No young person with the talent and aspiration to study at Imperial should be deterred by financial worries. Yet with the cost of attending university in London continuing to rise, and government grants now a thing of the past, Imperial can seem like an impossible dream for students from the least well-off backgrounds. There is an urgent need for more assistance.
With philanthropic support for Imperial’s bursary scheme – designed to offer the right level of assistance to the students most in need – we can ensure that no future leader is held back from an Imperial education. We invite our alumni and friends to make a gift to support students in need and to help build momentum behind this important initiative. A survey of Imperial students who received financial support from the College found that for seven in ten, the offer of help was an important factor in their decision to come to Imperial. The same survey also showed that for the poorest students, the help they’d received from the College was “essential” to covering the cost of living in London.
Your impact in action
Thank you for helping me get to my dream university in my dream city. Even with the right grades for entry, the barrier of financial problems could have easily stopped me being here. No one should have to compromise what they are capable of achieving because of money. The Imperial Bursary provides this safety net, allowing people from less wealthy backgrounds access to Imperial, and helps to create a more inclusive environment in academia.
- Ruby Chesney-Spedding, Biological Sciences