Develop Skills for Success

To access this funding, students must be registered as a current Home (UK) student studying towards a full- or part-time undergraduate (or integrated Masters) degree qualification at Loughborough University in the 2025/26 academic year and must have UK fee status (includes Welsh students in receipt of financial support from Student Finance Wales).
 
You can be a student from across any of our Parts (Part F, A, B, I, C, D) on an undergraduate degree (or integrated Masters) to apply, and must fulfil one (or more) of the criteria outlined below (aligned to our Access and Participation Plan 2025-6/2028-9): 

• A student of black, Asian or ethnic minority background. 

• A student with a household income of £30,000 or under, in receipt of the Loughborough Bursary or an Opportunity Scholarship. 

• A student with a disability (including long term health mental health conditions), 

• A mature student (over 21 years of age at the time of starting your undergraduate degree) 

• A commuter student (your term time address is not in university halls or private halls and is outside of Loughborough – this excludes addresses relating to Part I or during other work placements / study exchanges). 

• An estranged student, care experienced or a carer (not including student parents). 

• A student parent with childcare responsibilities. 

 Students from these groups have been prioritised as a positive action response to data indicating that they are less likely to achieve a higher degree class or progression to placement than their peers. Further information can be found in our Access and Participation Plan. 

Students who are undertaking reassessment in the September Assessment Period (SAP) will not be considered eligible for the Fund until they have formally progressed to and registered for the next part / stage of their degree programme. 

Loughborough University must be in possession of all required information to assess eligibility through your online application form for the fund (more details below) or through your student record. Funding will be awarded on a rolling, monthly basis and further information about this is provided below.

All registered and eligible UK fee status undergraduates can access up to a total of £2000 annually to provide support with one or more of the following* in relation to their student experience:  

• Materials to support your studies (e.g., laptop or textbooks) 

• Financial support when job hunting, e.g., travel and/or clothes for interviews 

• Access to opportunities to network and / or unlock skills development opportunities, both personal and / or professional (e.g., attending an insight day with an external organisation you wish to work for in future, summer camp costs and hidden costs in relation to undertaking internships or placements) 

• Support with transitioning from a student to a graduate post-university (applications must be received while you are still a student in your final year of study with us) 

• Support with graduation costs, e.g., accessing and paying for your graduation gown and / or travel to be able to attend the ceremony and celebrate your achievements in person. 

• Access to sports or societies (clubs, activities and/or membership) in conjunction with Loughborough Students’ Union’s existing Opportunities Fund. 

* While the Fund may also consider financial support linked to specific life circumstances (e.g., childcare costs, travel costs if you are commuting from a distance or need to do so for caring responsibilities), this would be to provide opportunity for you to fully commit to your studies and immerse yourself in the student experience here at Loughborough (e.g., without having to undertake additional part-time work). 

This is not an exhaustive list but, instead, provides examples of what the Student Experience APP Support Fund may help you with. Any applications for support outside of this list (that are not covered by the Hardship Fund) will be considered on an individual case-by-case basis. 

This fund is separate to the Hardship Fund and Emergency Hardship Loans where there is an urgent need and unexpected change of financial circumstances since the start of your course. If your circumstances are considered an emergency, it is likely that an Emergency Hardship Loan is more appropriate.  

We recommend checking if your circumstances would mean you are eligible for this support prior to applying to the Student Experience APP Support Fund. You can do this by contacting our Student Advice and Support Service (SASS) on 01509 222765 or booking an appointment online. 
 
If you are not sure which would be most appropriate to you, please reach out to SASS or our Student Success Academy team who will be able to advise accordingly.

The online application form will ask a few questions about you, which allow Loughborough University staff to confirm your eligibility for the Fund and liaise with key colleagues to distribute and pay your funds to you once determined. We’ll only ask you about your status and / or needs to ensure you are eligible, or to signpost you to initiatives and programmes that may be of interest. The questions on the form are designed to be non-intrusive and supportive in nature. 
 
This fund is a limited fund and, as such, all applications are handled by Loughborough University’s Student Experience APP Support Fund Team (made up of representatives from Student Services, including our Student Success Academy, Student Advice and Support and Student Life Teams). Applications are open 24/7 online from 29 September 2025 to 11 June 2026 and are accepted on a rolling basis during this time. 
 
The team will monitor incoming applications regularly (e.g., weekly) before meeting once per month (between 15th and 26th respectively) to review applications. This is to ensure enough time to meet any payment deadlines should your application be successful.  

Panel meetings may also be scheduled more frequently on the occasion that a decision needs to be made in a timely fashion to meet the needs of certain requests/applications from students. 

You will be made aware of the date upon which a decision will be made about your application by confirmation email on receipt of your application form. One of the team will be in touch directly about this. 
 
Please note that applying for the Student Experience APP Support Fund does not guarantee that your application will be accepted / you will receive the funding you apply for.  

The team will use the following to support their decision-making as part of the process: 
 
1. Overall availability of funds 
2. The usage of the fund in relation to specific types of support to date 
3. The narrative provided within the application that shows why this support is needed (e.g., how the costs are proving to be a barrier to you at university) and how the funding, if granted, will positively impact your overall student experience and enable you to unlock your full potential while studying at Loughborough. 

The application form will be used for administration and distribution of Loughborough University’s Student Experience APP Support Fund only. Your application won’t be linked to your student record. It will be held on a secure server that only the Student Experience APP Support Fund Team (see p.2 for information on membership of the team) have access to. Regardless of success, your application will be held for a maximum of 6 years before deletion in line with our Advice Quality Standard.  
 
Please note that we may use your anonymised data for monitoring purposes: you will not be identifiable within any analysis of this data. An opt-in for further evaluation and enhanced monitoring is held at the end of the form but choosing not to opt-in does not impact your chances of being accepted for the fund.

Following a successful application and your agreement (by ticking to confirm on your application form) to provide proof of purchase (e.g., receipts or invoices as appropriate), payment will be made to your chosen bank account via BACS. Payment can only be made to a UK bank account and will be made as soon as possible after decision-making. We will inform you of the timings of this when we confirm our decision via email.  

We recommend ensuring that your student self-service portal is up to date with your UK bank account details to avoid any delays in the payment process. 

By completing and submitting your application form (and ticking the box to confirm it as you do so), you are confirming that you agree to spend your received funds within 6 weeks of receiving the payment to your UK bank account.  

You are also confirming that you agree to provide proof of purchase (receipts or invoices as appropriate) to the Student Experience APP Support Fund Team. These should be submitted to via the Student Success Academy mailbox for monitoring and recording purposes within 6 weeks of receiving the payment to your UK bank account.  

Should you not spend the funding or provide proof of purchase(s) in the time outlined above, the University reserves the right to request that payment is returned to us in full for awarding to other students who are deemed eligible.

If you have further questions about the Student Experience APP Support Fund or require further information, please contact the team here.