Coming to university - moving into halls, holiday periods and times of academic pressure - can all be especially hard without the support of your family, but you are not alone.  The University has a dedicated contact person, our Student Widening Participation Adviser, who can offer a warm welcome or a friendly face, and help you access whatever support you might need.

If you are estranged from your parents it is important that you are assessed as such when you apply for student finance.  You will need to provide evidence from an independent person from whom you have sought support.  This might be a teacher, social worker, or another professional, and should be written on letter headed paper.  If you have legal documents regarding your estrangement these can be used too.

The organisation Standalone offer lots of support for estranged adults, including a useful guide for students which provides more detail about applying for student finance. 

If you have any questions, or would like to meet with our Student Widening Participation Adviser please e-mail SuccessAndEngagement@yorksj.ac.uk or book a meeting via our webpage. 

We can help you with issues around:

• Funding, including student finance and Student Support Fund applications
• Accommodation - for example, over the summer months or with problems finding a guarantor for private housing
• Referral to other internal and external sources of support and information