Financial Emergencies
How the College can help you if you’re facing financial trouble
If you suddenly find yourself in financial hardship, for example finding that you're unable to pay your rent for that month, the College can help you and may give you money (which you don't have to pay back). As well as the processes described below, they will also provide emergency assistance or loans. So if you're facing a financial crisis, email student.funding@imperial.ac.uk and they will do everything that they can to help and advise you.
Home Students
The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) is a pot of money that is supplied by the government and distributed to home students who are experiencing "genuine financial hardship". Of course, judging whether your hardship is genuine is something that happens when you apply, but they do ask that you've explored other routes of financial aid before applying (for example if you haven't signed up for a full student loan, then you can't apply)
If you do qualify for support from the ALF, you will receive between £100 and £3,500 that you do not have to pay back. There is a thorough application process, however. They examine your bank statements and compare your income and your "essential" expenditure (meaning that they donít look kindly on subscriptions to, for example, online gambling sites) to calculate your deficit.
EU/International Students
The Hardship Fund is a fund that is supported by donations and the College directly; as opposed to the Access to Learning Fund (ALF) which is funded by the government. Itís aimed at EU and International students who have ìexperienced a change in their financial circumstances after registering with the Collegeî.
The fund offers between £100 and £1,000 and as with the ALF, the money does need to be repaid. However, it is subtly different to the ALF in that it not designed to aid with long-term living costs. It is for "short-term and urgent situations only".
Your Senior Tutor, Postgraduate Tutor or supervisor will be contacted about your attendance and academic progress if you make an application to ensure that they are "satisfactory".
Both funds are for undergraduate and postgraduates. They are not available to assist with tuition fees payments. Contact student.funding@imperial.ac.uk if you have any queries. More information is available at: imperial.ac.uk/registry/studentfinancialsupport
