From education to employment

Scholarships — Can You Graduate With Zero Debt?

Struggling students, strapped for cash, are set to benefit from a mobile app which helps them find scholarship funding.

Cash-poor students who are fearful about leaving University saddled with crippling debts will now be able to find financial relief with an app that allows them to locate grants and scholarships to help ease their funding woes.

GrantFairy is a new mobile app that gives school and university students access to over 4,500 bursaries, grants and scholarships. The app is designed to help reduce the burden of study-related debt, which continues to rise year-on-year ā€“ a situation which many consider to be unsustainable.

Myles Jardine, the 21-year-old founder of GrantFairy said:

ā€œWhile university is often hailed as the best time of our lives, what many people often fail to address is the amount of debt that students graduate with. Thereā€™s also the concern about how this could affect them later on in life with things like mortgages and credit ratings.ā€

Stressed students donā€™t need to worry about adding to their already heavy workload as the clever app does all the work for them, allowing them to create a personal profile and instantly matching them with tens of thousands of pounds-worth of educational grants and scholarships, all tailored to their individual needs.

But surely scholarships are only for the brightest students, arenā€™t they?

ā€œMany people think that scholarships are only for high-flyers, but thatā€™s simply not the case: you would be surprised at some of the things which qualify you for funding. Vegetarian? Single mum? Play a musical instrument? There are scholarships for everyone.ā€

Students Graduating with Ā£50,000 Debts

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In recent years the cost of tuition fees has reached eye-watering levels, tripling in 2012 alone and meaning that the average UK university student will now graduate with debts exceeding Ā£50,000.

ā€œTypically our users find they are eligible to apply for more than Ā£85,000-worth of scholarships. GrantFairyā€™s extensive database and our highly-targeted search tools allow students to gain access to scholarship opportunities which they may otherwise have not known existed. We believe that students need to consider all their options when it comes to funding a degree, and it is important to understand that student loans arenā€™t the only option available to you.ā€

Jardine is also working with several educational charities and has recently received an invitation from The Princeā€™s Trust Ambassadors scheme, an organization he is very keen to promote.

ā€œThe Princeā€™s Trust helps tens of thousands of young people gain access to education and employment every year. As someone who was personally put off the idea of going to university because of the enormous debt that I would have incurred, I worry how that debt will affect my generation. It could mean many young people are forced to postpone major life decisions like starting a family or buying their first home, and I donā€™t think that problem is being addressed adequately. Working with the Trust means I can connect with more young people and help explain what opportunities are available to them.ā€

And what about the debt worries associated with student loans?

ā€œMy hope is that GrantFairy will help to alleviate those concerns by giving students the opportunity to apply for funding so they can enjoy their university experience without the prospect of crippling debt weighing heavily on their minds. But to accomplish that, we need to change our way of thinking: weā€™ve fallen into the trap of signing up for student loans without considering the consequences. Itā€™s only when students are graduating and the loan statements start arriving from the Student Loan Company that they realize thereā€™s a problem. But by then itā€™s too late.ā€

ā€œThe solution is to make scholarships a part of the university application process: fill out the UCAS forms, apply for a student loan, and THEN apply for scholarships too. The student loan is there to back you up in case you need extra money, like your overdraft at the bank. But you may not need it. Scholarships are available for everyone. And itā€™s free money!ā€

ā€œThe future is bright and we should approach education as we do everythingā€¦ head-on and with confidence.ā€

GrantFairy is available on iOS, Android & as a WebApp.


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