Student hardship funds explained
Students are being hit hard by the cost of living crisis. While inflation has eased slightly from its peaks, everyday expenses remain high across the board, particularly without a salary to match.
In fact, The National Student Money Survey 2025 shows that students now spend an average of £1,142 per month, with rent alone averaging £529 per month.
Unsurprisingly, many are struggling — a quarter of students say they are regularly going without essentials, and hardship fund applications remain almost 80% higher than pre-COVID levels.
And our data at The 93% Club backs this up, with our latest survey revealing that more than than a third of working-class students report working multiple part-time jobs or one full-time job while studying. But it still isn’t enough. 39% told us that they’ve had to take out additional loans to cover their day-to-day living costs, with this figure rising sharply to 58% amongst those from working class backgrounds.
Luckily, UK universities continue to provide student hardship funds to support students in financial difficulty.
But what is a student hardship fund, who is eligible, and where can you find them in 2025? This guide covers everything you need to know.
What is a student hardship fund?
A student hardship fund is a financial support programme designed to help students facing financial difficulties.
Unlike maintenance loans from Student Finance, hardship funds are usually administered by universities or colleges, and they don’t normally need to be repaid.
They exist to cover essential costs like rent, food, and bills, so students can continue studying without being forced to drop out for financial reasons.
Who is eligible for student hardship funds in 2025?
There isn’t one national eligibility framework; each university sets its own rules. However, most look at the following factors:
Household income: Applicants usually need to show that their income is below a certain threshold.
Evidence of financial need: This often means providing bank statements, bills, or receipts to prove you can’t meet essential living costs.
Accessing other support first: Most universities expect students to have applied for the maximum maintenance loan, grants, or bursaries available.
Unforeseen circumstances: Bereavement, illness, disability, housing issues, or sudden loss of income are often taken into account.
Dependents and additional needs: In 2025, many universities run separate funds for students with children, disabled students, or international students.
If you are also eligible for state support (e.g. Universal Credit, Parents’ Learning Allowance, or Disabled Students’ Allowance), universities will factor this into their decision.
How much money do student hardship funds offer?
The amount of financial assistance that students can receive from student hardship funds varies depending on the college or university providing them.
According to research shared by Unbiased, students received an average of £826 from student hardship funds during the 2020/21 academic year. However, some hardship funds will offer maximum sums of up to £3,000, and others may only cover specific expenses, meaning the available sum is lower.
In general, these funds are designed to cover the cost of emergency expenses or unexpected situations. As a result, the amount of assistance provided is typically limited to a specific amount.
Where to find student hardship funds
You can find information about your university’s hardship fund by looking on your university’s website, or by contacting your course director or student union.
To make finding this information easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of the different financial support pages for UK universities, as well as the email addresses you can use to contact your university’s financial support team.
Please check your university’s financial support page before emailing their contact, though. This is important because different universities have different processes and different eligibility criteria.
What different types of student hardship funds are there?
In 2025, hardship funds are increasingly specialised. Alongside the general hardship or emergency funds, universities often run separate schemes for:
Students with dependents – e.g. LSE’s Childcare Fund or Edinburgh’s family support fund.
Students with disabilities or long-term illness.
International students (who cannot usually access Student Finance).
Unforeseen crises – e.g. pandemic support, or more recently, cost of living assistance funds at several London universities.
Some institutions also operate summer hardship funds, designed for students who cannot return home or who have extra costs during the vacation period. All of these are designed to help in different ways, and some universities will exclusively offer different versions.
How to apply for a student hardship fund
The process for applying for student hardship funds varies depending on the university you attend. However, there are a few steps that applicants will need to follow regardless of which university they go to. We’ve listed these below.
Check your eligibility: Before applying for hardship funds, you should check whether you meet the eligibility criteria set by your university. This information can usually be found on the university's website or by speaking to a member of staff.
Gather evidence: To support your application, you may need to provide evidence of your financial circumstances, such as bank statements or receipts for essential expenses. Most application forms will outline exactly what those reviewing the application will need to see, so it’s a good idea to check this first.
Fill out an application form: Most universities will have an online application form that you can fill out to apply for hardship funds. However, you may also be able to request a paper application form. Make sure you read the questions carefully and provide accurate information to avoid delays and misunderstandings.
Submit your application: Once you've completed the application form and gathered all necessary evidence, you should submit your application to the university's hardship fund team. You may be required to attend an interview or provide further information to support your application, so be prepared for this.
Wait for a decision: The university will review your application and make a decision on whether to award you hardship funds. This process can take several weeks, so be patient and keep in touch with the university if you have any questions or concerns.
What happens if your application is successful?
If your student hardship fund application is successful you’ll be notified, usually via email.
The email should outline the outcome of your application, and how much you are being awarded in total. These can be one-off payments or they can be recurring payments split into months or terms. Either way, there should be a date that the award will be provided by, and this will help you to budget accordingly.
After this, the money is typically paid directly into their bank account or through other means such as a voucher or prepaid card.
However, some students may be asked to provide evidence of their financial circumstances after the award, too. To save you from frantically searching for these months later, it’s a good idea to keep bank statements or receipts for essential expenses.
What happens if your application is unsuccessful?
Unfortunately, university hardship funds only have a finite amount of money, so not all applications will be successful.
However, you are able to appeal the decision if you believe you should be entitled to the bursary because you meet the criteria, or because your situation has changed. Most universities will set out this appeal process on the application.
If you’re still unsuccessful following your appeal, there are a few other forms of financial support and advice that could prove useful, like bursaries, loans and scholarships. The Scholarship Hub is a great resource for finding these additional funding programmes, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
But if you’re looking for more information and advice on finance management at university, check out the resources below:
The National Debtline: advice and support on how to avoid slipping into debt
The Money Charity: financial support and tips on how to save and make money
Student Space: general information about wellbeing and finance management
Money Saving Expert: details about university fees, loans and grants from Martin Lewis
Turn2us: information about where to find benefits, grants and advice as a student
SaveTheStudent (Bills): advice on how to save money on your bills as a student
Big Issue: tips for budgeting as a university student during a cost of living crisis
We know that making your money go further as a student is hard, and it can be incredibly stressful at times. If you feel like you’re struggling with your mental wellbeing, please reach out for some professional support.
How do student hardship funds support social mobility?
Student hardship funds can provide much-needed financial support to students who are struggling to make ends meet. These tend to be individuals from low income families that aren’t in the position to support the student financially.
Without these hardship funds, it would be difficult (if not impossible) for some students to attend university. This could be because they can’t afford their accommodation, food, utility bills, learning resources or even travel.
This can result in students from working-class families dropping out of university altogether. In fact, a recent study revealed that almost a quarter of students believe that they are less likely to complete their degree given the rising cost of living.
Research by the Russell Group Student’s Union had similar findings, with more than half of respondents saying that their academic performance has suffered as a result of the cost of living crisis, often because students are having to take on additional paid work to cover costs or skipping lectures as they can’t afford travel costs.
This is problematic given the close correlation between higher education qualifications and increased earning potential. If students from low-income families can’t afford to attend university and achieve the degrees that enable them to increase their future income, how can they become socially mobile?
Student hardship funds make intergenerational mobility possible by providing the much-needed finances that working class students need to complete their education more comfortably. This, in turn, enables them to increase their potential earnings post-graduation and climb the social ladder.
