Balancing Books and Budgets: How Scholarcy Helps Students Succeed

Pursuing a higher education can be expensive, but just how much pressure is the cost of living impacting students' mental wellbeing? Typically, we don’t like to discuss money in the UK, but budgeting is an essential part of university and it is an important life lesson. 

The National Student Money Survey revealed that the average student spends £1,204 per month on living expenses alone, far exceeding the average Maintenance Loan of £600. With rent alone consuming an average of £540 of monthly budgets, many students are left scrambling to cover the £504 shortfall, often relying on part-time jobs, parental support, or even facing the risk of dropping out. According to Student Minds, 83% of students expressed concerns about the cost-of-living crisis, with 41% reporting that it has negatively impacted their mental well-being.

During the cost-of-living crisis, it’s more important than ever for students to spend their money wisely and safeguard their education with the right tools to ease the pressure  of university life and help them succeed. If you’re balancing a part-time job alongside lectures, keeping on top of your reading list is still crucial—otherwise, you may find yourself studying until 5 a.m. That’s where the new generation of reading and research tools like Scholarcy can help, by breaking texts down into easy-to-read sections, helping you pull out key facts and findings from your texts and easing the pain of bibliographies, all without breaking the bank.

Scholarcy offers both free and paid plans, including browser extensions,  a personal library with unlimited imports, and  institution-wide licenses. It helps students with their self-directed study, identifying making it easier to identify key themes, concepts and arguments in any text and letting them build up a library of summaries that they can refer to for a quick refresher before a lecture or writing an essay.

I used my own 10,000-word dissertation to demonstrate just how easy it is to use Scholarcy. In seconds, it  was able to summarise the main objective of my entire thesis:

This feature not only saved me hours of work but also helped me focus on refining my arguments. By honing in on the central aspects of my paper, I could concentrate on the feminist lens without being diverted by theories surrounding popular authors that might have overshadowed my core arguments. I could easily With Scholarcy, students can stay on track with their reading, save time, and approach writing and applying their knowledge more confidently. 

How Tools Like Scholarcy Can Lighten the Load for Students

Leaving home, moving into student accommodation, and learning to support yourself at university is not easy. For neurodivergent students and those with specific learning differences  such as ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, or Dyspraxia, these challenges can completely overshadow their experience of education. Managing expenses (budgeting, organising loans) alongside academic demands (reading, writing and revising), such as: ,requires a lot of mental energy and a strong support network. 

As a graduate with severe dyslexia, I know this struggle all too well.

I couldn’t read or write until I was eleven, and attending university felt like a distant dream. Coming from a working-class background with my mother as a full-time carer and my father often traveling for work, I didn’t think higher education was financially or academically within reach. It was a shock to everyone, including me, when I was accepted to study at King’s College London.

Despite securing grants and working part-time, I still felt the heavy weight of juggling tuition fees, living expenses, and travel costs. Every penny mattered, and balancing work shifts with academic deadlines often felt like an impossible task. Today, with tuition fees exceeding £9,500 annually and the cost-of-living soaring, the financial strain is even greater for students. The pressure to stay afloat financially while keeping up academically can take a serious toll on mental health and well-being.

In times like these, it is essential not only to be savvy with your finances but also with the tools you choose to help keep you on track whether that’s financially or academically. Time is money, and as a student, you cannot afford to waste it searching for relevant sources or quotes. This is where Scholarcy can lighten the load. Scholarcy doesn’t just  save you time on  research, it can help you dig deeper and ask your articles and book chapters questions. 

Using the  Dig Deeper feature, you can ask specific questions and receive precise answers. For example, I asked it to outline the key novels analysed in my dissertation on feminism and the fairy tale. In seconds, it generated a detailed breakdown of the authors, titles, and how each text was compared through a feminist lens.

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This feature takes the time and pain out of finding references, themes, and arguments in even the longest texts. Instead of endlessly scrolling to find what you need, Scholarcy pinpoints the key information for you. Whether it is for an essay, presentation, or exam, the dig deeper function ensures your time is spent effectively, helping you stay focused on what matters most.

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Staying Focused and Gaining Clarity 

For someone like me, managing dyslexia has always made it difficult to stay focused on lengthy academic texts. 

Concentrating for long periods while trying to extract key arguments can be extremely difficult, and it is easy to lose my train of thought. That is why I believe neurodivergent students need to think outside the box when approaching their studies, and tools like Scholarcy can help make sense of the chaos.

Scholarcy’s ability to break down articles, chapters and even long-form essays into practical snapshots and give handy overviews of key sections like objectives, methods, and conclusions helps me to cut through the noise. Instead of rereading the same passages or endlessly searching for relevant points, I can access the information I need much more easily.

This signposting helps me to focus on refining my arguments and engage more deeply with the material, rather than being bogged down by the volume of reading. Scholarcy creates a structure that supports students like me in overcoming obstacles and making real progress. 

Supporting Neurodiverse Students 

For neurodivergent students, balancing academic demands with the rising cost of living requires innovative solutions. In 2021, Scholarcy was approved by the UK Department for Education to be provided as an  assistive technology under the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA), and has become a critical tool for those in higher education needing extra support. By breaking down complex texts and highlighting essential points, Scholarcy reduces the mental strain often associated with studying, offering clarity and structure when it is needed most.

This approval reflects Scholarcy’s commitment to making academic texts  accessible to everyone, especially students facing unique challenges. With its ability to save time and simplify learning, Scholarcy provides a practical pathway for learners to thrive in their studies while maintaining their well-being. You do not have to wait for help, Scholarcy is available 24/7, ready to support you in achieving the education you deserve