My experience of paying for a Masters at Edinburgh

By Yen, from Vietnam, studying Human Resource Management
My name’s Yen, I’m from Vietnam and I’m a Master’s student in Human Resource Management at the University of Edinburgh Business School. I’m going to share my experiences of paying for my studies at Edinburgh.
Before applying to study at Edinburgh, I remember meeting with a University representative at a university fair in Hanoi in December 2023. They confirmed that I could pay my fees in instalments and that helped me make the decision to apply in the first place. Then after receiving my offer and accepting it, I remember starting to look seriously into the payment options.
My tuition fees were £28,200 for the year and I wanted to understand the practical details of paying them. Naturally, it was going to be quite hard for me to have such a large chunk of money available at the start of my first semester.
Paying in instalments
I recall attending a webinar after applying where I was able to ask the representative some detailed questions about paying my fees so I could practically understand what paying by instalments meant. It’s so much easier and convenient for me to manage my money by paying in instalments. When I have enough money from Vietnam, I can then transfer it to the University. It was also easy to sign up for, with a form and clear instructions on what you need to do.
So, I signed up to pay by instalment, which means I pay every three or four months: in September, when I first arrived in Edinburgh, then again in December and then a final instalment in March.
I applied for several scholarships
Like many applicants, I applied for various scholarships. There were a number of different ones to apply for, but they are all very competitive – and you have to plan in advance. For example, I first applied for a Vietnamese government scholarship back in August 2022 – so actually a full year before I came to Edinburgh. You need to prepare way ahead of time for these ones.
I applied to study at Edinburgh in February 2023. I received the conditional offer in late March. It was in April that I applied for the Dean’s Scholarship from the University of Edinburgh Business School. I remember the process was quite straightforward. The University was quite explicit about their requirements and how they would evaluate my application.
It took about a month or so for the University to process my scholarship application and it was in late May I found out that unfortunately, I did not get it. I was unlucky, but I did also learn a lot from the process.
It’s important to have a plan B for funding your studies
Of course, I was hoping to receive a scholarship and to be able to pay some, or all, my fees this way. But I knew I had to have a contingency, a Plan B, in case I was unsuccessful with my scholarship application.
When I accepted the offer from the University, I also needed to pay a deposit of £1500 within 28 days and I think that amount was not refundable. So, I accepted the offer because I already had a Plan B in place; I had arranged to borrow the money.
I was fortunate to be able to borrow money from my relatives. I could have also borrowed from the bank, but in my own situation, it was easier to borrow from relatives. They had the money to lend me and they also weren’t charging me a high interest rate. So, it was going to be cheaper for me than a bank loan.
I had an alternative way of funding my studies in place, rather than simply relying on a scholarship. It meant that when I applied for the scholarship, yes, I hoped to get it, but I didn’t absolutely need it. Of course, it would have taken some of the financial burden off my shoulders but I’d already made alternative funding plans, so I was in a position to accept the offer.
Plan your finances as early as possible
My main advice to anyone considering applying for postgraduate study at Edinburgh would be to plan your finances early, especially if you also need to apply for other things such as a student visa. When you are applying for your student visa, you will be asked for further financial details such as your savings accounts, bank statements and such like. So, it really helps to think about how you plan to pay for your studies and to get your financial arrangements in place as early as possible.
Working part-time to supplement living expenses
It’s definitely not something you can rely on when studying postgraduate at Edinburgh – and you have to pay careful attention to the terms of your visa, but I found that I could supplement some of my living expenses here in Edinburgh by working as a part-time student ambassador. So, for things like food, travel, other expenses, if you can find a part-time job that might help and I think there are a lot of part-time work opportunities in Edinburgh. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time for your course work and studies (because after all, that’s why you’re here in the first place) – and make sure you also have the time to enjoy being a student here in Edinburgh!