Your education - University
Thinking about university? There's lots of support available to you if this is the route you choose to go down.
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Learning and Work Adviser
If you decide you would like to go to university, or you're still thinking about whether it's right for you, your Learning and Work Adviser can help you consider which subjects you could take at college to help you when applying for particular courses at university. They can also help you with your application and can help you understand the practical support you will receive from the Local Authority.
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Financial help
There are costs you'll have to think about when going to university, and this is why the Local Authority thinks it's important you have help with this. The main costs are tuition fees, accommodation and your general living costs.
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Support from the University of York
​At the University of York there is a designated member of staff to support you in thinking about your future and more specifically, whether university is for you or not. Any young person in care can access this support, whether you'd like to attend the University of York or whether you're thinking about going to another university. Below are the details you need:
Vanessa Conman
Widening Participation Officer
01904 323113
Vanessa can either talk to you on the phone, by email or meet up for an informal chat about university in general, student finance, student support, courses available and different types of universities. The Widening Participation Team run lots of workshops, talks and campus visits for young people who are considering university. Every university has a widening participation team, so it's worth finding out who they are if you're planning to attend another university. In addition, if you would like to visit a university for an Open Day or Visit Day, universities can often arrange to pay for your travel costs. Just get in touch with Vanessa about this.
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Applying and support while studying at University of York
​If you chose to study at the University of York, there is plenty of dedicated support available at the University of York to help students who have spent time in care during their time here. The Student Support Co-ordinator at the University of York is:
Nicola Browne
Student Support Co-ordinator
01904 324140
Support at the University of York includes:
Support when you first arrive – starting university can be a daunting time. A member of the Student Hub team will be in touch with you regularly during your first term to check how you are settling in.
Financial support – we offer a Care Leavers' Bursary of £3,000 in the first year; £2,500 in subsequent years (plus £1,000 in your final term to assist with graduation and interview costs) to students who meet ALL of the following criteria:
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You are a Home UK student
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You will be under 25 on the first day of your university course
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At any point from the age of 16 to the start of your course you have not been under the legal care of your parents
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For three months or more you have been in the custody of, in legal care of, or have been given accommodation by a local authority.
If you find yourself in unexpected financial difficulty while you are studying we can tell you about hardship and emergency funding. If you decide to apply for this, as a care leaver, you will be prioritised for an award.
Flexible accommodation contracts - we offer flexible accommodation contracts for care leavers so that you can stay in university accommodation during the holidays if you would like to.
Support renting private sector accommodation – after your first year at York you may decide to rent shared private sector accommodation that requires a UK based rent guarantor. If you don’t have a UK based guarantor the University will consider acting as your guarantor (through the Rent Guarantee Scheme) in order to help you to rent in the private sector.
Study skills support – the academic support office can help you develop a number of key study skills to improve your academic experience, including skills in academic reading and writing, IT and maths and delivering a presentation.
Access to all our support services – you will be able to access a range of specialist support while you’re studying at York, including: counselling, disability support, financial advice and information relating to careers and employment.
Emotional support – there are plenty of people you can approach for advice or a chat when you are at York, including your college team, your academic supervisor, YUSU and colleagues in Student Support.
If you are considering studying at the University of York, or any other university, please feel free to get in touch with Nicola Browne, the Student Support Co-ordinator at the University of York. Nicola can have a chat to you about university life and show you around campus.