Money and Consumer

Being a student isn’t cheap! We can provide a helping hand.

Hardship Loan💰

We provide Hardship loans for students who need emergency funds for travel and/or food up to a maximum of £25.00 per week and no more than £100.00 in total. This money does need to be repaid, but the repayment time is negotiable. To be eligible for a Hardship Loan you must currently be a student at Heriot- Watt University and provide your matriculation card as ID.

Hardship Funds💰

The hardship fund is administered by Student Support and Accommodation and there are three different types of funds you can access depending on what criteria you meet. If you are a full time or part time UK student (undergrad or postgrad) and you are in receipt of the maximum student loan available then you can apply to the hardship fund if you are in financial difficulty. This fund is generally for living expenses and not for tuition fees and there is no limit on applications and you don't  have to pay this grant back.

International Students 🌏

There is a separate hardship fund for International students and is awarded for living expenses (not fees) in the form of a grant that you DO NOT have to pay back.  

Childcare Fund👶

If you are a full time UK student you can apply for help towards formal registered childcare costs

You can pick up an application form for all of the above funds from either Student Support and Accommodation or the Advice Hub.

Fees and Funding

Wherever possible you should meet the application deadlines for your fees and student loan payments from SAAS or your Local Education Authority if you are in rest of the UK. If you don't apply for student funding by the given deadlines then there can be a delay to you receiving your money. We can't help speed up this process but we can provide you with useful number to allow you to check on the status of your application. Funding generally needs to be in place before your course begins we can advise on different ways of searching for funding.

We can also assist you if you are having problems paying your fees; we can contact the University and try to negotiate a payment plan on your behalf.

Problems paying bills

If you're having problems paying your bills (such as gas, electricity or mobile phone companies) then we can contact the company on your behalf and/or support you to negotiate a more suitable payment plan. Where we are unable to help, we can make appointments for you at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and debt advisory organisations.