who can access mobility opportunities. Mobility opportunities can include term-time study abroad, work placements, summer exchange programmes and elective experiences all over the world. Applicants must be home-fee-paying undergraduate students who meet at least one of the eligibility criteria and who are completing an eligible activity. Click on the link for more information about the eligibility criteria. 

External Opportunities:

Beyond the internal support here at King’s, there are also many external funding opportunities available. These cover everything from general financial support to specific placement funding or education grants. 

Have a look at the funding hub on Blackbullion which has a list of several funding options for your course, just a click away! Scholarship hub is also a great rescource for checking for external opportunities.  

Remember, you’re not alone

At King’s College London, we believe that financial barriers should not prevent anyone from achieving their goals. The links below explain funding in more detail. As always, King’s Money and Housing team is available for support and further advice if needed.

What loans, grants or scholarships can I get from King’s?

I’m having money difficulties, where can I find support?

Hardship Funds

I’m an International student, what financial support can I access?

What are the fees and funding options available for undergraduate study?

What funding is available for students on a work placement?

What education grants are available to help me?

What funding is available for postgraduate studies?

What funding opportunities are available to me?

If you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Money Mentors or the Specialist Advisors in the Money & Housing Advice team.

Aanchal Raina
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.

National Student Money Week – Money on your Mind:

(Credit – ‘Viacheslav Bublyk’ on Unsplash)

I know what it’s like to feel anxious about money when you really need to pay attention to your studies.. The fact is, studying in university is hard, but worrying about money makes it a lot harder. In such moments of worry it’s easy to forget that you’re not alone, and that lots of other students are experiencing similar thoughts, but don’t worry, as one of the King’s Student Money Mentors, I’ve compiled some useful links and advice on dealing with financial anxiety and its causes for you in this blog, so read on… 🙂

Seeking help

First, it is important to notice when your worry turns into full-fledged anxiety. If you are struggling with day-to-day tasks, sleeping, or staying focused in class because of money troubles, it might be time to consider asking for help. Luckily, King’s cares a lot about its students’ well-being. It provides us with a free counseling service Counselling & Mental Health Support | King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk), and you can also turn to the King’s Faculty Wellbeing Advisors when you feel like you’re struggling and could use some extra support. You can read more about them and other types of wellbeing support King’s provides in the following articles:

In addition to thinking about your mental health and wellbeing, we have compiled some further adcise which we hope is a help:

Paying for education

Dealing with financial anxiety also involves resolving the root of the issue – for many, it is the struggle of paying for their studies. If you worried about your finances take a look at the bursaries, scholarships and hardship funds that KCL offers. You can find more detailed information about them, as well as external opportunities in the following link:

How can I find scholarships, bursaries and grants?

It’s also worth taking a look at the Student Services Online platform, which allows you to look up any question you might be worried about by typing it into a search bar. And chances are, you probably aren’t the only one asking about it, so it will have an answer!

Finding/paying for accommodation

Being a student in London, which is arguably one of the most expensive cities in the world, puts another heavy burden on us – accommodation! It’s hard to find and even harder to afford, but King’s is here to help – our Money and Housing team is FANTASTIC! Seriously, I couldn’t give them enough credit. When I needed help with finding affordable accommodation for a short stay, I filled in a form on their website King’s College London – Accessing our services (kcl.ac.uk) . They reached back to me only a couple of days later with a huge list of helpful links and advice on finding one. If you’re struggling with finding accommodation, paying for one, or you have worries with your landlord, give this amazing service a shot!

Budgeting

Learning to budget is an important life skill and can help when money is tight as a student. Have a read of KA-01675 · Student Services Online (kcl.ac.uk) If you have any further questions about budgeting please do reach out oto the Money and Housing Team.

Having fun

Lastly, it is important to remember that a big part of our university experience, especially since we study in London, is the fun things that it offers. There are plenty of great and entertaining things to do around the city. In today’s blog post, I won’t go too much into detail on them, here are some useful links that do, including one of our previous blogs on this topic:

I know money problems can be difficult to manage and hard to think about, but I hope this blog has helped you to start navigating ways to ease the worries you might have. If you feel that you would benefit from some more help right now, fill in the previously mentioned Money and Housing team form, and they will get back to you with personalised advice 😊

Amaliia Popova

King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

National Student Money Week – Scams and Frauds:

(Credit – ‘Growtika’ at Unsplash)

Have you ever received any suspicious messages or calls asking for your personal details or bank accounts? Whenever you’re asked to share your details or pay another person, always be wary of the chance of them being scams. Unfortunately, there are lots of different kinds of scams that target students every year and becoming a victim of these can have a big impact on your financial situation. In today’s post, I’ve outlined some of the scams that students may encounter during their studies and how to avoid them.

