Parents, Carers and Guardians
Supporting your young person into higher education.
Supporting your child
Choosing which course, university and where in the country to study can be a challenging task for you, as well as your child.
The decision about which course to study and what university to study at 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.
Top tips
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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 great 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. We also have a 24/7 virtual open day, where you can watch our welcome, student life and course talks, and take tours of the campuses and facilities whenever suits you.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.
Want to find out more or book a date to suit you?
Visit our open day webpage
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 schools
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Who Cares? We Do
At University of Gloucestershire, we care about the future of our students and the planet – as a leader and pioneer of sustainability in Higher Education, our University is in the top tier of SOS UK‘s Carbon Targets assessment. That’s why we’ve put a stop to our printed prospectuses and are instead only providing a digital interactive prospectus.Take a look at our podcast series ‘Who Cares’ which delves into what new university students care about. Our students and team discuss everything from how you’ll fit in and be supported, to student life in Gloucestershire and whether going to university is really worth it.
How to apply
Full details of how to apply for our courses is available through the ‘Apply’ link which can be found on each course page.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. If you’re a full-time student, you can get up to £9,250. If you’re studying an accelerated degree course, you could get up to £11,100. View further information on student finance.
• Maintenance loan – to help towards living costs and is based on annual household income.
To find out more information about student finance visit www.gov.uk/student-finance 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.
To find out more about all those available at the University of Gloucestershire check out our additional funding webpage.
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.
To apply for halls of residence at University of Gloucestershire visit here.
Questions about accommodation?
Our Accommodation Team are available to answer your questions.
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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 wellbeing
• 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.
We also have the Student Community Patrol scheme, which is made up of University of Gloucestershire student volunteers, who have been well-trained to assist students and non-students who get into difficulty on a night out. Student Community Patrollers are highly valued and make a real difference in the community.
Find out more about the Student Community Patrol scheme.
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 Week’ 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. -
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.
• And finally, if you’re not sure, ask! The school, head of sixth form, subject leader or the university itself.
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