Going to university as a care leaver

Many care experienced young people go on to achieve amazing things in higher education - so can you.

Help with going to university as a care leaver

If you decide that university is right for you, we can:

  • Help you to find the right course and university.
  • Help you to apply for all the appropriate tuition fees and maintenance loans.
  • Make sure you're supported to access a higher education bursary with a payment of up to £2,000, paid in instalments, to fund additional costs associated with your course.
  • Help with any travel costs at the start and end of the term.
  • Give you funding towards your housing costs, equivalent to the basic halls of accommodation, for the 52 weeks of the year, not just term time.
  • Give you a weekly allowance equivalent to the amount of benefits you'd get for your age.
  • Provide you with a laptop and printer up to the value of £300.
  • Give you £15 per month towards internet access.

Applying for university as a care leaver

Everyone applies to university through UCAS. When you apply you can let the university know you're a care leaver.

It's kept confidential and won't be used against you in any way. It does, however, let the university know that you're entitled to support, many universities offer bursaries and support just for care leavers.

Entry requirements and grades

Entry requirements are different depending on the university. Some will want you to have studied a specific subject beforehand, others will want you to get a certain number of UCAS Tariff points. Find out more about UCAS Tariff points

If you don't have enough UCAS Tariff points or aren't studying the right subjects, don't be put off, contact the university. There might be some flexibility, or they might be able to suggest a course that is similar but has different entry requirements.

Have a chat with your personal adviser about your options.

Information and advice for going to university as a care leaver

Here are some organisations that provide information and advice about going to university:

How to get support with going to university as a care leaver

To get our support you can:

  • Get in touch with us using the contact details on this page
  • Speak to your personal adviser or social worker

 

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