The difference student scholarships make - University of Birmingham

Does a Pathways to Birmingham scholarship really change lives? 90% of the students who receive a scholarship say they could not afford the essentials or, for many, even to go to university without it.

Your support could help young people in a number of circumstances that can make it harder to get to university, such as being from a low-income household or the first in your family to go to university. Some have to take care of an ill or disabled loved one alongside their studies, or have spent time in care. All are brilliant, passionate and hard-working.

I come from an area where fewer people go to university, my parents didn’t go, so I am the first generation. I wanted to be the best I could be, but I was so worried about the cost. I’m now in my third year and I support other students across the West Midlands by talking from my own experience to inspire them to study here.
Jamie, Politics and International Relations student

Below, four friends talk about the difference the Pathways to Birmingham programme has made in their lives

Your support through Birmingham Gives on 19 and 20 June 2025 could give a young person the university education that will change the whole course of their lives.

How you can get involved

Find out more about Birmingham Gives.