Estranged students
You may be estranged from your family and be studying without the support or approval of a family network - at Essex we're committed to supporting you.
We understand that no two circumstances are the same and appreciate that you may face challenges if you're in the process of proving this status to your funding body. Your funding body may ask you to provide up-to-date evidence of your estrangement every year while you're studying.
There are many complex reasons for being estranged:
- victims of emotional or physical abuse by family members
- threatened with or experienced ‘honour’ based violence or forced marriage
- experienced familial rejection based on sexual orientation or gender identity
- homeless or are at risk of homelessness
- care leavers
The definition of an ‘estranged student’
The Office for Fair Access states that students who are estranged have no communicative relationship with either of their living biological parents and often their wider family networks as well.
Students under 25 at the start of the academic year are usually considered ‘dependent’ and are expected to provide information about their parents’ income when applying for finance. However, estranged students should only be assessed on their own household income and not that of their biological or adoptive parents.
Providing evidence confirming you are estranged from both your biological or adoptive parents:
Members of staff at the University are not able to provide evidence of your estranged status unless they know your family, or you have provided other relevant evidence (see below). Evidence based on 'the student tells me' is not accepted.
Please consider if any of the following can provide this evidence:
- letter from your social or support worker
- letter from a doctor that knows your situation
- police report showing any related incidents
- letter from a teacher or university/college lecturer that knows your situation
- letter from a ‘person of good standing in the community’ (for example a solicitor, religious leader or a counsellor)
- letter from a housing organisation (if you were trying to find alternative accommodation)
- letter of support from a counselling or similar organisation who may have been helping with your estrangement
- a court order, showing you were trying to distance yourself from your parents
- copy of the Estrangement form accepted by your funding body (SFE form).
Support available to you
For further help and advice please contact the Student Services Hub.