Most students these days will have a part-time job to supplement their student loan, but wouldn’t it be nice if someone came along and handed out free money, which you didn’t have to earn and you never had to pay back?

Well that isn’t just a fantasy and believe it or not, it could actually happen, but you do need to know where to look in order to be in with a chance of this happening to you.

There’s plenty out there

There is over £150 million worth of scholarships for university available each year for UK/EU students. If you are a UK or EU student, some of this could be given to you.

Not just for geniuses

Not all scholarships are for the straight A* students among us or those from disadvantaged backgrounds. You could get a scholarship for music, sport, where you live, what your parents do, your religious background, your extracurricular activities, writing an essay, making a video and many more. There are even scholarships for playing computer games!

Widen the net

There are lots of organisations, other than the universities which offer scholarships, such as charities, trusts, professional associations and companies and many of these will also include paid internships and professional mentoring, ideal for boosting your CV and getting a foot on the career ladder.

Universities will generally only promote the scholarships that they themselves offer. If you only look on the university website, you will potentially be missing out on other funding opportunities you could be applying for.

Free for all

There are some scholarships which are open to all students regardless of what or where they are studying.

Two weeks off work

The average scholarship is worth £1,500. That’s the equivalent of working 10 full days and nights on minimum wage, to earn that much, but it’s just handed to you, free of charge!

Much better than the lottery

Not as many people apply as you might think – you do stand a chance if you apply and you definitely won’t stand a chance if you don’t.

Don’t give up

Scholarships are not just for Freshers. New scholarships are being created all the time, so if you stop looking once you have started university, you could be missing out. Keep an eye out throughout the year and you could have more money in your pocket.

So how do I find scholarships?

First of all, you should take a look at the websites of the University you are studying and see what scholarships they have to offer.

In addition, you should also take a look at The Scholarship Hub, a website where you can search a database of all the scholarships available to UK students. It is free to register and search for funding and you can also sign up for regular updates on new opportunities.