Estranged students
What is an estranged student?
At Heriot-Watt 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 are if they are unsure if this applies to you, you can discuss this further, so please contact wpwellbeing@hw.ac.uk.
If you aren’t estranged and are struggling with family or bereavement issues you can still receive support - contact studentwellbeing@hw.ac.uk.
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.
An estranged student's experience
Support provided by the University makes a real difference, as one estranged student now in 5th year told us:
The support I've received from Student Wellbeing Services while at Heriot-Watt (both financially and emotionally) has been fundamental in my continuing in Higher Education. I've found that the Wellbeing Services perfectly fill the gap that a family usually would. This is demonstrated by the many bursaries offered, the frequent check-ins throughout the semester and holidays, and overall being a great place to turn to whenever you need someone to talk to with regards to personal or university troubles. All in all, the entire team genuinely care and go above and beyond to deliver any support they can. Thank you!
Heriot-Watt is committed to giving access and opportunities to people who are estranged, and we recognise estranged students as one of our widening access (WA) student groups. By telling us you are estranged we can provide access to a range of advice, guidance and support to help you succeed at university. Please be reassured that any information you tell us will be dealt with confidentially.
You can let us know you are estranged during the application stage by ticking the box on your UCAS application, emailing access@hw.ac.uk, by ticking the box during your enrolment or at any point during your studies by emailing studentsuccess@hw.ac.uk.