Estranged students
An estranged student is defined as a young person under the age of 25 at the start of their Heriot-Watt programme who no longer has the support of their family. This might mean biological or adoptive parents or wider family members who have been responsible for supporting you in the past. Estrangement is due to a complete and ongoing breakdown in the relationship which has led to ceased contact and a withdrawal of financial and emotional support.
This doesn’t include:
- If you are estranged from one parent/carer but still maintain contact with another
- If you have moved to Scotland from another country for the purposes of education
- If you have been bereaved.
If you’ve had any one-off contact with your parents or legal guardians while you’ve been estranged, we’ll consider this on a case-by-case basis.
If you’re unsure if this applies to you just get in touch with our Widening Access Team and we can help you.
The Stand Alone Pledge
The University signed the Stand-Alone Pledge to continually improve the support for current and future Heriot-Watt students who experience estrangement at any time while at university. We will continue to honour the legacy of Stand Alone and the pledge we made to support estranged students.
Pre-enrolment support
Estranged students are under-represented in education and can sometimes struggle to manage their life and studies. We work closely with estranged students and their supporters and advisers, at every stage including providing advice on the best route for you to get into university and working with those who might not think university is for them. Get in touch with our Widening Access Team if you have any questions.
Tracey Kerr, our Widening Participation Manager, is the named point of contact for estranged students up to and including the transition to university – wp@hw.ac.uk.
Applying to our University
If you’re applying to university, or supporting someone who is estranged, please get in touch with our Widening Access Team to tell us about your circumstances and find out how we can help.
We realise that it can be difficult for estranged students to get the entry qualifications needed for university, which is why we include estranged students in our Fair Access Policy during the admissions process. Make sure you tick the box on our UCAS application form highlighting that you are an estranged student. This will allow us to make you an adjusted offer and contact you about the support you are entitled to. Anything you tell us will be held in strictest confidence. We have put together guidance to help you complete your UCAS application. If you’re not sure if you’re studying the right courses, or wondering what courses to choose, we can help you figure out the right route for you.
Other support we offer
We can also help you find out about what financial support is available to you such as our Heriot-Watt Access Bursary and our Expenses Bursary.
Advice for advisers of carers
If you think we can help you with your work with estranged students, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
After you enrol as a new student
Once you are a student with us, you’ll have access to a wide range of support services, including our wellbeing team.
As a student, or if you are supporting a new or current University student, Emma Smail in our Wellbeing team can help you – e.smail@hw.ac.uk. There is more information on our support pages for estranged students.