Advice on funding your medical degree.

Abstract

An overview of the funding you are entitled to and what to do if you fall into financial difficulty Studying medicine can be expensive, and many students worry about whether they will have enough money to fund their studies and cover basics such as food and rent, despite funding from national student loans companies and the NHS student bursary. In 2013, a survey of 2735 UK medical students conducted by Cardiff University on behalf of the General Medical Council explored the factors that affect the wellbeing of medical students. It found that “finance was found to be a significant area of concern raised by students in the focus groups.”1 And in 2012, a survey by the BMA, which received 623 responses, found that money worries were having a negative impact on students’ stress levels (68%), quality of life (64%), quality of academic work (36%), and dedication to medicine (22%).2 This article provides an overview of the funding you are entitled to, how to plan your finances, and what to do if things go wrong if you are studying in the UK. Costs vary, but the following are things to consider budgeting for each year: