Fees and Financial support (2011-12)

Applicants for the intercalating BSc Comparative Pathology degree should see the Comparative Pathology fees page for further information as it is confirmed for 2010 entry.

Our booklet Money matters provides an overview to fees and funding in 2011-2012. For more detailed advice, see below.

Bursaries 2011-2012
Merit scholarships 2011-2012
RVC International Scholarships
Research conference travel awards
Tuition fees
Student support
- Graduate entrants
- International students
General financial overview
Do not pay too much tax!
Course related financial information
Useful links

Bursaries

Bursaries will be available depending upon the level of maintenance grant you are awarded. There is no direct application to the RVC for bursaries. When making your application for Student Finance you can give your consent to share application details with the College and we can then use that information to assess bursary entitlements.

You will receive a notification of your entitlement. For further information see the indicative tables below or use the Student Calculator on the Student Finance website.

Bursary Payment 2010/11: Please note that unless you’re on the first year Gateway programme you will receive one Bursary payment for academic year 2010/11 in March 2011. Prior to this you should receive Entitlement letter confirming Payment date and amount. Letters will send out Mid January 2011.

First year Gateway Students should also receive their second payment for academic year 2010/11 in March 2011.

Payments of bursaries are usually in March (or October and March for Gateway students) via BACS transfer into your own bank account (bank account numbers are collected and maintained as part of the national student support application process). Only applicants receiving a Maintenance grant/Special support grant will be considered for an RVC bursary

Gateway students

To ensure accurate assessment of financial support, Gateway students should state that they will be joining Year 1 of a 6 year course which awards a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine. The Gateway course is not a ‘foundation year’ for student finance purposes.

The maximum levels of bursaries are shown in the table below. As Graduate applicants are not entitled to a Maintenance grant, they are not eligible to receive RVC bursary support.

Course	RVC bursary (max) 2011/12
BVetMed	£1650
BSc Bioveterinary Sciences	£1650
BVetMed Gateway year	£4000
Fd and BSc Veterinary Nursing	£1650

For more detailed information about what support you are entitled to for 2011/12 academic year, including the level of RVC bursary please see the indicative table in the Student Support section below.

Merit scholarships

In 2010/11 the RVC is awarding Merit scholarships to the value of £3000 for every year of a course. For the BVetMed and BSc Bioveterinary Sciences courses scholarships are awarded on the basis of the BMAT score. Although the BMAT is not required for entry to the BSc Bioveterinary Sciences, applicants who wish to be considered for the Merit scholarships will have to take the BMAT.

Merit scholarships will be awarded to BSc and FdSc Vet Nursing students demonstrating very high achievement at the end of their first year assessments.

There are three scholarships available each year for BVetMed entrants and one per year each for BSc Bioveterinary Sciences entrants and BSc and Fd Sc first year students.

Please Note; Merit Scholarship is not available for the 2012/13 entrants.

RVC International Scholarships

The RVC offers three scholarships for international students entering the BVetMed programme each year. Each scholarship is to the value of one year's tuition (£19,320) and is based on performance during the admissions process (taking into account interview scores, test scores and overall application). Applicants do not need to submit any additional paperwork; all international applicants are automatically considered for the award. Decisions are made in February/March each year, once the admissions process is completed and offers for the course have been made.

For more information on finance for international students, please click here.

Research conference travel awards

Students on both the BSc and the BVetMed complete a substantial project during the final year of their course. A number of these will be published and presented at veterinary and other scientific conferences. The RVC offers students who have their abstracts accepted for presentation the opportunity to apply for Travel Awards up to the value of £250 to support their attendance at conferences. (See Undergraduate student research).

Tuition fees 2011/12

How much will I pay?

	Home/EU	Overseas
BVetMed & Combined degree	£3375	£19800
BSc BioVet Sciences	£3375	£8880
Gateway	£3375	N/A
Fdn Vet Nursing	£3375	£8880
BSc Vet Nursing	£3375	£8880

The tuition fee you pay depends on your fee status. The following requirements must be met for home fee status:

Persons who have permanent residence in the UK and have been resident in the UK for three years;
EU nationals and their families who have lived in the EEA for three years;
EEA migrant workers and their families in the UK who have lived in the EEA for three years;
Refugees (recognised by the UK government) and their families; and
Persons who applied for asylum and have been granted exceptional leave to enter/remain, and their families.

Students who do not qualify for home fee status will usually be charged a higher overseas rate. Please see section for overseas fees payers. For further in depth information about fee status please see the UKCISA website.

Student support

Can I get help with cost of fees and living costs?

2006/7 saw a radical change in the way that tuition fees were charged and funded. Full time undergraduates who have home status no longer have to pay fees before they start university or whilst they are studying. Instead, students are able to take out a student loan for fees that will be paid directly to their college. Students will not be expected to repay these loans until they have left university and are earning over £15,000.

Hardship fund

The student loan is designed to cover most of your main living expenses. However, the government also provides each university with additional money that can support students who are facing hardship. The College also has modest funds that can be used to help students in difficulty. Information on these funds is available from the Student finance guidance and welfare officer.

