Students with caring responsibilities

This content is provided in partnership with Carers Trust.

A carer is anyone who gives unpaid care to a family member, partner or friend who could not cope without their support. This may be due to a long-term illness, disability, a mental health condition, or an addiction.

A caring responsibility may be short term — such as supporting someone with their recovery following an accident, or long term — such as helping someone with a long-term illness.

Caring responsibilities might include physical care (e.g. helping someone out of bed), personal care​ (e.g. helping someone wash), emotional support, ​collecting prescriptions and helping to give medicine​, and providing emergency care. For young adult carers, this might also involve practical household tasks (e.g. cooking and cleaning), managing the family budget, and looking after siblings.

There are many different types of caring responsibilities – and many different types of carer. Here are some examples:

• A 17 year old supporting his mother who has depression and anxiety.
• A19 year old supporting her partner with an alcohol problem.
• A 24 year old caring for his father who has heart problems and mobility issues.
• A 42 year old looking after their autistic child.

Some students with caring responsibilities might think it's not worth telling the university or college about their circumstances, perhaps because they think it's a temporary situation, or because they don’t think it ‘counts’. However, all carers deal with their responsibilities alongside their education differently, and you may still find some occasional support helpful, especially if your circumstances change. It’s important to make sure it's help is ready if or when you need it.

These are just some of the many organisations which can help you:

• The Carers Trust offers support to those who who give unpaid care to a family member or friend – find out about their support for young adult carers and find your local carer services. 
• MYTIME Young Carers supports young carers aged 5-25, including toolkits for young carers and support for parents.
• Sidekick is a confidential helpline for young carers – text 07888 868 059 or email: [email protected].
• The NHS offers support with knowing your rights as a young carer.
• Contact your local council or carers service to find out how they can support you with your caring role if you are planning to go to university – find out about your rights on the Carers Trust website.

If you're responsible for providing unpaid care to a family member, partner or friend, you may be able to get extra support during your studies. This could include:

• financial help, such as a bursary
• support with managing your workload and deadlines
• help with your own health and wellbeing

There’s a variety of help available for students with caring responsibilities, so it’s a good idea to do your research before you apply. We recommend you contact your university as early as possible to discuss your circumstances and any support needs you may have, however small or major they may seem. This will help you make a smooth transition to university and succeed in your ongoing studies.

Some carers think their caring role will prevent them from going to university, even if higher education would help them meet their aspirations in education and work. This might be because of financial reasons, concerns about balancing studying with a caring role, or worrying about who would provide care in their absence if they wanted to move away.

If you're balancing your studies with the responsibility of caring for another person, this can sometimes be challenging. To help you manage this, many universities and colleges have put support in place specifically to help student with caring responsibilities. This can include:

You can share more information about your caring responsibilities – and any other circumstances – in your UCAS application. This helps universities and colleges to connect you to the right support for your needs and ensure you have all the information you need.

If you provide unpaid care for another person, select ‘yes’ from the drop-down box in the question that asks if you have any caring responsibilities in the ‘More about you’ section of the application. You will not have to give any further details at this stage.

Note: There is a separate question where you can share if you have parenting responsibilities.

What happens when I share my information?

The information you give about your caring responsibilities is treated sensitively and only shared with those responsible for arranging support and helping you with your application (e.g. the student support team). Knowing about your circumstances may also help admissions staff consider your achievements more fully – this is called contextual admissions – read more about contextual admissions.

The university or college may get in touch to tell you more about how they can support you, but we recommend you contact them to discuss your needs directly. Not all universities and colleges offer the same type of support, so research your options before you make your application to ensure they offer what you need.

You are always in control – if you decide you don’t want support, you can choose not to accept it, but if you change your mind later on, or if your circumstances change, it’s ready for you. To find out more about sharing information about your caring responsibilities in the UCAS application, read our FAQs page.

All applicants can apply for loans to cover tuition fees where applicable (paid directly to the university), and maintenance costs (paid directly into your bank account). What is available depends on where you live in the UK and your household income.

• Student finance – all the information about how and when to apply.
• Disabled Students' Allowance – find out who can claim and how to apply.
• Scholarships, grants and bursaries – what’s available and are you eligible?

Note: You cannot claim Carer's Allowance if you are in full-time education – including school, college or university. If you are planning to study part-time (21 hours per week or fewer), you may still be eligible – read more about Carer's Allowance eligibility on GOV.UK.

Balancing caring responsibilities and your studies can be stressful, so it’s important to look after your mental health and wellbeing. Most universities will have a wellbeing service team, although it may have a different name. This is usually the best place to find information about the support and services available – from general wellbeing support, to help with a specific mental health condition.

Read more about looking after your mental health and wellbeing at uni.

The Carers Trust website has many resources to support carers of all ages, including information about your rights, how to find support locally, and how to get help with your caring responsibilities.

Carers in the UK have rights in law, which emphasises that they should receive the appropriate support to allow them to meet their own personal goals, including education. There are some differences depending on where in the UK you come from – select your country below for more information from Carers Trust:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

In terms of increasing support at university, it is to make sure that anyone who does care for someone is recognised from the start so the university can make sure that they are not alone and know that if they want and need help there is always someone there! Starting university, I did not disclose that I cared for someone on my university application as I thought it was not needed and to be honest did not want to use it as an excuse. However, since telling someone at university the support that I have gained has helped so much. I wished I had said something at the beginning and do recommend disclosing this on the application as you never know the help or opportunities you can get by doing this.

*Source: Carers Trust guide to 'Supporting students with caring responsibilities'.