Budgeting at uni
Check out our useful guide on budgeting, advice and support….
Outreach
Parents, Carers and Guardians
Supporting your young person into higher education.
Supporting your child/young person
Choosing which course and where to study can be a challenging task for both you and your child.
The decision about which course to study and at which university will naturally prompt plenty of questions from students as well as parents and carers.
So, we’ve put together lots of information that we hope you will find helpful when beginning the exciting journey to university, including a list of top tips for students each written by a member of the Outreach Team.
Additionally, if you’d like to know more about University of Gloucestershire, you can sign up for email newsletters. You’ll be kept up to date on information about events, accommodation, student finance, the application process and more.
Useful information
Research is absolutely essential when looking into which course to choose and where to study and the more you know about the course and each university, the better.
Here are some great ways to start your research:
Find the right course
UCAS is a good place to start your research and to learn more about all the different courses on offer at all the different universities. Discover Uni is also a really useful place to find out more information about higher education, including helping choose what and where to study and find and compare different courses.
You can also visit the individual web pages for each course using our course finder search tool.
Attend open days
Our open days run from May to November and are an opportunity to explore our campus, meet course tutors and current students and receive one-to-one advice from our support service teams.
If you can’t make one of our open day dates, there are other ways to see our campuses:
• Book a campus visit – on a campus visit you’ll have the opportunity to meet our student ambassadors, ask any questions you might have and be shown around the campus.
• Take a virtual tour – if you can’t visit us in person, you can view our university campuses, buildings and sites with our 360-degree virtual tours.
Attend other events
Throughout the year we also run other events both online and at our campuses including:
• Our public lecture series – a series of free exciting talks given by our academic staff
• Outreach events – including our summer residentials
View information about how to apply.
Most of our courses start in September and full-time course applications have to be made through UCAS. There’s also lots of information on the UCAS website about how to apply.
To allow us to discuss an application with a parent/carer, make sure they’re added as a ‘Nominated Access’ contact on the application form. This ensures we’re compliant with UK Data Protection legislation. If this isn’t done, then we can only share general advice and not information that’s specific to the application.
Got a question about applying?
Contact our Admissions Team.
You may be concerned about student finance and the cost of attending university. However, it’s important to understand that UK students do not have to pay any fees upfront while studying and can apply for student finance.
Student Finance
• Tuition fee loan – your university or college sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to them. You will have to pay it back. View fees, loans and finance page for up to date information about tuition fees. Information is also available on the GOV.UK website.
• Maintenance loan – to help towards living costs and is based on annual household income.
To find out more information about student finance visit our student finance webpage, the GOV.UK website or check out the Student Finance England YouTube channel for some useful videos.
For further guidance, visit UCAS Student finance guidance for parents and partners webpage.
Fee waivers, scholarships, bursaries and awards
Many students may also be entitled to non-repayable additional funding based on circumstances from the university.
At University of Gloucestershire, we have a range of different fee waivers, scholarships, bursaries and awards available, including our Welcome to Gloucestershire Award, Care Leavers Scholarship and Sports scholarships.
Questions about fees and funding?
Our Money Advice Team are available to answer your questions.
At University of Gloucestershire, we have a broad range of accommodation offerings across Cheltenham and Gloucester and we guarantee accommodation for all first-year undergraduate, postgraduate and international students.
Options include halls of residence like our Blackfriars development in the heart of Gloucester, and Pittville Student Village in Cheltenham and there is also university-approved housing and university-registered lodgings.
Check out our accommodation webpage to find out more about the accommodation available at University of Gloucestershire and take a look around our halls of residence with our 360-degree virtual tours.
Apply for halls of residence at University of Gloucestershire
Questions about accommodation?
Our Accommodation Team are available to answer your questions.
At University of Gloucestershire, we take the pastoral care of our students very seriously. To help make the move to university as easy as possible and make the most out of the student experience, we offer a range of services, information and support. This includes:
• Providing students with a personal tutor to give academic advice throughout their studies
• Helping students find somewhere to live, either on or off campus
• Supporting when applying for finance, paying fees and applying for bursaries
• Providing disability advice
• Supporting with mental health and welfare
• Offering counselling services
Find out more about student support at the University of Gloucestershire.
Safety
Both Cheltenham and Gloucester have been awarded Purple Flag status, and we work closely with local police to help our students stay safe – offering advice on personal safety, taking care of their belongings, and how to ensure their accommodation is safe and secure.
Settling in
During the first few weeks in September, we host a range of events to help our new students settle in to student life, including the Students’ Union organised ‘Welcome Fayre’ where students can join a range of societies (clubs or groups at university) and find out more about the local community, volunteering, and much more.
Most students settle in very quickly, but some find the transition more challenging. We have lots of staff who are experienced in dealing with student initial concerns or worries, this includes personal tutors, support networks and the Students’ Union.
Find out more about the University of Gloucestershire’s Students’ Union.
Got a question about care and support?
Contact our Student Support Team.
Our top tips
From helping with research to supporting with writing a personal statement, check out the Outreach Team’s top tips for parents and carers:
• Help with research as much as you can. Look at university websites, support your child with going to open days and other events and help your child create a list on what’s important to them when choosing a course and a university. This could include location, facilities, support services available and extracurricular opportunities.
• Help your child think about their future. What would they like to pursue as a career and how they might achieve this.
• Support your child with writing their personal statement, listing their achievements in both academic and extracurricular, especially if related to the subject. For some top tips on writing a personal statement, check out this YouTube video.
• Ensure your child’s student finance application is sent off as soon as possible including supporting sections. Any delays in submitting the application may result in delayed payment.
• Encourage your child to apply for halls of residence as soon as it’s available, as places can be limited.
• Teach your child how to budget, whether living at home or away, it’s important they know how to cope with large sums of money. See our budgeting at uni webpage for more information.
• And finally, if you’re not sure, ask! The school, head of sixth form, subject leader or the university itself.
Discover our promises
Career Promise
94% of our graduates are in work or further study*, but if you’re not in a job 6 months after graduating we’ll guarantee you 6 months of free support, followed by the offer of a paid internship** – plus we’ll commit to lifetime career coaching.
Accommodation Promise
We guarantee our first-year students accommodation on, or near, the campus you’re studying at.
Connections Promise
With over 4,000 placements, internship opportunities and over 60 societies to join – we have the connections to meet your ambitions.
*Graduate Outcomes Survey published 2026 and based on 2023/24 leavers; **terms apply, view eligibility criteria
If your child or young person is currently studying at UoG and you’re looking for more information on how to contact the University and the support that is on offer, visit our parents and carers webpage.