Parents' and Guardians' Guide

Image -  Parents' and Guardians' Guide

As a parent or guardian, you may not need to know the best shop for student discounts or whether there’s a yoga society on campus, but there are many things you will be interested in.


We've gathered everything you need to know, as a parent or guardian of a home undergraduate student, to feel comfortable that we put your child first, ensuring that they are secure and supported throughout their time with us.

About us

At Roehampton, we change lives by helping our students to develop the confidence, knowledge and adaptability they need for a successful graduate career.

 

We are a supportive, close-knit and inclusive community, where anyone can fit in and feel inspired do their best. We have a proud history in higher education stretching back more than 175 years. Through the oldest of our four Colleges, Whitelands, we have been providing higher education to women for longer than any other university in the country.

 

Our values come from this rich history, built on community, engagement and partnership, with a belief that no matter their background, we can help our students realise their ambitions. Our graduates today have excellent employment prospects, and are part of a thriving global community of Roehampton alumni.

Timeline of selection and application process for home undergraduate students

Please click through the timeline to see the actions that need to be taken.

Year 12

What happens?
Year 12 students get the opportunity to attend a UCAS or a Higher Education (HE) Fair at their school or college.

Parent actions
Help to research the courses that your child is interested in and then look at which universities that offer them – this will help as your child will tackle the fair in a productive way.

Year 12 and 13

What Happens?
Attend university open days.

Parent actions
Go along to open days with your child, if they would like you to. This will give you both an opportunity to look at each of the options and discuss the positives and negatives.

What Happens?
Start writing a personal statement for the UCAS application. Students can create a UCAS account now but cannot submit applications.

Year 13

What happens?
Submit applications through UCAS any time from early-September.

Parent actions
Your child will have to register with UCAS in order to start completing their application. The application can be completed in stages, so you could offer to proofread and check it with them.

What happens?
UCAS applications will be submitted to your child's school or college before being sent on to UCAS. The school or college will add their reference as well as predicted grades.

Parent actions
Check with your child’s school or college on when they need to get the UCAS application in by, as this is different to the overall UCAS deadline.

What happens?
Student applications must be submitted 15 January to be considered equally, but there is still a chance to apply after this deadline.

Parent actions
The 15 January deadline is for the chance for student to be equally considered there are further dates in the application cycle so do not worry if this date is not met your child can still apply later in the application cycle.

What happens?
Applicants will start to receive ‘offers’ and will be invited to attend offer holder events. If an applicant has used all five choices and is not holding any offers, they can add another choice using UCAS ‘Extra’.

Parent actions
This can be a stressful time. Try to reassure your child, their friends may receive their offers before your child but their chosen universities will get back to them.

What happens?
Applicants who have received all their decisions by the end of March must reply by the start of May

Parent actions
Your child needs to make a decision about which offers they want to make their firm and insurance choice. Their firm choice should be the university they most want to go to. Their insurance choice should also be a university they want to go to but it should have a lower offer to act as a back-up. This can be a difficult decision, so you may need to act as a sounding board and discuss options with them.

What happens?
Applicants who have received all their university decisions by the beginning of May must reply by early June.

Parent actions
Check with your child when this date is and encourage them to reply – they can find this out on their UCAS Track.

What happens?
Applications who received all their university decisions by the start of June must reply by the end of June.

Parent actions
If your child decided to make an application later in the cycle this will be the date they need to adhere to but you will need to check in with them to see what date the UCAS Track has given them.

What happens?
This is for all late applications and decisions must be made by this date

Parent actions
UCAS Track will advise your child about the dates they need to make decisions by – you can help them to make a decision and ensure they reply on time.

What happens?
Results Day for many qualifications. Clearing opens. Your child can use Clearing if they are still looking for a university place.

Parent actions
If all goes well, it's time to celebrate! However, if your child's grades fall short of what they needed for their Firm Offer, we recommend you encourage them to contact their chosen university and discuss their options before making any big decisions.

Your child may have to apply for a course using Clearing. This involves calling universities who still have places on their courses and chatting to an advisor to see if your child meets the Clearing entry requirements.

What happens?
Applicants need to make sure they meet all the conditions of their offer by late August. This includes any outstanding GCSE results.

Parent actions
Make sure they read all emails and instructions from admissions and send any evidence needed to admissions in good time.

What happens?
Applicants arrive at their chosen university

Parent actions
September is a busy month, especially if your child is going to live at the university – help your child to prepare by encouraging them to read all the information they are sent by their new university and student finance.

Applying through UCAS

UCAS stands for Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It's the centralised service that students use to apply to university.

Your child will have to register with UCAS in order to start completing their application. The application can be completed in stages, so you could offer to proofread and check it with them. Check with your child’s school or college on when they need to get the UCAS application in by, as this is different to the overall UCAS deadline.

Applicants will receive all their university decisions by the beginning of March at the earliest. They must reply within a month of receiving this information. UCAS will advise your child about the dates they need to make decisions by – you can help them to make a decision and ensure they reply on time.

All new students coming to the University can apply for a place in our halls of residence. Whether your child prefers a deluxe room or our standard option, there is something to suit everyone.

We have a dedicated accommodation team, who can help your child find what they are looking for on campus as well as provide support and advice.

As they progress through their studies, the accommodation team will also be there to help find off-campus options nearby, or a room in our continuing-student halls of residence.

You can find out more about our accommodation options here.

At Roehampton, we provide a wide range of opportunities for your child to get involved with, this could be through volunteering, playing sport or music, or joining one of our many active student societies.

We offer multi-faith chaplaincy with chaplains, associate chaplains, chaplaincy community workers and faith supporters from a number of faith traditions.

The Roehampton Students’ Union provides a variety of opportunities to help your child get the most out of their time with us, as well as providing student support services, there are over 55 student-led societies, so there is something for everyone.

You can read more about student life at Roehampton here.

Going to university is a huge milestone in your child’s life, we know there may be times they need support, whether it is to talk through personal matters, manage a health issue or seek advice.

We provide health and wellbeing services, financial guidance and support to develop your child’s study skills. They will also have access to careers advice, work placements, work opportunities and career mentoring.

You can read more about all the support services we offer students here.

We offer a range of financial support, including scholarships, a Student Hardship Fund for those in financial difficulty, advice regarding undergraduate and postgraduate loans and personal advice on budgeting. For more detailed information, please visit our financial Support page.

We run a series of open days and virtual events  throughout the year. We also run campus tours, when government guidance allows for this.

These events will give you and your child the chance to talk to our friendly staff, explore our campus and see our facilities, you will also get to meet current Roehampton students.

We recommend joining one of our events, as they provide a great introduction to Roehampton and offer a chance to find out more about the intended subject of study. Even if your child isn’t quite sure what course they want to do, an open day can help them make up their mind.

You can find out more about our events and book a place here.