Following the University of Edinburgh’s advice to more privileged students to refrain from classism, controversy has surrounded the experiences of working-class students at the university.
The university provides several important services to support working class students. Many working class students are admitted and given support through the Widening Participation Scheme, for example. It is based upon factors such as postcode indexes, care-experience, income levels, and progression to higher education. The Access Scholarship also automatically provides students with funding based upon household income. In the 2022/2023 academic year, over 2500 students received over £6.7m via the scheme.
The Widening Participation Scheme can also lead to many great opportunities, such as the Insights Programme, the Saltire Scholars programme, the InCite Programme, IntoUniversity, exclusive civil service help, working opportunities, getting a mentor in first year, free ball tickets, and exclusive jobs. These schemes have helped me and many others in their careers.
The recent increase in budget cuts at the university has led students to fear how this will impact the cost of living. I am currently a fourth-year student and paid roughly £5000 for my first-year accommodation at Robertsons Close, £3,000 of which was covered by the Access Scholarship. The same accommodation is now costing students £8750. At that price point, it would have been unlikely for students like me to even enrol at Edinburgh.
I interviewed Luca, who also praised the Access Scholarship. However, he also raised concerns about how expensive Edinburgh had become over the years and pointed to the example of King’s College London providing widening participation students with accommodation at cheaper prices.
There is other help available for students as well, which, whilst not unique to the Widening Participation Scheme, benefits students with widening participation characteristics. For example, the Student Participation Grant offers up to £300. Personally, this pushed me to get a gym membership at Pleasance and has given me a lifelong passion for going to the gym. It also paid for the rugby equipment I needed when I started playing at university. This grant significantly reduces students’ barriers to playing sports and being active in university life. Luca also stated how the grant helped him get involved in sports, and noted how expensive it was to join many sports clubs at the university.
Despite these opportunities, there is often little awareness of these services among working class students. While researching this, I found many online resources and helpful guides for widening participation students that I never knew existed.
While the university should be commended for these schemes and support, more must be done to tackle the often classist culture that exists at the university. Tackling Elitism, for example, is a student group which provides an understanding of what classism exists at the university and creates a community where students can share their experiences of classism.
I have also faced some animosity when telling wealthier students about the assistance I have received from the university. When asked why I chose Edinburgh over Glasgow for university, I would mention the Access Scholarship, which would be met with some arguing over the program’s fairness and statements that the money shouldn’t be offered. I now refrain from speaking about it, though I assumed the university financially supporting low-income students could only be a positive initiative. I have also faced the mocking of my Glasgow accent, sometimes combined with my Pakistani heritage.
Luca also shared his experiences in making friends at the university, often finding it difficult with differing senses of humour and finding it hard to relate to other students from wealthier backgrounds. It is clear more must be done to ensure the smooth experience of working class students at the University of Edinburgh.
Photo by Jacob Pretorius on Unsplash.