Afterwards get a student on edge (7)
I believe the answer is:
lateral
'edge' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'afterwards get a student' is the wordplay.
'afterwards' becomes 'later' (synonyms).
'get' says to put letters next to each other.
'student' becomes 'l' (as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'later'+'a'+'l'='LATERAL'
'on' is the link.
(Other definitions for lateral that I've seen before include "Tall ear (anag.)" , "belonging to the side" , "Relating to the side" , "This kind of thinking is unconventional" , "Towards the side" .)