This Tick the Box week we’re raising awareness of the importance of care leavers ticking the box on their UCAS application to indicate they’ve spent time in care. University of Cambridge student Nio shares the worries he had before starting university, his own experience of ticking the box and how it gave him a network of support to help him thrive during his studies.
I entered foster care when I was eight years old, moving in with a foster family after my late mother struggled to manage myself and eleven other siblings. It took time to adjust to my new home and life, but before I knew it, I was 17 in sixth form, trying to decide which university I would be at for the next three years, and more importantly, how I would manage this next big stage in my life.
I had always seen an extra push for care leavers to attend university. Hearing that I was 30-40 per cent less likely to obtain a degree compared to most of my peers was understandably, disheartening. I had always loved academia - learning and writing became a comforting way to show that I had a voice. Exams and lessons meant there were people who cared about what I thought and paid close attention to how I expressed it.
After a long journey of applications, disappointments and much trial and error, in September of 2024, I found myself at the University of Cambridge, starting a foundation year in humanities and social sciences.
I remember sitting in my foster home, preparing to travel to a university attended by the likes of Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. I simply thought: “How on earth am I going to manage?”. I worried that I had somehow tricked my way in - not just to Cambridge, but into university at all, through luck and extra assistance as a ‘diversity hire’. I worried there would be nobody like me, a black working-class care leaver, and that this would leave me stranded with no friends or community.
However, I received an email from my college and the Cambridge bursary team. They acknowledged that I was a care leaver and offered an avenue where I could send any worries or queries I had. They explained to me how tutors worked, the money I was entitled to and a rundown of off-term accommodation options for those who may not have a home to return to. I was given financial advice and aid, including an educational premium that helped me to get university essentials like a laptop and travel. This was particularly helpful as I do not have access to a family member who can regularly take me to and from university like most do. Most importantly, I was given a space to talk to people and feel as though I belong.
Ticking the box that shows I am a care leaver on my application allowed me so much of the crucial support that I have and continue to receive at university here. I realised how much the staff want me to do well, which keeps me going and motivated even now in my second year at Cambridge. I finally feel as though I deserve it. There was great sensitivity and confidentiality with my circumstances, allowing me to figure my path out on my own, without fearing judgement of my differences. I remained in control of my information and all the while I was surrounded by a support network who never ceased to lose faith in me, even when I might have struggled and needed little extra support.
To other young care leavers who may be applying to university, as I once was in your shoes; do not be scared to tick the box! Truly, a different experience to most is our strength and not our weakness.
