Information for Parents/Guardians

Open Days are the perfect opportunity to have a look around the campus to give you a good feel for the university and to ask questions.

Cardiff Met encourages the attendance of Open Days by both applicants and parents/guardians as it is a two-way process to ensure that the university meets all expectations. The aim is to provide you with additional information through experiencing taster sessions and talking to current students so that you make the right choice.

For further information on Cardiff Met Open Days, please refer to our website.

Book onto an Open Day

You can also contact the Open Day Officer on 029 2041 6042 or by emailing us at opendays@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

Most applicants applying to study at Cardiff Met are coming straight from sixth form or a further education college where the next step is to study an Undergraduate degree. Applications for Undergraduate study must be made through UCAS.

Applications received by UCAS before the January deadline will be considered as early applications and will be treated with equal academic consideration. Applications received after the January deadline will be classed as late and will only be considered where the programme has vacancies.

If your son or daughter has been given an offer they will have a deadline to reply. They will also be sent communication throughout the whole cycle informing them of key dates. When your son or daughter registers with UCAS they will be allocated a username and password to access their UCAS Hub to monitor their application progress. UCAS Hub enables all communication with UCAS including deadlines and replies. Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions of the offer, once making Cardiff Met your Firm or Insurance choice, your son or daughter will have 14 days to change their mind.

It is important that information requested within offers is sent into Admissions, otherwise places cannot be confirmed e.g. proof of completed qualifications such as GCSEs, A levels, BTECs etc. as well as non academic conditions (please refer to tab below). All conditions of the offer need to be met by the 31st August, otherwise we cannot guarantee progression to enrolment.

It is advisable that your son or daughter are not on holiday when notification of their results are published. Unfortunately, Cardiff Met does experience a number of issues where not all results are ​received, there are discrepancies in achieved results, or in some cases delays in full qualifications being published. In these situations, your son or daughter needs to be contactable. We would advise applicants who have not received notification of their place at Cardiff Met by results day to contact Admissions on 029 2041 6010 so that any issues can be resolved quickly.

Once the place is confirmed, information on starting at Cardiff Met including Enrolment and Welcome Week, as well as additional school and programme information will be sent to the applicant. It is important that the information provided is read and understood so that it is known what is expected on arrival, and all preparatory requirements where applicable are fulfilled.

As a parent you will be concerned where your son or daughter will live whilst studying at Cardiff Met. Cardiff Met has both on-site and private en-suite halls of residence, as well as an extensive list of landlord approved private houses. Further information and to apply for halls of residence.

Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions and any relevant policies so that you are aware of what you are agreeing to.

Please note that for applicants entering the university before they are 18 years of age, provisions will be put in place and a mentor allocated to ensure the wellbeing of the student.

Going to university is a considerable financial investment with two main costs to meet: tuition fees and living costs. You can find out what your son or daughter is entitled to by using one of the following student finance calculators:

Welsh Students

English Students

Northern Irish Students

Scottish Students

It is advisable to read through all the information provided before submitting the student finance application. You will need to register with the relevant student loan company, and complete the application either online or by requesting the form to be sent to you in the post. You need to make sure your son or daughter has all the required information at hand when completing the form. We recommend that you do not complete the form on behalf of your son or daughter, but complete the form together. There will be a separate section for parents to complete in relation to income assessment.

It is recommended that an application is made by the May before entry to avoid any delays. Applications can be made after this date, but there is no guarantee that funding will be in place by the start of the programme.

For more information on student finance please refer to our website.

Applicants applying for an NHS funded programme will need to apply online with NHS Wales via the Online bursary system.

Further information can be found here, or on the relevant programme pages.

Cardiff Met offers a number of bursaries and scholarships to new students.

One of the best parts of University are the range of opportunities available and Cardiff Met has a lot of these to offer your son or daughter. By taking part in just a few of these, it can really add to their time at University, the skills and experiences developed from these will help at different points in the future. It could be, developing further in a sport pursued or starting a completely new one, joining a society, taking part in a field trip or the Erasmus scheme, taking a work placement or getting involved in the Students' Union.

Below are some of the opportunities on offer at Cardiff Met:

Representation Structure

This is at the core of what the Student Union does, being part of this is very rewarding and there are opportunities to get engaged at many different levels. Being involved in a position such as this looks great on a CV.

Summer Interns

There are many different opportunities throughout the different departments of the university to focus on, most of these take place over a summer term/holiday, some of these are even paid. These opportunities are constantly changing depending on different types of funding.

