Blackbullion

Universities UK research in 2018 found that only 50% of prospective universities students feel they are provided with enough information on the full, long-term costs and benefits of attending university.

Clearer and better targeted financial advice is crucial to ensure the over 500,000 prospective students are better able to make informed decisions.

In response to this need, in August, Blackbullion joined forces with Young Enterprise, in an initiative supported by the Bank of England, to help young people starting university prepare for the financial reality of university life.

The Money Ready for University Solution was built as a fully digital solution to support students and their parents/guardians in preparing for a successful transition from secondary education into tertiary. By extension, MRU also supports the building of solid financial foundations to maximise the likelihood of students successfully transitioning through and out of university.

MRU is a single centralised place where prospective students, current students, and parents/guardians and teachers can access independant, coherent, inclusive and accessible information about all elements of student finance.

From understanding student funding and the repayment regime, to getting to grips with budgeting, the clearing process and managing debt, MRU provides a 360° view of student finance.

Within the solution is also an extensive scholarships, bursaries and grants funding hub, which allows prospective students to search for a range of available funds. It also  enables the students to make online applications to funds, end to end, to better support students, schools, universities and funding providers.

As a fully digital solution, MRU addresses the capacity challenge faced by schools, while specifically addressing the needs of all stakeholders. MRU makes it easy for parents/guardians and teachers to access information themselves but, equally importantly, to signpost the appropriate and relevant information to a widely diverse student cohort.

We were delighted by the response to MRU and the level of student interest and engagement, in what was undoubtedly one of the most chaotic A-level results days in history. We look forward to an even greater success next year and would welcome the entire community to get involved – so feel free to get involved if you’d like to hear more.