Financial Support from the LSE
If you are already a student at LSE, the financial help on offer differs from that available to those in the process of applying.
If you have not yet been offered a place at LSE, please refer to the LSE website at:
For prospective undergraduates www.lse.ac.uk/undergraduates/aid.htm
For prospective postgraduates www.lse.ac.uk/graduate/financing.htm
*Extra Financial Help for Existing Students
If you are an existing student there are various types of extra financial help for which you may be eligible. All the school's financial assistance funds are administered by the Financial Support Office (not by the Undergraduate and Graduate School Registries, who just hand out application forms), which can be visited during their surgery hours:
Financial Support Office
Daily surgery hours: 1pm-2pm, Student Services Centre
(no appointment necessary)
or email financial-support@lse.ac.uk
For more information, visit www.lse.ac.uk/admin/financial-support
Sending repeated emails, visiting constantly or contacting the Financial Support Office by other means will not speed your application, however urgent it may be. The best way to ensure a speedy decision is to fill in the application form carefully and accurately.
*Access Funds
*: Funded by the government and available only to full-time UK students experiencing hardship. Detailed evidence will be required for you to prove your eligibility. You will not be eligible unless you have exhausted all other sources of funding such as full student loans and interest-free overdraft facilities. You are also unlikely to be eligible unless you have also taken a part-time job in compliance with LSE's recommendation of no more than 15 hours per week. Maximum award: £3,500. Decisions usually made within 4 weeks of application
*Student Support Funds
*: Money made available by LSE itself to assist students who have encountered unforeseen financial difficulties. These funds are available to all students, including part-time, but the emphasis is on "unforeseen". You are expected to have secured sufficient funding for your entire course of study before taking up your place at LSE - simply having run out of money, underestimated the cost of London living, or having arrived hoping to secure more funding will not mean you are eligible. You will need to prove that something unexpected has happened to change your financial circumstances. Maximum award: £3,500. Decision usually made within 3 weeks of application
*Local Awards
*: Smaller amounts of money are offered by local foundations etc. One example is the Reeves Foundation which offers small awards to students living during term time in the boroughs of Camden, Islington and the City of London.
*Administrational Prizes
*: Usually small awards made on the basis of academic excellence in end-of-year results. There is no application process for these since they are simply awarded to the relevant student with the best results. See the undergraduate and graduate handbooks for more information.