Sport (Athletic Union) IMS

Being involved in sport is a brilliant way to have time away from their studies, keep fit, pursue a passion and/or meet new people. This is another opportunity that would add a different element to a CV or show another side to your son or daughter's skill set at an interview. At Cardiff Met we support all levels of Sport from playing competitively, supported by our Athletic Union, to wanting to engage in something new, keep fit and make new friends, which is why we introduced Campus Sport.

UMAX

MAX is all about your son or daughter maximising their student experience and potential at University. It helps to support and offer opportunities​ in employability development, job searching, volunteering, application advice, advice and support on student life and awards ceremonies. This is a must for any student studying at Cardiff Met to get involved with.

Trips

There will be many different trips offered whilst at university, short ones in relation to the courses or sporting trips to compete overseas. Your son or daughter might want to get involved in raising money for a charity and travelling to help an area of need or complete a challenge such as climbing Kilimanjaro. If they are interested in joining a society there are lots of opportunities to travel within the UK and overseas.

Erasmus

Currently Cardiff Met is leading the UK in Erasmus Mundus Action 2 projects as it is the only university to co-ordinate 6 projects. Cardiff Met is involved in a number of Erasmus Mundus projects around the world, we are partners in 12 Erasmus Mundus projects. The parts of the world we cover are Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Europe including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America and the Western Balkans. Scholarships offer Cardiff Met students a fantastic opportunity to live and learn in a new environment.

Placement opportunities

Some courses have this built into the programme particularly Health Sciences and Management courses. Support is available to students who want to find a placement additional to their course for example, over the summer or as a sandwich year. Placements are a really valuable part of university life as it gives the students an opportunity to gain work experience and knowledge of the industry.

As well as conditions relating to qualifications, there are also a number of non-academic conditions that may apply to your son/daughter depending on their chosen programme of study. These additional conditions listed below, if applicable, will be stated as a part of their offer.

DBS Disclosure

If your son/daughter's intended programme involves contact with children and/or vulnerable adults, they will be required to undertake an Enhanced DBS Disclosure through Cardiff Met with the Disclosure and Barring Service. See if this applies to your son/daughter.

NHS Bursary

If your son/daughter has applied to a programme that is funded by NHS Wales, a condition of their offer will be to receive an NHS Bursary. See which programmes this applies to.

Occupational Health

If your son/daughter has applied to a programme that requires Occupational Health Screening, they will be notified of this in their offer, as well as being sent email notification of when to complete it, and who this must be returned to. At present our occupational health checks are carried out by Fulcrum Reporting. See which programmes this applies to.

Under 18 Consent

Cardiff Met welcomes applications from those under the age of 18 who may have already met, or will meet, the offer conditions prior to the start of the programme. If your son/daughter will be under the age of 18 at the start of the programme, he/she will be sent the Under 18s Guidance for Students which needs to be understood, completed and signed by you as the parent/guardian. This will sent out once your son/daughter has replied as Firm to their offer at Cardiff Met, and needs to be returned to Admissions once completed.

Our Admissions Policy covers a broad range of procedures and standards that Cardiff Met adhere to.

A binding contract is formed between the University and the applicant when the applicant accepts their offer of a place.  We recommend that applicants make themselves aware of the information within the Student Handbook, the course content found on the Course Pages and the information in their Programme Specification, where a link is emailed to them.

There is a lot of information covered under the Terms and Conditions, so we recommend that applicants read through the information to understand their offer.  More information on the contractual agreement can be viewed by clicking here.

Cardiff Met offer a wide range of support services which are available to your son/daughter. If your son/daughter require help at any point during their studies here with us at Cardiff Met, our Student Services are on hand to provide all the support needed to ensure their studies are enjoyable and successful as possible. Their services are free, impartial, non-judgemental and confidential.

Details on the full services available.

25 January

This date is the first deadline set by UCAS and is also the first date on which Universities can close their programmes if they have received enough applications. Depending on the programme your son/daughter is looking to apply to will determine whether or not we consider applications past this date. Cardiff Met will consider for the majority of its programmes beyond this date, up to 30 June provided there are vacancies.

23 February

Start of UCAS Extra. This gives your son/daughter an opportunity to select an additional choice through UCAS, if their previous choices have been unsuccessful or they have declined any offers received.

April

Applications for Accommodation open at midnight on April 1st. Your son/daughter can apply for Accommodation as soon as it has opened provided they have made an application to us, and have accepted us as either Firm or Insurance.

