Student Finance

Historically, almost no students have left Cambridge for financial reasons and no one should be deterred from applying by concerns about money. You CAN afford to come here, because our costs are low and our financial support excellent.

Costs
Potential applicants quite often worry about the cost of studying, but, contrary to common perception, Cambridge is actually quite a cheap university to attend. There are four principal factors that keep student costs right down:

• First, low accommodation costs. The single biggest expense in any student budget is rent. Almost all Cambridge students are able to live in College-provided accommodation for the duration of their course. Rents are payable only when you are actually occupying your room, and, since Cambridge terms are shorter than average, students generally pay rent for only 30 weeks of the year. This means no expensive, year-long tenancies (the norm for so many students outside Cambridge), and immediately slashes your accommodation bill;
• Secondly, very low transport costs. Cambridge is a small place and most students only ever need to walk or cycle; plus there is a very cheap University bus!
• Thirdly, Cambridge's library facilities are among the very best in the world, and this means that you will need to buy very few, if any, books;
• Finally, student social life, based mainly in the Colleges and in University clubs and societies, is very cheap indeed. Most sports teams, orchestras and drama groups, for instance, are completely free, with no subscriptions or facilities charges. All Colleges have their own dining hall, bar and other social facilities, and costs in all of these are kept as low as possible. To find out more about the cost of studying at Cambridge, please visit:
  
  http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/finance/costs.html 

Financial Support
For information about the extensive financial support available to Cambridge students, which includes bursaries, scholarships, book grants, travel grants and hardship funds, please visit:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/finance/support.html

Central to this is the Cambridge Bursary Scheme, which is among the largest bursary schemes in the UK. Details are here:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/finance/support.html#bursary