Universities gave £121m to students in financial difficulty, Freedom of Information responses suggest.
Rachael Sampson had planned on supporting her studies with a part-time job but struggled because of Covid restrictions
She applied to the university's hardship fund, with £941 in her account - explaining this would fall to £241 after her looming rent payment - but was told she was not "seen as currently being in hardship". The £1,000 award helped her return to London when in-person teaching resumed but the financial difficulties have made her "resentful".
Students can apply for hardship funding, which does not usually have to be repaid, directly from their universities or colleges, which decide how much is given out.gave an extra £70m of hardship funding to English institutionsThere are 282 higher-education institutions in the UK, according to the HESA. In England, many are private and not subject to FOI requests.
"It was quite insulting," she said. "I'm paying for shopping to get food to eat. I don't need to manage it - I'm not wasting it on stuff."York St John University distributed £541,935 that academic year.
In the coming academic year, the real-terms value of maximum maintenance loans - for students from the poorest backgrounds - will fall to its lowest level in seven years,Universities Minister Michelle Donelan said £256m was available to help students this financial year, in addition to universities' hardship funds.