Supporting your young person post-16
The Sixth Form or College years are a time of growing independence for your learner. As they start to think about their post-18 options, your support will be invaluable in helping them make the right choices for them.
There are a few main areas that you can assist your learner in finding out about:
There are many places where you can start your research into courses and universities. A useful resource is the UCAS website. UCAS is the University and Colleges Admissions Service. As well as being the one central system through which people apply for university in the UK, UCAS is an impartial source of information and advice. It gathers information from all the universities and colleges of Higher Education in the UK and all the courses on offer can be found on their website.
There is lots of information on the UCAS website for parents, guardians and carers. See the Parents Guides available here:
Parent, Guardian and Carer Guide | Undergraduate, Conservatoires | UCAS
It also has a guide for advising students with individual needs:
Step-by-step guides for advising students with individual needs | Undergraduate | UCAS
Once you and your learner have found the courses that they are interested in on the UCAS website, go to the individual university’s websites, where the courses are described in detail, and all the other information about studying at that university is presented. You should also go to your learner’s teachers and careers advisors, as they are experts in this field, often having advised pupils on university applications for many years.
Being aware of key dates and deadlines will help you and your child stay on top of the application process – and avoid any unnecessary stress at an already busy time.
The UCAS Parent Guide has a helpful timeline showing the journey of an application. You can find it here:
Parent, Guardian and Carer Guide | Undergraduate, Conservatoires | UCAS
You can find out more about how and when to apply here:
All universities run Open Days. This is the chance for prospective students to visit with parents, carers, guardians, and supporters. You can explore the accommodation, attend a taster lecture, and speak to current students. These days present a fantastic opportunity to get an insight into the campus and surrounding area, and to ask the questions your young person might not think to ask. Go along with your learner and make the most of the opportunity to speak to staff about the support that they offer to students.
Admissions staff will be available to answer all your queries, and current students will be on hand to show you around and tell you about how they have been supported in their learning at university. You and your learner can attend mini taster lectures in the subjects that interest them and ask questions to the lecturers about the courses.
There are also general presentations about all elements of university life, all of which will help your learner when deciding what course and which universities to apply for. These days really are the best way to get a taste of what it is like to study and live at a university, so do encourage your young person to attend and try to go with them where possible.
Here at LSBU we have several Open Days throughout the year and hope to see you there!
You can book our Open Days here.
Universities advertise their Open Days on their websites, or you can visit UniTasterDays, a fantastic collection of hundreds of different events across many universities. They also have on-demand webinars on a huge range of university subjects which your young person may find useful, and for supporters like you there’s The Parents’ Guide to University which covers everything you need to know, including a handy jargon buster.
Having a good understanding of Student Finance is key to supporting your learner. If they choose to apply for Student Finance, you may need to provide information about your financial status, so familiarising yourself with how the system works will make the process a lot easier.
How do the loans work?
All universities charge tuition fees for each academic year or their course. For the 2026/27 academic year, this is currently capped at £9,970 per year for UK home students. Eligible learners can apply for a loan from to cover the cost of the university course. The Student Finance England (SFE) loans to cover the course fees are available for a total of up to four years and are not “means tested”. This means that all prospective students can receive a loan to fully cover the university course fees for up to four years regardless of what income/salaries are being earned by parents or supporters. The fee loans are paid directly from SFE to the universities and do not pass through the new student’s bank account.
In addition to the fees loan, every prospective student can apply for a maintenance loan. This goes towards covering living costs, such as accommodation, food, and transport. The maintenance loanis paid into their bank account three times a year, at the start of each term.
The amount of maintenance loan that they will be allocated is defined by the level of household income, usually earned by parents or guardians. If you receive a higher salary the amount of maintenance loan received will be lower. If your household income is lower, a larger maintenance loan will be awarded to your learner. The UK Government expects parents to give additional top up payments to their learner’s maintenance income. Click here to go to the Money Saving Expert website for more information on this.
What about repayments?
Your young person will only be eligible to start paying back their loan from the April after they graduate, and only after they earn above a certain threshold. For graduates with the Plan 5 loan (students who started university from 2023 onwards) this means they will pay back 9% of whatever they earn above £25,000 per year. For example, a graduate earning £30,000 per year will repay 9% of £5,000, which equates to £450 a year, or £37.50 a month. How much they will pay back each month will depend on how much they earn, not how much they owe.
When should my child apply for student finance?
Prospective students apply for a Student Loan from March onwards of the year that they intend to start university, meaning they apply before they have their exam results and before they know which actual university they will be attending. This is normal, and learners should NOT delay applying for their student loan. It is essential that they apply as early as possible, from March onwards, to ensure that their loans come through on time for the start of the Autumn term.
There’s plenty of advice available which will help to guide you step by step through what you will need to do, as you will be asked to provide information about your own income when your young person applies for Student Finance. Have a look at the Student Finance England website in advance for lots of helpful information. One of the best sources of information for parents and supporters is Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert. Look for his talks on YouTube and on the Money Saving Expert website.
Find out more about LSBU’s fees and finance information.
In this section
- An introduction to university for parents and carers
- Supporting your young person pre-16
- Supporting your young person post-16
- Support available to LSBU students