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WPSE Students facing financial difficulties

Young Adult Carers

Financial support available to young adult carers at St Mary's University, London.

You’re a young adult carer if:

  • You’re aged 25 or under when you enrol onto a St Mary’s University undergraduate degree programme.
  • You have significant, unpaid caring responsibilities for a family member.
That could be because of:
  • a long-term or terminal illness
  • a disability
  • a mental health condition
  • frailty or old-age
  • addiction or substance misuse.

You’re eligible for support as a young adult carer if you are:

  • aged 25 or under at the time of enrolment
  • assessed as a ‘home' student by the university.
  • enrolled on an undergraduate course or a PGCE
  • eligible for the full maintenance loan from Student Finance
  • able to provide a letter from a carers network such as , local authority, or a professional (such as a GP or teacher) to prove your young adult carer status.

How to apply for support

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Please email your young adult carer status letter to:

We will contact you to set up an initial meeting either in-person or online to discuss support available to you and answer any questions that you may have.

Financial support available for a young adult carer

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If you’re a young adult carer at St Mary’s University and have been assessed as a 'home' student for fee purposes, you are eligible for:

  • Young Adult Carer Bursary of £1000 per academic year.

Students must provide a letter from a carers network , local authority or a professional (such as a GP or teacher) to prove your young adult carer status.

Please note: Students must progress to the next academic year of their studies to continue receiving the bursary; otherwise, it will be temporarily paused.

  • Hardship fund – Young adult carers are given priority for the . You can email  or come in to see us in the Student Funding Office. This is based in the Student Services Centre, on the top floor of the J Building, and we are open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
  • Summer fund – You will also have the opportunity to apply for additional financial support over the summer period.

Graduation support

We can provide a one-off payment to help cover:

  • gown hire
  • guest tickets x 2
  • basic photo package.

Wellbeing support

Young adult carers can find support for their own wellbeing through:

Counselling service:

Our fully qualified counsellors can help with a range of issues. After an initial assessment, you will be offered up to four counselling sessions with either one of our in-house counsellors, with one of our counsellors from our partner organisation ProblemShared, or referred to a service that is more appropriate.

You can self-refer for counselling or mental health advice by completing the 

Mental health service:

Our dedicated mental health advisors work with students who have a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health condition, or who might experience emotional or psychological distress or personal difficulties during their time at university.

You can self-refer for mental health advice by completing the Disability and Mental Health Referral Form.