So you’ve heard about our new Up-Grade scholarship, but have you thought what you’d spend £1000 on? To a student, it’s safe to say that £1000 will go a long way – and there are over 1000 ways to spend it! We asked our students how they chose to splash the cash and whether it gave them a helping hand at the beginning of their university journey.

What did you use the £1000 for?
“I used the scholarship to help with my living costs whilst moving into accommodation in Birmingham. Additionally, part of the scholarship was used to purchase study supplies such as reading books and stationery. ” – Caitlin
“When I first received the money, I spent it on travel to uni and to cover the cost for the transportation to placement and university which I found very useful.” – Faudumo
“I used the money on my course. I decided to buy a few SD cards and a huge hard drive to hold all my work.” – Faustina
“The scholarship money went towards a new laptop and headphones that I use daily!” – Michael
"The first payment fell just before Christmas, so I used some of this money to buy gifts for my family, rail tickets to uni and more textbooks that I needed for the new semester." – Stacey-Jane
How did receiving our scholarship help you?
“As I gave up my main job to come to university, I found these additional payments really helped me especially with the cost of living increasing all the time. These payments allowed me to treat myself to things such as books or a Starbucks when at uni, and to treat my children to days out that I may not have been able to afford otherwise.” – Stacey-Jane
“Having these items have significantly helped me in my media course due to the fact that every semester I’m always making videos, collecting media and storing a lot of coursework.” – Faustina
“The scholarship helped me fund a new laptop for my studies which I pretty much use all the time, so I think it's a great asset the university has!” – Michael
“It also helped me to prepare for university by making sure I had the right reading supplies for my course.” – Caitlin
“The money helped me as it allowed me to have days out not worrying about my spending. Being a university student means being on a tight budget, but with the money it allowed me to spend wisely and still have fun.” – Faudumo