{"id":4571,"date":"2020-08-19T16:31:14","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T15:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/?page_id=4571"},"modified":"2023-06-26T14:07:57","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T14:07:57","slug":"applying-to-university-care-leaver","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\/","title":{"rendered":"Applying to university"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Applying to university<\/h1>\n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/span>\n\n\n
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Practical guide to starting university<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve pulled together practical tips to help if you are thinking of applying to university or starting university, as well as places to get support if you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Guide to starting uni<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Care leaver team contacts at universities and colleges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve developed a list of support details and funding information for care leavers and care leaver team contacts for UCAS coded UK colleges and universities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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University and college contacts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A practical guide for finding discounts, grants, funding and career opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It can be hard to find discounts, grants, funding and career opportunities and to know how to access them. We\u2019ve pulled together this list to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View our guide<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Thinking of applying to university as a care leaver?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deciding to go to university is a big step for anyone. It can be confusing and a bit overwhelming. The process can be especially difficult if you\u2019re a care leaver, and you might not know where to turn for help. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019ve put together this guide for care leavers who are thinking about applying to university and those who are already students. You’ll find first-hand experiences of what it\u2019s really like to apply to and attend university as a care leaver, and advice and insights directly from care leavers who\u2019ve been through the process themselves. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve also put together a list of organisations who can help you with lots of different aspects of your journey, from finding accommodation to applying for grants. This guide is a work in progress, so if you\u2019d like to share your story, add a resource, or if you think we\u2019ve missed something, drop us a line at hello@imohub.org.uk.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

University experiences and advice from care leavers<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n The Guarantor Scheme: giving care leavers the opportunity to rent privately <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Other opportunities \n <\/div>\n
\n A practical guide for finding discounts, grants, funding and career opportunities <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Practical guide to starting university <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Education \n <\/div>\n
\n University and college contacts <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"Estranged\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Building a community of support for estranged and care experienced students <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n What I wish I\u2019d known before becoming a care-experienced social worker <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Planting the seed: going to university as a care leaver <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Making the jump from care to college <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"Louise\u2019s\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n The IMO Podcast, series 2 episode 1: Louise’s story <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Finding my voice and owning my reality <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n The IMO Podcast, series 1 episode 5: Steven’s story <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n From loss to lectures <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Studying at the University of Oxford as a care leaver <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n My journey from foster care to the University of Oxford <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n What you should know about Kai <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n Studying to become a social worker <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n My unconventional route to university <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \n Your stories \n <\/div>\n
\n IMO chats to Cambridge graduate and care leaver Ashley John Baptiste <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/use><\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n<\/div> \r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Support for care leavers<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\n \n \n \n Advice and information <\/span>\n \n <\/use><\/svg><\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n
\n

Coram Voice<\/a>\u00a0offers advice, support and advocacy to care leavers.<\/p>\n

Propel<\/a>\u00a0supports care leavers to achieve their higher education goals.<\/p>\n

Help at Hand<\/a>\u00a0is an advice line run by the Children\u2019s Commissioner for England. It provides free, impartial advice and representation to care leavers.<\/p>\n

Become<\/a>\u00a0runs an advice line for children in care and care leavers.<\/p>\n

Barnardos<\/a>\u00a0supports young people leaving care with housing, finances, education and employment.<\/p>\n

The Care Leaver Covenant<\/a>\u00a0supports care leavers with finding accommodation, and with educational costs.<\/p>\n

The Complete University Guide<\/a>\u00a0offers advice on entitlements and support available to care leavers attending university.<\/p>\n

National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NECCL)<\/a>\u00a0provides advice, guidance and support to care leavers in higher education.<\/p>\n

Skills Support<\/a>\u00a0provides information on training, learning and employment opportunities for care leavers.<\/p>\n

Stand Alone<\/a>\u00a0provides financial advice to estranged students.<\/p>\n

UCAS<\/a>\u00a0has a section on its website dedicated to supporting care leavers.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n \n \n \n Help with accommodation <\/span>\n \n <\/use><\/svg><\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n
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Unite Foundation<\/a>\u00a0offers students free purpose-built accommodation for up to three years of study with no rent or bills. They have 27 partner universities.<\/p>\n

The Care Leaver Covenant<\/a>\u00a0supports care leavers with finding student accommodation.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n \n \n \n Support with finances <\/span>\n \n <\/use><\/svg><\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n
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Buttle UK<\/a>\u00a0offers grants to care leavers attending university.<\/p>\n

Rees Foundation<\/a>\u00a0offers career coaching and grants to help with educational costs.<\/p>\n

The Welland Trust<\/a>\u00a0offers grants to care-experienced adults to help with their career development and higher education fees.<\/p>\n

Capstone Care Leavers\u2019 Trust<\/a>\u00a0offers advice, support and grants for course fees.<\/p>\n

Spark Foundation<\/a>\u00a0offers grants of up to \u00a3600 for educational costs.<\/p>\n

The Care Leaver Covenant<\/a>\u00a0supports care leavers with educational costs.<\/p>\n

The Tunstall Jubilee Foundation<\/a>\u00a0offers grants to care leavers to help with the costs of education and training.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First hand experiences and advice from care leavers for care leavers on going to university<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4660,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4571","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Applying to university - IMO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Advice and guidance on applying to university as a care leaver, plus real-life experiences from others who've been through the process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Applying to university - IMO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Advice and guidance on applying to university as a care leaver, plus real-life experiences from others who've been through the process.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"In My Opinion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-26T14:07:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/09\/UCAS-care-leaver-video-thumbnail.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1184\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"669\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\\\/\",\"name\":\"Applying to university - IMO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/UCAS-care-leaver-video-thumbnail.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-19T15:31:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-26T14:07:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"Advice and guidance on applying to university as a care leaver, plus real-life experiences from others who've been through the process.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/applying-to-university-care-leaver\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/UCAS-care-leaver-video-thumbnail.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/UCAS-care-leaver-video-thumbnail.png\",\"width\":1184,\"height\":669},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/\",\"name\":\"IMO\",\"description\":\"IMO is a voice for teenagers in care and for care leavers. 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