An indication of the support available to you in 2011/12, including RVC bursaries, is shown in the tables below. All students are eligible for a loan of up to £3,375 to cover tuition fees

Maintenance Support for;

New Entrants 2011/12 to Bsc Bioveterinary Sciences
New Entrants 2011/12 to Veterinary Medicine
New Entrants 2011/12 to Fd Vet. Nursing and Bsc Vet. Nursing

Family income (£)	Assessed family contribution	Maintenance grant	RVC Bursary	Grant/Bursary total	Maintenance loan (max £6,928*)	Grant, Loan & Bursary total
25,000	0	2,906	1,650	4,556	5,475	10,031
30,000	0	1,906	1,082	2,988	5,975	8,963
34,400	0	1,106	628	1,734	6,375	8,109
39,333	0	755	429	1,184	6,551	7,735
40,000	0	711	0	711	6,573	7,284
45,000	0	381	0	381	6,738	7,119
50,020	0	50	0	50	6,903	6,953
50,778	0	0	0	0	6,928	6,928
55,000	844	0	0	0	6,084	6,084
60,000	1,844	0	0	0	5,084	5,084
60,478	1,940	0	0	0	4,988 (+)	4,988
65,000	1,940	0	0	0	4,988	4,988

New Entrants 2011/12 to Gateway Veterinary Medicine

Family income (£)	Assessed family contribution	Maintenance grant	RVC Bursary	Grant/Bursary total	Maintenance loan (max £6,928*)	Grant, Loan & Bursary total
25,000	0	2,906	4,000	6,906	5,475	12,381
30,000	0	1,906	2,623	4,529	5,975	10,504
34,400	0	1,106	1,522	2,628	6,375	9,003
39,333	0	755	1,039	1,794	6,551	8,345

Key

Shaded areas represent income which is non-repayable.

(*) This is the maximum loan calculated for a standard academic year. Courses at the RVC are often slightly longer, and extra week’s payments are added to this amount.

(+) This is the point at which the 72% non-means tested element of the loan is reached.

Further information about government support is available.

Please note; that students who already hold a degree will NOT be entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan and will therefore need to make alternative plans to cover the costs of fees.

Sources of potential additional support can be found on the BVA website

Graduate entrants onto the BVetMed

Students already holding a UK Honours Degree wishing to study the BVetMed programme may be entitled to some support through their Local Authority/Student Finance Direct. It is currently the case that such students are entitled to apply for the Maintenance Loan. These applications are dealt with by Student Finance England (Wales, N, Scotland). Please note that students who already hold a degree will NOT be entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan and will therefore need to make alternative plans to cover the costs of fees.

Sources of potential additional support can be found on the BVA website

International students

Students from outside the EU will usually be required to pay higher fees. It is important that overseas fees payers make provision for both fee and living costs prior to entering the UK. Prospective students could look into the possibility of obtaining scholarships or bursary awards, but such opportunities are limited. For further information, see:

Overseas students who enter the UK on a student visa will also need to demonstrate that they have the means to maintain themselves whilst studying. More information on visas can be found at www.ukvisas.gov.uk The RVC can only offer very limited support to students who are facing hardship.

Living expenses

It is estimated that in London you could need up to £800 per month to live on. This will cover where you live, your food, clothes, travel and basic needs.

How much you may pay for your main needs
Accommodation in a hall of residence	£430 - £600 per month
Accommodation in a self-catering hall	£280 - £550 per month
Living in a hostel, lodgings or a bedsit	£380 - £500 per month
Living in a shared flat/house with other students	£260 - £500 per month
Heat and light (if not included)	£30 – £50 per month
Food (if not included)	£100 - £150 per month

In addition to these basic costs don’t forget to budget for travel, telephone, laundry, clothing and entertainment. The following figures will give you a very rough guide to how much you might spend.

Item	Weekly	Monthly
Travel	£15.00	£65.00
Telephone	£5.00	£25.00
Entertainment	£20.00	£85.00
Laundry	£4.00	£17.00
Food	£25.00	£108.00
Total	£69.00	£300.00

As you can see, you could find yourself spending £700 - £800 per month. The maximum student loan available to students in London equates to an income of approximately £685 (if averaged out over the year excluding the long summer vacation) so students need to be resourceful.

The London Student Housing Guide offers advice and guidance. It can be obtained in paper form on campus or can be downloaded from www.studylondon.ac.uk

The London Conference on Overseas Students (www.lcos.org.uk) gives details of hostels for students in addition to publishing an annual A-Z Guide for International Students in London. Further advice can also be found on www.nusonline.co.uk

Do not pay too much tax!

With universities, colleges and schools set to break up for the Christmas holidays over the coming weeks, many students will be starting holiday jobs. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is therefore reminding students that, as long as your total earnings for the tax year are less than the personal allowance of £6,475, you will not have to pay any tax.

But to ensure that employers do not take tax off their earnings before it goes into their bank accounts or pockets, students have to fill in a form, P38(S). The P38S can be found at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/p38s.pdf.

Those who fail to fill in the form and who do pay tax can claim it back afterwards, by submitting a form P50. The P50 can be downloaded at www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/p50.pdf.

Anyone who worked over the summer and earned less than £6,475, but paid tax on those earnings, should also apply for a refund as they could receive a Christmas present of £340 from the tax office.

For further information please see Student Tax Article.

Notes;Tax advice for students can be found at: http://studenttaxadvice.direct.gov.uk/tax-forms.html.

A student tax calculator is available at: http://stccalculator.hmrc.gov.uk/UserDetails.aspx.

The average figure for repayments in 2008-09 was £339.

Course related costs

In addition to the routine expenses, it is also important to budget for course-related expenditure. This includes books, equipment and travel, particularly travel to placements and events. The type of equipment, clothing and books that you will require will depend on the course you are studying. A reasonable estimate to cover these items is £250 - £500 in your first year. For an overview of the costs associated with each course please click see the Fees and Financial support section under each course.

Useful links

Student Finance sites for England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

Undergraduate Courses