Mid-June

Your son/daughter should be able to reply to their offers. Deadlines for doing so will be communicated to them via email. Please make sure your son/daughter has an up to date email account registered with UCAS, some applicants use their School email address, and at this point, it is no longer accessible. Cardiff Met sends important information and reminders via email and it is vital they receive this.

30 June

This is the last date that your son/daughter can apply through the main UCAS process. Any applications received after this date will automatically go into Clearing. Clearing is a process that will allow your son/daughter a final opportunity to find a place at university should they be without an offer at this stage. Clearing vacancies and entry requirements will be advertised on the UCAS website, as well as the Cardiff Met website.

July/August onwards

This is the time where Cardiff Met receives the bulk of exam results from UCAS in order to confirm places. We receive some BTEC results in July, and in August we receive A levels, Access to HE Diploma, other BTEC results, Irish and Scottish exam results.

If your son/daughter has met the terms of their offer and has a confirmed place (on UCAS as Unconditional Firm), they will be sent their joining information, with additional information and important links via email.

If your son/daughter has no outstanding offer conditions (including Non Academic Conditions to be aware of), they will be sent an email with login details to be able to complete the enrolment process online. If they have not received their login details, they will need to contact Admissions, who can check on their status.

T​he day will finally come where you will set off to take your son or daughter to university, everyone will be feeling emotional and nervous about the changes ahead.

It's best to allow plenty of time for the journey and plan to eat before you get there as your son or daughter will want to settle in, begin meeting new friends and explore their halls as soon as possible.

Once you have arrived it will seem chaotic with cars and people everywhere, but there will be lots of people on hand to help; Cardiff Met Halls' wardens will be there to welcome you! Once they have found their room, you will have the chance to move in their piles of clothes, equipment, bedding etc. They can also sort out which cupboard is theirs in the kitchen and bag a shelf in the fridge and freezer. What seems like a very bare small room will look completely transformed and much cosier in a few weeks when you are back to visit. You will want to set them up, but they will probably want to get stuck in to university life straight away. Now, unfortunately, they will wave you off and you will most likely have a good cry. Then they will get straight into university life with their new house mates, finally getting around to unpacking their bedding late at night.

Over the next few weeks, your son or daughter will be settling in to the new lifestyle and independence of university life. Freshers Week will take place as well as induction to their course, making the transition to university as supportive and exciting as possible.

If your son or daughter has decided to stay at home they will most likely have the luxury of washed and folded clothes, and home made meals, just don't let them miss out on student life. It's important to socialise as much as possible in the first couple of weeks and take every opportunity for this, most of the time this is harder for students living at home and takes more effort. The Welcome Week is a great place to meet new people and the Freshers Fayre is great to sign up to new activities, sport teams, clubs and societies. It's a really welcoming day to include everyone whether they live in halls or at home.

Student Services

If there are any issues Student Services is the first point of call. Student Services offer a range of support to help make your study at Cardiff Met as rewarding and problem-free as possible.

Some points on Cardiff Met Halls:

• Cookware is not provided
• Wardens in every block at Cardiff Met Halls (to help with everything from lost keys, health and safety, to feeling homesick)
  
• Security 24 hours a day and CCTV
• A 40/42 week contract
• A Halls Office at each campus where you need to go to collect your post, report room faults and pay your rent
• Bedroom contents insurance by Endsleigh​
• Free internet
• TV in some communal areas

Please refer to the Accommodation pages for more information.

Here is a helpful list of essential items students may wish to bring:

• Bedding
• Mattress cover
• A backpack, suitcase or overnight bag on wheels
• Crockery and cutlery - only bring a couple of plates, mugs and sets of knives and forks
• Pans - most basic sets will include a small and large saucepan and a frying pan
• A corkscrew and tin opener
• A diary, in which your son or daughter should already have marked down where they're supposed to be for their first week
• Toilet rolls
• Passport photos
• Cleaning products - washing up liquid, laundry detergent, kitchen cleaner, bathroom cleaner and change for the laundry
• Umbrella
• Enough money to last until the loan comes through
• Fancy dress - school disco, Halloween and superheroes are safe bets!
• Basic first aid kit along with remedies for freshers flu, such as pain killers and berocca

Cardiff Met provides detailed information to both applicants and students in relation to what is expected from them when they arrive on campus. Access the Student Handbook.

We also have a dedicated New Student website that is available to access from the beginning of July. This provides links to induction/course information, online enrolment, information on joining Student Union (SU) societies as well as other important information. The dedicated pages will be communicated to your son/daughter via email as well as in their confirmation letter.

