Introduction

British university education continues to offer good value for money - the quality of teaching is high, as is the international status of British qualifications. Some students who come to study in the UK pay for their courses privately, but study can be costly and many students need to apply for scholarships or grants.

You may first wish to contact your own Ministry of Education or Education Department, as they should have details of scholarship opportunities for students wishing to study overseas. They will also be able to advise you on your own government's conditions for studying abroad. You may also contact your nearest British Council office, which should have details of British scholarship schemes. The British Council will be able to give you information about educational and training courses and about living in the UK, including how much it costs to study. If there is no British Council office, then contact your nearest British Embassy or High Commission.

You should not travel to the UK or begin a course of study without making sure that you have enough money to cover all your academic fees and living expenses. It is virtually impossible to make arrangements for financial support once you have left your own country. Also, the immigration authorities will not normally allow you into the UK unless you have evidence that you can cover the costs of your proposed study.

If you are looking for money to study in the UK you should NEVER send hundreds of applications to everyone listed in a directory. You will be wasting your time. Most grant-makers have very strict policies about who they will and will not support, so making random appeals to a large number of organisations does not get results. There is very little money around, so make sure you look at courses of study available in your own country first. If you do decide you want to study in the UK, remember that an offer of a place at a college or university does not mean that you will get a grant. Raising money is very, very difficult so be prepared for many disappointments.

If you are going to apply to an organisation, remember that even those organisations which say they have a policy to support people like yourself cannot hope to support every single eligible applicant - the number of overseas applicants is far greater than the number of grants available.

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