Support for students with care experience
If you are a care leaver, or if you have a background in care, we will give you advice and guidance throughout the application process. We will also support you throughout your studies by providing financial assistance, year-round access to University accommodation and support to take part in activities outside of the classroom.
- Video: Edinburgh cares
- Our offer to care-experience students and applicants at the University of Edinburgh
We define care experience as any time spent in care at any stage of your life.
Care may have been provided in one of many different settings, such as if you were:
- in residential care
- foster care
- kinship care
- looked after at home with a supervision requirement
This includes adopted children who were previously looked after. There is no age restriction on our definition of care experienced. Some support is only available for UK-domiciled students, but we will sign post you to and advise you of any relevant support available.
If you have indicated on your UCAS application that you have been in local authority care, we will contact you to confirm your eligibility to be considered for a range of support you can access.
The colleague who contacts you will be available to support you throughout your time at the University of Edinburgh.
The University has made a commitment through our Contextual Admissions policy.
We will offer a place to any care-experienced applicant who meets the minimum entry requirements for the programme to which they have applied, wherever that is possible (UK domiciled applicants only).
Once you have received an offer, our named contact (see below) will be in touch with further information about the support systems available to you at the University.
Once you join the University, we will support you throughout your studies by providing:
- Named contact in the WP team
- financial assistance
- year-round access to University accommodation
- a staff or student mentor to support you throughout your time at the University of Edinburgh
Care experienced students who are UK-domiciled will be eligible for the Access Edinburgh Scholarship. Care experienced students not domiciled in the UK will be able to apply for hardship or discretionary funding from the University.
We hope to maintain contact with you and continue to support you throughout your university career.
This could be through coordinating with other support services, or just being on hand to check in with you as you progress through your studies.
Contact us
Our team is on hand to give advice and support throughout the application process and during your studies.
Kirstin Henry
Widening Participation Manager
- Edinburgh Cares
- Widening Participation Team
Contact details
- Work: 07884 117 146
- Email: edinburghcares@ed.ac.uk