Students from families on a low income – up to £25,000 a year – can apply for bursaries from their universities to help cover tuition and maintenance fees, under the National Scholarship Programme.
For some of these institutions, this lowering of fees will just have been an exercise in moving money from upfront bursaries into fee waivers.
"In financial terms, the real winners from switching bursaries to fee waivers are those who can afford to pay upfront, higher-earning graduates and of course the government debt book".
"Predicted spending on both financial support and outreach activity is up significantly compared with spending under the old fee and support arrangements, although, as with 2012/13 agreements, on financial support the balance has changed from predominantly bursaries and scholarships to a mixture of bursaries and scholarships, fee waivers and other support such as accommodation discounts.
Matt, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, doesn't get any financial help from his parents, or bursaries from his university.
The government says no one should be put off going to university by finance because fees are not paid up-front and teenagers from poorer homes qualify for bursaries and loans to cover their living costs.
The university said its students had directly benefited from the trust's bursaries and from the use of the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, which provides training courses in areas such as IT and the creative arts.
In response to the petition, the Government insisted it needs to move new students from grants and bursaries onto the standard student loans system from 1 August 2017 to be able to deliver more nurses, midwives and allied health professionals for the NHS, a better funding system for health students, and a sustainable model for universities.
Find funding: whether it's from a bursary, your school, or friends and family you need money in order to get your idea off the ground.
