How to fund your elective

Many students save up for their elective over months and years. This is by far the most secure way of ensuring that you are able to cover the costs. However, there are a number of ways to get money more quickly. In particular, contributions from grants and trust funds will mean that you can keep your hard-saved cash for other things - paying back the student loan in later years etc!

Put simply, there are 3 main methods of getting money:

begging
borrowing
stealing

Begging: Trust Funds

It's a little known fact that there is a huge range of trust funds across the UK that are set up to assist students and aspiring doctors etc. with their education. Most have to abide to Inland Revenue rules or parts of their constitution that dictate a certain amount of money that must be distributed every year.

What sorts of funds exist?

Most medical schools have a list of local funds. Other lists are available from the BMA website and other sources of elective advice for medical students. It's worth having a look at these to identify a selection to write to. Another fact is that applications to these funds are often successful... there's a perception that they receive loads of applications, but in reality a lot of folk miss the deadlines or just don't get round to applying.

However, it's also worth doing your own research. There's a fascinating number of funds which have highly specific application criteria. A hypothetical example: if your last name is Buchanan, your home town is Banchory and your favourite colour is blue... there may well be a fund for you, but you shouldn't apply if your favourite colour is green. It's amazing how specific they can be, how little they're known, and even more surprising when you find one that matches yourself!

Where can I find this information?

Various sources exist on the internet - see Elective Links. However, another excellent source is the Funding bookshelf in your local or university library. It will be home to loads of different funding guides... but look out for the Directory of Grant-Making Trusts. Sit yourself down with a coffee for two hours, wade through it and extract the details of some funds that sound promising. It might seem laborious, but if it offers the prospect of funding all (or a significant part) of your elective costs, it's a great investment.

Some general tips

Disregard any funds that state "applications from individuals are not accepted" - they mean this and it's not worth trying.
Find out when the Trustee meetings are held to consider applications. You can be sure that the more popular funds will receive a deluge of medical student applications in the March-May period... so aim to send yours in at a different time for a greater chance of being accepted.
Enclose a copy of your CV and a full proposal of your elective - and offer to forward copies of any research/reports to the trustees following your placement. It's common courtesy but looks good too.
Include details of why the placement is important to your academic/professional development... and how experiences from the elective will be put to use to the benefit of others.
Ensure that your proposal fits within the criteria of the fund to which you are applying. This sounds obvious, but it's worth double checking.
Don't ask for the full amount of your elective. As well as being unreasonable, it looks lazy. State how much you are contributing from your own funds, as this is an indicator of how much the elective experience means to you. Is it a life-long ambition, for which you've been saving - or a hope that you can get an exotic holiday for free?
Think about what other funds you are applying to. Some application forms ask you about this. On the one hand, they may be dissuaded if it's clear that you've already raised money from other sources. On the other, confirmed funding is an endorsement of your project, and may convince the trustees that yours is one to support.

Borrowing

Most students are well accustomed to the notion of student loans and bank loans. As most electives happen during the clinical years of the medical course, banks are likely to throw money at you in the knowledge that several years on you will be in a stable job and able to pay it back. However, there is a broad range of offers and rates available, so if a loan is looking likely then it's worth shopping around.

A review of loans is currently outwith the scope of this website... but hopefully more details will be added soon.