The subjects losing their top-up funding entirely
The Office for Students has confirmed that government teaching grants for creative and performing arts subjects have been cut to zero. These grants topped up the tuition fee for courses that cost more to teach — studios, workshops, technicians — so the cut lands on exactly the departments that have been closing. If you hold an offer in a creative subject, ask what the department’s staffing looks like for next year.
What happens at a Disabled Students’ Allowance assessment
The Student Loans Company has published guidance on what to expect at a DSA needs assessment — the meeting that decides what equipment, software and human support you are funded for. It is not a test, the assessor is independent of the university, and going prepared with specifics about your course changes what gets recommended. Extensions and academic support covers the rest.
Student Loans Company, 31 July
Inside the May Balls, and what a ticket costs
A look at Oxford and Cambridge’s summer balls and what the price includes. They are the most expensive events in the student calendar and the most heavily subsidised for those who work them: most balls recruit large numbers of student staff who attend free afterwards. Balls and formals covers doing it affordably.
Flowers at graduation: worth it?
A short piece on the graduation flowers every family is offered and nobody plans for. Trivial, and a fair guide to the whole day: the costs around a ceremony — gown hire, photographs, parking, lunch for six — add up to more than most people expect. Graduation and life after university covers the day.