You’ll tell us in your application form which placement type you’re most interested in. In the run up to the consulting project, we’ll ask your preferences and take these into account when placing Fellows on project. We can discuss in detail this at interview stage. The allocation process varies for each component:

• For your Frontline Placement, we will place you according to your preferences. We will also take your home location in London into consideration and any special requirements of our placement host. We will discuss your preferences in more detail at interview stage.
• You will be placed on a Consulting Project based on your own preferences, the demands of the project and the need for a well-balanced team.
• For the Venture Lab, you will choose your own group and the idea you want to develop.

Our placement organisations have serious work to do, often in very challenging circumstances. As a result, your colleagues may not have lots of time to invest in, and support, you as much as you’d like. We’ll expect you to use your resourcefulness, initiative and resilience to serve the users or beneficiaries of the placement the best you can. We believe that these challenging moments are the most powerful opportunities to grow and learn.

If you find yourself struggling, we hope that the support of your Year Here coach, mentor, alumni buddy and other Fellows will enable you to reengage more successfully with the placement.

In the unlikely scenario that your placement does not give you direction or support at all, or you are suffering harassment or discrimination, we will terminate the placement and endeavour to place you with a more appropriate organisation.

The bulk of the programme is Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm and you will be expected to be present during those hours. There will be a handful of scheduled evening activities such as Off the Record events, and many more optional ones. Our Fellows often use their evenings and weekends for project work, reading, networking and paid work.

There is scheduled holiday during each programme – these are detailed in the course prospectus.

Twelve months after the programme, 32% of our alumni are leading their own social enterprise while 48% work for another start-up, charity or social enterprise. The remainder of our alumni work in government, innovation or frontline delivery roles. Find out more about life after Year Here.

Yes – but only if you can provide good evidence of your strengths and achievements despite not having achieved a 2:1 or undergraduate degree.

We are unapologetic about selecting only the most high-achieving applicants. That’s because our mission is to create better leaders for a better society – and we believe that intellect is a critical prerequisite to exceptional leadership. The programme involves wide reading and written components and we expect applicants to be comfortable with that. The vast majority of our Fellows will be graduates with a 2:1 or above but we recognise that academic success is only one indicator of potential. If you don’t have a 2:1 or didn’t go to university in the first place but think you have what it takes to take part then lodge an application.

Most Fellows work part time or freelance during the programme but this shouldn’t interfere with commitments to the course, which are Monday to Friday, 9 to 6pm.We can offer guidance on part time paid work opportunities that fit with the demands of the programme. We also partner with five tutoring agencies who are particularly keen to recruit Year Here Fellows.

Read more in our Financial Support Factsheet.

We try to help secure accommodation for people who are from outside of London, or who don’t have a place to stay for another reason, regardless of your financial circumstances.Over the years, more than a third of our Fellows have benefitted from the discounted accommodation that we’ve been able to broker for them.

Read more in our Financial Support Factsheet.

Being in debt can feel terrible and that’s why we’ve fought to ensure that we don’t have to charge a course fee. But taking out a loan, especially on the terms available to you with EdAid, is an investment in your potential to lead social change in Britain. We are confident that it is a great investment. After ten cohorts, 96% of our Fellows find paid employment within three months of graduating from the programme. And as more and more Fellows graduate, we’re seeing their careers progress rapidly in the first few years after the programme.

Those applying for a bursary should be able to demonstrate their financial situation with verifiable evidence. Applications are then considered on a case-by-case basis.We do not know exactly how many bursaries we can offer as we fundraise on an ongoing basis. We aim to give financial support to as many that need it as we can.

If you do secure a bursary, we will let you know when you are offered a place on the programme. You will then receive it in 4 equal installments. Full details of our payment plan will be disclosed when you are offered your bursary.