Social media scams

Some scammers may try to hack into your social media to gain private information associated with your account. If scammers use your personal account to share scam messages with your contacts, they could affect even more people and potentially cause a financial loss to many. Having a strong password and a two-step verification can prevent scammers accessing your account. You should also be wary of product advertisements on social media as some scammers may trick you into making a payment in advance without sending the actual product. Be cautious of purchasing products directly from another person that you don’t know and consider the possibility of it being a scam.

Housing scams

Looking for housing as a student can be overwhelming at the best of times. Navigating properties, contracts, bills, and independent living is challenging, especially with the current cost of living crisis. Scammers can trick prospective tenants into paying money in advance, often for properties that do not exist or belong to an unaware property owner. Common warning signs that should alert you towards a potential scammer include an extremely low rent, request for a deposit prior to viewing the property and use of money transferring services to make transactions. Therefore, it is essential that you thoroughly investigate the property before performing any transactions. For example, you can research the average rental prices in the area using property search tools such as Rightmove or Zoopla to judge whether the rent is reasonable. Do not make any payments before viewing the property in person. If you are unsure about the legal owner of the property, a quick search on the Land Registry, costing as little as £3 can provide you with this information. UHLS also offer a contract checking service if this is something you think would be a help.

Last thing, always be careful of where you’re looking to rent – Gumtree for example has been used many times in the past to scam people in this way, so try and make sure you’re using a reputable source, like the websites I mentioned above.

Phone/email scams

We have all at some point received a dubious email or a text instructing us to click on a link. It can be easy to fall into this trap and click on the link because often, the scammers use legitimate company names or formal messages to trick you into doing so. Clicking on the link may result in a virus being downloaded onto your device or the scammers may be abl to access your passwords and personal information. Another common scam involves an email or a text, supposedly from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) saying that you are eligible to claim money by clicking on the link or calling a certain number. If in doubt, it is best to contact the HMRC to establish whether you are eligible for a refund. In most cases, if you are eligible, the HMRC automatically sends you the entitled amount. Another very common scam is through the phone where fraudsters convincingly pretend to be from your bank and ask for your card or bank details over the phone, so always think carefully before giving away your bank details over the phone, . If you have any concerns, you should end the call and ring your bank back.

Another common way scammers try and target people is via delivery services. Lots of times, you’ll get an email or text pretending to be from Amazon or DPD saying you need to change your account information or make a payment to receive a parcelAlways check if there really is a parcel that’s due (lots of the time they’re just relying on you assuming you’ve ordered something you don’t remember!) and pay careful attention to what the email/text looks like For example if it’s from a personal mobile number/the email contains spelling mistakes/letters that are normally in capitals are in lower case/they’re saying something bad will happen (e.g. your account will be blocked immediately if you don’t pay), then be wary, and try and investigate whether this is a genuine email (contact customer services if you’re unsure), before agreeing to what they’ve asked you to do.

Actions to take if you’re the victim of a scam

In the unfortunate event that you have been scammed, firstly, don’t panic. Remember that several people may have been tricked into a similar situation, so you are not alone! But it is important to report this immediately to prevent this from happening to others. Some of the steps that you can take include:

Report the scam to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040)
Report the scam to the company that the scammers are pretending to belong to e.g. Royal Mail, HMRC, etc.
Speak to your bank. It is best to make payments via credit card [SM1] where possible, as this increases the likelihood that your bank will issue you a refund.
Speak to the KCL Money & Housing Advice Service for advice on how to proceed. They will advise you on the steps to take and provide support.
Reach out to your family and friends to inform others of scams to be aware of. You might be surprised by how many others are in a similar situation!

I know that being targeted for scams can be a scary and frustrating experience. I hope this helps you to stay alert to the different kinds of scams, and always think twice before sharing your personal or bank details with another person. Remember, if you do become a victim of a scam, there is help out there for you!

You might also want to have a read of KA-01682 · Student Services Online (kcl.ac.uk)

King’s Student Money Mentors
Part of Money & Housing Advice