Estranged Students’ Grant
At the University of Bradford, we are fully committed to supporting estranged students. We define an estranged student as someone under the age of 25 who is not in contact and not supported by either of their parents.
Estranged students studying at the University of Bradford are eligible to receive a grant of £1,000 for each year of study.
Who is eligible?
You are eligible for this grant if you are aged 25 years or under on the first day of the first academic year of your course and you meet the following eligibility criteria:
- You have no contact with your parents due to estrangement and this is unlikely to change and/or your parents are deceased.
- You have been assessed as independent by your student finance provider because of estrangement and/or having no living parents.
- You have UK Home student status.
- You are not already in receipt of the Care Experienced Student’s Grant.
The grant is open to students at all levels of study, including Foundation years, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Degree Apprenticeships.
How do I apply?
You will need to complete an application form and provide evidence of your estranged student status.
We cannot unfortunately process your application if you provide all the required evidence.
The application form is available here
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You only need to apply once. We will keep your details on our system, and we may need to contact you each year to re-confirm your circumstances.
If you are no longer classed as an estranged student, you will not be eligible to receive the grant.
We need to see evidence that you have been assessed as independent because of estrangement and/or having no living parents from your student finance provider. We also need to see your Student Finance award & payment breakdown.
In the event you are unsuccessful with an estrangement application to your student finance provider, we may accept a letter or statement from an independent person with good standing in the community as an exception. This could include, but is not limited a:
- University, college lecturer or teacher
- Support worker
- Social worker
- Doctor
- Solicitor
- Counsellor
- Police officer
- Member of the clergy, rabbi or imam
- Jobcentre adviser
- Member of staff from an organisation such as Stand Alone, National Association of People Abused in Childhood or Karma Nirvana
Please contact us at [email protected] for further information on proving your estranged student status.
Then we will not be able to process your application. Make sure you check you have submitted the correct documents, as otherwise your application will be delayed.
We will send an email to your student email address to make you aware of our decision.
We usually pay the grant annually at the end of May for each academic year.
Feedback from current estranged students has told us that they find the summer holidays to be the best time to receive the grant, as they do not receive any Student Finance over this period. However, depending on your circumstances, we can consider an alternative individualised plan to meet your needs, or provide you with an alternative form of financial support. Please email [email protected] for more information.
As an estranged student, you have access to a dedicated Money Adviser, to help you with your finances and funding throughout your time at Bradford.
You may be eligible for additional financial help from the University’s Student Support Fund (SSF) which can award grants of up to £2,000 a year, depending on your circumstances. Estranged students have priority access to the SSF and can access support all year round.
Please email [email protected] for more information.