Rhodes University Bursaries and Scholarships

Financial Aid Options

External Bursaries

These are bursaries where the student makes application for the bursary direction to the sponsor. The sponsors generally run their own bursary programmes.

If a student is on Financial Aid, these bursaries cannot be used to pay their ‘own contribution’.

Should students wish to apply for external bursaries, both the Library and the Student Bureau hold a book called ‘The Bursary Register’ which contains information about the most bursaries available to our students.

Should a student be awarded a bursary they need to advise the Student Fees Office immediately.

HCI Foundation Bursary Programme

Internal Bursaries

There are bursaries which are awarded by the Financial Aid Sub-Committee and administered by the Financial Aid Office.

Students do not need to apply for Internal Bursaries as all the information required is available from the Financial Aid Application forms and from information available on the Rhodes database.

A sub-committee meeting is held in the second term and bursaries are awarded to students who are on Financial Aid, according to the criteria determined by the various sponsors.

The bursary will be used to reduce the funding required from NSFAS to ensure that when students leave Rhodes University the loans they are required to repay are as low as possible. BURSARIES MAY NOT BE USED TO REDUCE THE OWN CONTRIBUTION WHICH A FAMILY MUST PAY.

Students are required to respond to the letter of award agreeing to abide by the bursary rules and regulations.

First year students are not generally awarded bursaries, as they are given the opportunity to reduce the funding required from NSFAS through the Merit Award System.

All students on financial aid have the opportunity of receiving a bursary from NSFAS of up to 40% of their NSFAS loan depending on their pass rate.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a government funded organisation, providing financial aid to students studying for a tertiary qualification.

To be eligible, students must:-

Be South African citizens;
Be studying for a first qualification;
Be financially needy;
Demonstrate the potential to succeed academically.

To calculate the value of the loan to which a student is entitled, the NSFAS Means Test is used. Students with a gross annual family income in excess of R180 000 will seldom be eligible for funding.

Limited funds are available so applicants will not necessarily be granted funding from NSFAS. It is important, therefore that applications are submitted as early as possible.

If a student passes all subjects in the year that funding is obtained from NSFAS, 40% of the value of the NSFAS loan is converted into a bursary and is credited to the student’s NSFAS accounting during the course of the following year.

The student will be asked to start repaying the loan once employed and earning a salary in excess of R26 300 per year. Repayments will be based on the individual’s earnings.

For 2009, the interest on the loan is 7.6%. This amount is reviewed annually.

Bursary Information Pack

Supporting talented students who may not have the financial means is vital. Given the high cost of quality tertiary education this area of need is of utmost importance. Help students from around the world to achieve their dreams of graduating with a degree that will impact the course of history not only for themselves but for the world.

For further information on how you can support our brightest students please contact
Annie Pienaar by email: [email protected] or on 046-6037024 .