Applicant Support Programme

Free support for mature students applying to UEA

We offer tailored, one-to-one guidance for mature students, designed with flexibility in mind to fit around your existing commitments. If you are aged 19 or over and looking at getting into Higher Education, the Applicant Support programme can support you with personal statements, student finance, and preparing for university. It's all about helping you navigate the process with confidence.

How it works

Applicant Support combines one-to-one guidance, structured activities, and ongoing check-ins across the year to help you navigate the process of applying to university. Just choose three or more activities that interest you, at times that suit you throughout the year.

Important information

This programme is aimed at adult learners who aim to apply for university starting in the 2027-28 academic year, and intend on including UEA as one of their five course choices. These activities aim to strengthen your university application and understanding of student finance mechanisms. By submitting this form, you are agreeing to engage in at least three activities throughout the programme.

What's on offer

There are loads of interactive sessions, on-campus events, webinars, and one-to-one meetings available throughout the year. Here's what we're running in 2026-27:

Autumn term:

• An initial action planning meeting (can be held virtually or in person)

• Personal statement support and feedback

• invitation to attend interview support sessions (for health subjects only)

• Signposting to additional learning or information sessions including open days

• Additional support meetings can be arranged as required and/or needed.

Spring term

• Mature student Q&A webinars

• Student finance for mature students webinars

• One-to-one meeting to discuss student finance in more detail, with the option to update your action plan accordingly

• Attend an applicant day at UEA.

Summer term

• Summer transition programme

• Get a buddy (a current student to help you transition into study)

• Opportunities and support webinars

• Additional support meetings, as required and/or needed.

Who is this programme for?  

To be eligible for the Applicant Support programme, you should meet the following criteria:

• You hold the level 2 requirement (GCSE or equivalent) stated on the relevant course listing

• You are currently studying on an Access to HE diploma (or about to start one)

• If you are currently not studying, please contact the UEA admissions team or review the relevant course entry requirements to ensure you would be considered for entry. (Please contact maturestudents@uea.ac.uk if you need any help with this).

If you're not sure whether you're eligible, or you do not currently meet the above criteria, you are welcome to book in an online meeting to discuss your options.

What happens after you sign up? 

Applications will open in November 2026 and close at the beginning of January. Please bookmark this page and come back to sign up.

After received your application, we will be in touch to confirm if we can offer you a place. When we contact you, we will invite you to arrange a meeting to kickstart your Applicant Support journey and invite you to be involved in the research evaluation. The evaluation exercises are embedded into the programme to help you reflect as you progress through the academic year and into university. Our evaluation aims to explore what mature learners find useful, and as such, we will invite you to review and agree whether you are happy to share anonymised data relating to your experience. This evaluation has been approved by the University Research Ethics Committee on 15th September 2026, under reference ETH-2526-2739.

If you have any questions about this programme or the associated evaluation, please contact us by email on maturestudents@uea.ac.uk.