You may be estranged from your family and be studying without the support or approval of a family network - at Essex we're committed to supporting you.
We understand that no two circumstances are the same and appreciate that you may face challenges if you're in the process of proving this status to your funding body. Your funding body may ask you to provide up-to-date evidence of your estrangement every year while you're studying.
There are many complex reasons for being estranged:
The Office for Fair Access states that students who are estranged have no communicative relationship with either of their living biological parents and often their wider family networks as well.
Students under 25 at the start of the academic year are usually considered ‘dependent’ and are expected to provide information about their parents’ income when applying for finance. However, estranged students should only be assessed on their own household income and not that of their biological or adoptive parents.
Members of staff at the University are not able to provide evidence of your estranged status unless they know your family, or you have provided other relevant evidence (see below). Evidence based on 'the student tells me' is not accepted.
Please consider if any of the following can provide this evidence:
UCAS and Stand Alone provide information and support to help you apply to university.
Stand Alone and the Student Loans Company offer guidance on applying for funding before you start your course. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your funding is approved for the start of your course. You can apply for your first choice of course and University, and update your funding application at a later date if you need to.
Your application should be based solely on your income as you're classed as an independent student. The Student Loans Company have a specialist team to help you apply for your student loan. Email them: estranged@slc.co.uk.
You'll need to provide one of the following:
You can fill in their confirmation of estrangement form and submit it with your application for student finance. You can ask your independent trusted person to complete part of the form for you.
There is also a bursary available if you have experienced care or estrangement.
As a first year undergraduate estranged student, you can apply for on-campus accommodation with a 39 week or 50 week contract from the start of your studies.
Your Student Services Hub offers advice and guidance on a range of issues, such as changing your course, financial matters, impartial money management and debt advice. You can request an appointment with a specialist adviser.
We provide support if you’re experiencing emotional or mental health difficulties.
If you need any further help and advice, please contact or visit the Student Services Hub who will be happy to assist you.