Students with caring responsibilities

A carer is anyone who has a commitment to providing unpaid care to a family member or friend who could not cope without their support. This may be due to illness, disability, a mental health issue, or substance misuse.

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.

Some students with care 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 ready if or when you need it.

If you are aged 16 — 25 and have a caring responsibility, you are considered to be a ‘young adult carer’.

There are approximately 375,000 young adult carers in the UK, all facing different challenges and responsibilities. If you provide regular care and support to a family member, partner, or friend, you may be eligible to access additional support while studying. Below are just two of the many charities providing support, information, and advice to young adult carers.

• The Carers Trust offers support to those who who give unpaid care to a family member or friend – find out more at carers.org.
• If someone in your family has a life-threatening illness, Hope Support Services can help. Visit their website for more information or watch their video. You might also be interested in watching Ben’s story.

The UCAS application

For students applying to start their course in 2023, UCAS has introduced a new section in the application so you can share more information about your circumstances with the university or college – including whether you have caring responsibilities. This information means the university or college will be able to connect you to the right support for your needs quickly and easily and ensure you have all the information you need.

If you provide unpaid care for another person, just select ‘yes’ from the drop down box in the question that asks if you have any caring responsibilities in the ‘More about me’ 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.

When you this share information, the university or college may get in touch with more information about how they can help you – and to tell you more about your options. This information is treated confidentially and only shared with those responsible for arranging support and helping you with your application. Knowing about your circumstances may also help admissions staff consider your achievements in context - it won’t reflect negatively on your application.

You are always in control – if you decide 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.

Remember: 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.

Not sure how to share information about your caring responsibilities? Read LEAPS' advice and watch a step-by-step video guide to sharing your caring responsibilities with your unis and colleges in the application. 

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:

• academic help – this might be flexible deadlines, help with managing your workload, or priority access to academic or career opportunities (e.g. internships).
• financial help – some course providers offer bursaries and other financial support to student carers. You might be eligible for a scholarship, grant or bursary.
• health and wellbeing support – as well as support services on campus, some universities and colleges offer induction days over the summer to help you settle in and to give you the chance to discuss your support needs
• Carer Passport – some universities run the Carer Passport scheme, which means you won’t have to share your story multiple times with different staff across the university. Find out more about the Carer Passport

The help available varies between each provider, so do your research before you apply. Most will have a website that gives more details, but you can always contact the student services team directly to find out more. They will also be available to talk to on open days, if you plan to visit.

1. Do your research

If you're thinking about applying to university or college, it's a good idea to find out what support they offer for carers before you make your final decision.

Often, this information is provided on their website, sometimes on a student carers web page. You can contact student support services directly by email or telephone (their details will be available on the university’s website), or visit them during open days to find out more about the academic and practical support they can offer.

Other resources to help you research your options:

• Check out the Going Higher for Student Carers Recognition Award resource on the Carers Trust Scotland website.
• Carers Trust’s Supporting Students with Caring Responsibilities highlights examples of great work being done by universities to support student carers in England and Wales (Welsh language version available here).

2. Tell the university about your circumstances

Knowing a prospective student has caring responsibilities allows the university or college to put support in place, to make sure you get the most from your university experience. We recommend you do this as early as possible, however small or major your caring role may seem to you. 

There are several ways you can tell the uni about your circumstances:

1. Share if you have caring responsibilities in the ‘More about me’ section of the UCAS application – this is the quickest and easiest way.
2. With your permission, your referee can mention your circumstances in the reference. They can also make sure the university knows if your caring role has had any impact on your studies or exam results (e.g. through absence).
3. You can also contact the university or college directly after you've received your offers or confirmed your place. If your circumstances change during your studies or after you apply it’s a good idea to let the university know, so they can support you.

“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'.

If you're responsible for the care and wellbeing of a child aged 17 or under, there may be additional support to help you succeed in your studies.