Living costs, travel, rent, and bills add strain alongside the academic intensity of medicine, especially in a city like Edinburgh. Placements require smart clothing, long journeys, and specialist equipment. An essential but expensive piece of equipment is a stethoscope, costing around £100. For students on tight budgets, this added expense can create stress at a critical point in their learning.

I don’t think I would have made it through university without the financial support I had received.

The Student Experience Grants are one-off contributions of up to £5,000 to support projects and initiatives that will enhance students’ social, academic, entrepreneurial, sporting or cultural development. Recognising a need that did not directly benefit her, Robyn took the initiative to apply for a Student Experience Grant so that eligible second-year students could receive a stethoscope.

“It meant that second year students didn’t have to worry about finding that money. They could put it towards food, rent, or bills and just focus on learning,” she explains. Although a one-off award, the grant provided immediate, tangible support, helping students feel valued and fully engage in their clinical training.

These grants simply wouldn’t exist without donations, it genuinely made a big difference.

Now a junior doctor in Edinburgh, Robyn is exploring general practice and roles that support communities and improve healthcare access. Her experiences as a student continue to shape how she sees medicine, not just as a profession, but as a responsibility to widen opportunity and representation within it. “Every donation makes a real impact. Student experience grants turn financial obstacles into opportunities, letting students focus on developing the skills that will shape our future healthcare.”