You will need to apply for a full student loan as an independent student and care leaver to cover course fees. You will also need to apply for a full maintenance grant to help with living expenses.
We pay for your UCAS fee when you apply and will provide you with financial support of £3000 per year for a maximum of four years during your undergraduate course. This will be paid in three £1000 instalments at the start of each term.
If you need to leave home to go to university in the UK, most universities will offer free accommodation to care leavers.
If you are attending a university that does charge you for accommodation, we will fund your accommodation for you. This could be 40 weeks at university and 12 weeks elsewhere, or the full 52 weeks at university.
You can discuss your accommodation in advance with your personal advisor so that you know where you will be living whilst studying.
You can use your care leaver grant to buy items for your new accommodation and your personal advisor can help you with this.
We will also support you with travel costs to and from university at the start and end of each term.
You can get up to £500 for things that you want or need for your course including:
If you are studying an undergraduate course, your personal advisor will continue to support you after you turn 21.
Although you will not have a pathway plan when you turn 25, if you have started a university course we will check in with you twice a year to see how you are doing. You can contact us in-between if you need to. We can offer advice if needed.
Different universities have different packages of support for care leavers. Your personal advisor can go through Propel with you to find the right support for you.
The Unite Foundation offers scholarships in partnership with 28 universities which include free university accommodation for three years of undergraduate study. You can find out which universities offer the scholarship on their website.
"Having that financial support from the council and not having to worry about working alongside university gave me extra time to study."