As Europe's youngest capital​ city, ​Cardiff is a great place to study. From the world famous Principality Stadium to historic areas like Cardiff Castle and Cathays Park, Cardiff is renowned as an excellent city to work, shop, rest and play in.

Cardiff Met's two campuses are each only a stone's throw away from the centre of Cardiff and there are plenty of easy ways for students to get there. Just a mile from the city centre is Cardiff Bay, the re-born waterfront area once famous as Tiger Bay. 'The Bay' is ​home to the National Assembly for Wales and the awesome Wales Millennium Centre, which is one of Britain's finest arts and cultural venues.

Cardiff as a city is also just half an hour from stunning coastline and beaches (and the Gower Peninsula and Pembrokeshire National Park a bit further west), an hour from the Brecon Beacons, Bristol and Bath and only two hours from London or Birmingham.

Students have the opportunity to purchase a Cardiff Met Rider pass​, to ensure they have a guaranteed means of getting home from Cardiff city centre up to midnight. The pass allows them unlimited access to all Cardiff buses (which go to both our campuses) for the whole academic year (plus an extra four weeks, spread over Christmas and Easter).

• Create a list on what your son or daughter find important when choosing a university, as it's useful to refer to. Some of the important points could be location, city, type of university, reputation of course modules.
• What is your son or daughter's learning style e.g. presentations, practicals​, field work or seminars; and how are they best assessed e.g. exams, presentations, essays, practicals or coursework? Try and find a course that suits both of these.
• Make a list of what the Universities are asking for such as UCAS points or grades. Will they need a certain amount of work experience? Will they need to attend an interview, audition or assessment?
• Help with research as much as you can, order prospectuses, look at the online university websites.
• What is your son or daughter's end goal? Think about the future and what they would like to pursue as a career.
• Supporting your son or daughter with writing their personal statement, listing their achievements in both academic and extracurricular, especially if related to the subject. Then get another family member to read through it.
• Go to Open Days and Higher Education events to really see what the university is like that your son or daughter is interested in, but find out more information on the subject area, tutors, halls of residence and the city.
• If you are not sure, ask! The school, head of sixth form, subject leader or the university.
• Know the application deadline and process e.g. interview, assessment for courses that they are interested in, and when they need to reply to their offers by.
• Don't buy every kitchen item for your son or daughter, wait until everyone has moved into halls and then help with what might be needed, as storage space is limited.
• Get the student finance application sent off as soon as possible including supporting sections. Delays in submitting the application may result in delayed payment.
• Apply for halls or residence as soon as it's available, as places can be limited and could be offered on a first come basis.
• Make sure your son or daughter is insured for everything they are taking to halls.
• Teach your son or daughter how to budget, whether living at home or away, it's important they know how to cope with large sums of money.
• If your son or daughter knows how to cook at lease one or two meals, it will really help when moving away.
• Assist with their CV, this could help get a part time job, which helps making money more manageable.
  

How can I help cover the costs of my son or daughter going to university?

Help budget, a popular way of doing this is having two bank accounts, this is especially useful in the second and third year to split off in one account the amount it will cost for rent and bills for that term; and knowing everything's covered. In the other account have what they will use for living costs and only withdraw a weekly set amount.

Shop around for student accounts to see which has the best deals such as controlled overdraft, rail card or offers that could be helpful.

Encourage your son or daughter to get a CV and covering letter ready to apply for part time jobs in August / early September before everyone moves into university. If this is proving hard, there are lots of summer jobs available that suit students in all sectors. Having a part time job in the summer before they attend university is a good way to save money to make the most of their first term.

How will my son or daughter cope with the work demands of university?

Most lecturers have an open door policy and are also in contact via email to offer support. At Cardiff Met we understand the pressures of coming to university, therefore their modules and years of study develop in stages from an introductory level to progressing into the final year to complete a dissertation or similar. If they have any learning difficulties, encourage your son or daughter to visit our Student Services department.

How can I help my son or daughter make the right university choice?

Go to Open Days, they aren't just for people looking to apply. Even if you have already attended an Open Day, not all universities are the same so it's a good chance to see the different accommodation and facilities; and talk to subject staff and students.

Help with research, look at university websites and prospectuses. Check unistats.com, an independent website that compares different elements of universities based on the National Student Survey that all third year students complete. Uni Stats allows you to select each course and university to compare.

How can I get in touch with my son or daughter in the case of an emergency

If you're unable to get hold of your son or daughter, in the case of an emergency, you can contact Cardiff Met's Student Services who will be able to forward a message on your behalf.