Nursing Students

The Scottish Government makes funds available to support nursing students in financial difficulty. This means-tested fund is focused on supporting living costs. It can not help with tuition fees.

This page contains the key information that must be read fully before applying. Incorrect or missing information will delay your application.

When to apply

This fund is now closed. Please apply for support via our Financial Support Fund

Who is the fund for?

This fund helps nursing students who are experiencing severe financial difficulty. You must:

be from Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland and receive full support from your local funding body
be from the EU with settled status, and receive an income-assessed award from SAAS or the Student Loans Company
have received your first payment of your student maintenance payment
have experienced a change in your financial circumstances

Students in receipt of SAAS of SLC funding must have applied for their full income-assessed student loan, taking the maximum available.

Who isn’t eligible for this fund?

international students
UK students who have not applied for or taken their full entitlement of support from their funding body
students in receipt of a Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary
students who are registered for exams only
those on multiple repeat years
students who are on an authorised interruption of studies

International nursing students and those who receive a Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary may qualify for the following fund

Financial support for all students

What can I get help with?

You may be eligible for support if you struggle to manage your basic living costs.

What costs are supported?

shortfalls in living costs
debts that threaten your home or access to essential services
unexpected or emergency cost

What doesn’t qualify for support?

tuition fees
travel costs for study abroad
non-essential debts

Speak to someone

Before applying for support, discuss your situation with the Welfare Advisors at the Students’ Association’s Advice Place. They can advise you on your application and help you access additional support.

The Advice Place

Applying

The application form sites within EdHelp. You will need your University login to access the form.

Documents required

Any documentation that supports the information you provide in your personal statement.
2 months of statements from all the bank accounts you hold, including digital savings accounts, ISAs, cryptocurrency, digital assets, social media wallets, overseas accounts and shared accounts.
2 months of statements from all the bank accounts your spouse or a partner you live with holds.
Evidence of any income your receive, pay-slips, funding, or student loan award letters.
Evidence of any debt you have, credit card statements or default letters.
A copy of your lease if you rent.
Proof of your mortgage or rent costs.
Evidence of childcare costs you pay.

Screenshots will not be accepted. Please supply full digital statements or documents, preferably PDFs. Scans of paper documents are also acceptable.

Bank statements should be dated within a week of your application and show the:

account holder name
account number
transaction details
current balance.

Information we will ask you for

your fee status
your family situation, partner, dependents and children
your residency situation
a personal statement explaining why you need financial support
sources of funding you receive
your living situation
your financial situation and any debts you might have
your UK bank account details
how many instalments you would like to be paid in.

Next steps

When you submit your application, we will email you a call number. Quote this number when you contact us.

Getting a decision

We can receive up to 1,000 applications per year. We do our best to assess applications as quickly as possible. We start assessing your application once all your documentation has been received. Collect all the required documents before starting your application for a faster decision.

You will receive an email informing you that if you have succeeded.

Your first payment will be transferred to your nominated UK bank account within 10 days.

How is my application assessed?

With limited funds we must assess which students most need our help.

Priority groups

Priority will be given to students who are:

lone parent
care leavers/care experienced
students estranged from their parents or guardians.

We evaluate how much money you have in income and savings and how much you spend on essential and non-essential expenses. If you have a shortfall, you may qualify for an award. We will also consider any emergency costs that have arisen.

We do this by assessing your household income, savings and spending using the documents you provide. We evaluate your essential expenses against a capped amount per week.

Capped expenses table

Cost	23/24 rates	Comments
Accommodation	Up to a maximum of £195 per week for a single person Up to a maximum of £230 for a couple/family	(Monthly rent x 12)/52 (Updated from £175 to £195 for session 22/23)
Food	£70 per week for all single students living in their own accommodation £25 per week for students in catered halls with full board or living at home Extra £25 per partner/child	Excluding takeaways and eating out. (Updated from £55 to £70 for session 22/23)
Utilities - gas & electricity, broadband & telephone landline, mobile phone	Up to £55 per week	These costs are not allocated to those in student accommodation or where the rent agreement includes utility costs. (Updated from £45 to £55 for session 22/23)
Additional living costs, clothes, books, photocopying, travel	£55 per week plus £10 per partner/child	Only relevant where a Council Tax Discount does not cover the accommodation.
Council tax	Student’s share
Recreation	£50 per week plus £10 per partner/child	This includes TV subscriptions, social & sporting events (Update from £40 to £50 for session 22/23)
Contents and other insurance	No set value
Childcare	Calculated separately
Max total costs per week for a single person	£425

Circumstances that may affect your application

Awards will be reduced or refused in the following circumstances:

Student loans – You have not applied for your full income-based student loan (if you are eligible).
Savings - You have sufficient money available to you in savings.
Non-essential overspending - You spend more than £500 per month on non-essential expenses such as takeaways, alcohol, eating out, clothing or recreation/entertainment.
Gambling - You spend £100 or more per month on gambling

Disputes, appeals and fraudulent applications

We hope that your application process goes as smoothly as possible. If you have any issues with our decisions, we have a dispute and appeals procedure that you can follow. If we discover that your application or any documents you provide are fraudulent, we will investigate.

Disputes, appeals and fraudulent applications

Resources

Help managing your money

We want to be able to assist you with developing strong financial skills. Overspending can negatively affect your application.

Get started by setting a budget.

Create a budget

Save on essential bills

Save on non-essential purchases

Money and debt help

Help with gambling

We reduce or remove awards where we identify consistent regular gambling of £100 or more per month. This will also include matched betting. This is part of our responsibilities as a government funding provider. Should you need support for gambling, please see:

Gamblers Anonymous Scotland

GamCare

Gambling Therapy website

NHS gambling support