Offer Holder Transition Support 2022

This post will soon be replaced by an updated version for 2023

Support for you at Manchester

At the University of Manchester, we have services offering support at any point of your time here. Whilst you may initially feel that you don’t need them, if that feeling of nervousness starts to build and affect your day-to-day life, there are people here to help. It is really important to be aware of the support we offer and to know you can access advice or access a number of support services at any time.

All offer holders will be welcomed and included in their time at Manchester. Students are central to all of our support, these services are tailored and targeted to you! Help at the University of Manchester really stands out due to our commitment to our students. Starting university can initially feel intimidating and the services are aware of this.

The University of Manchester is a big place, but you are far from alone.

There is a huge range of support around you as a student. From Academic Advisors to the Student Union, to School Support and Programme teams. One of the many specialist central support services includes the Advice and Response team, where like the name suggests, advice and practical guidance is provided to students. If you have any Safeguarding concerns, the Team can give you expert support and guidance. The team are student-centred and are led by what you need.

When you first start university you may feel anxious or it may take a bit of time to adjust to this new environment. This is to be expected initially at university but there is a range of support and guidance aimed at helping you implement positive and healthy ways of thinking and managing this change. Services that can help you with this include the ResLife team in Halls, the Wellbeing Team and a specialist Counselling & Mental Health Service. There is also a 24 hour counselling and advice help-line provided by Health Assured in partnership with the university. Support services are accessible, available on site, by phone and online with teams geared up to support students as quickly as possible.

Additionally, the Counselling & Mental Health Service and Wellbeing Team at Manchester host workshops to support this period of transition, aimed at building an understanding of anxiety in the context of higher education and to equip you with the skills to cope with this. One-to-one appointments are also available for students requiring specialist support with their mental health. The service offers a listening ear and can support you with identifying effective ways of managing stress, low mood, anxiety or other mental health problems.

The Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS), offers advice and support to over 8800 students at the University. If you’ve received support at School/College (such as exam arrangements for your A Levels), we’d really recommend you get in touch with them as soon as possible, as it can take some time to put support in place, and we want you to have everything you need when you get here. We are here to help students that may have difficulties at university, ensuring an inclusive environment. This service provides exam and general support, and may even be able to help you with receiving a dyslexia diagnosis too.

Every student should try to make the time to become aware of what support Manchester offers, knowing there is a helping hand on offer whenever needed is crucial. You can expect to feel stressed at some point on your degree, but this is okay and we have all felt the same way. It is important to manage this stress before it becomes a bigger problem and reach out to the support services that are available.