Bedlingtonshire Community High

SchoolUniversity Advice

Evening

Why Go To University?

• Choosing higher education has many benefits. These include:

• developing valuable skills to give you wider opportunities

• studying a subject you're passionate about

• gaining a qualification to help you follow your chosen career

• higher earning potential

Apply 2015

327 Universities / Colleges 50,000+ courses

Setting the scene

309 50,000+

What’s important to you about where you study?

Q: What is the best university for you?

A: The best university is the one that best suits the individual student?

A university that offers you:

1. A course that is interesting

2. A good standard of teaching

3. A favourable geographical location

4. A realistic/achievable offer

5. A good graduate employment record

6. A range of excellent facilities, not least accommodation.

1: A course that is interesting2: A good quality of teaching

Research Tools and Strategies:

• UCAS

• League Tables

• Prospectuses

• www.unistats.com

Unistats website• Compare entry requirements and

other information for different subjects and institutions

• Read what over 177,000 students felt about the quality of their higher education experience

• Find out the achievements of recent students and discover what sort of jobs they are doing six months after finishing

• www.unistats.com

3: Geographical Location•Do you want to live away from home?

Pros –V- Cons

4: An offer that you are realistically going to achieve

• Be realistic about where you are applying

• Use predictions for A-Levels/BTECs/OCR and grades you have already achieved to work out what is a sensible outcome for you and then search for courses accordingly!

BE REALISTIC!

THERE IS LITTLE POINT APPLYING FORCOURSES THAT ARE BEYOND YOUR

ABILITY

PLEASE ALSO CHECK GCSE REQUIREMENTS

FOR COURSES BEFORE APPLYING

BCHS UCAS Tariff for 2013A2 AS EPQ BTEC

NATIONALCERT/OCR NATIONAL

CERT

BTEC NATIONALAWARD/

OCR NATIONAL

AWARD

UCAS TARIFF POINTS

DD 240

DM 200

MM 160

MP 120

A* 140

A D 120

B 100

C pp M 80

A* 70

D A A 60

B B 50

E C C P 40

D D 30

E E 20

6: A range of good facilities/services

Check out:

• Library

• Sports Facilities

• Students Social Facilities

• Careers Service

• Student Support Services

• Bursary/financial support

• Accommodation

What do you want to study?

Your choice of course

• Traditional Art– Fine Art– Fashion Studies– Interior Design

• Traditional History– Modern History– European History– Ancient World

• Non-Traditional Art– Glass– Puppetry– Artist Blacksmithing

• Non-Traditional History – Strategy and

Intelligence– Egyptology– Viking Studies

Starting to narrow down the search…

• There are 500,000 courses to choose from• You apply for 5• You choose 2• You go to 1• You need to know that you are choosing the

right course for you• You need to know that your application is

realistic in terms of what you are expecting to achieve

Visit…

How To Choose A Course | UCAS | Find a Uni & Choose Uni Courses

The Personal Statement

What do you know about Personal Statements?

True or false?

1. Universities don’t read Personal Statements.

2. You can use as many lines as you need.

3. You can use bold and underlining.

4. You can use paragraphs.

5. Apply has spell and grammar checks.

6. You can write different statements for each of your choices.

7. You should concentrate on out of school activities.

8. You should leave it to your referee to explain why you should be selected.

What do you know about Personal Statements?

True or false?

1. Universities don’t read Personal Statements. (F)

2. You can use as many lines as you need. (F – 47 max.)

3. You can use bold and underlining. (F)

4. You can use paragraphs. (T)

5. Apply has spell and grammar checks. (F)

6. You can write different statements for each of your choices. (F)

7. You should concentrate on out of school activities. (F)

8. You should leave it to your referee to explain why you should be selected. (F)

How important is the Personal Statement?

• Most courses at most universities do not interview

• Those that do interview will often base their questions on the statement

• Often the only chance you have to differentiate yourself and impress the admissions team

Remember

• It is a formal application

• You have 4,000 characters (that includes spaces!)

• You have 47 lines

• To use paragraphs

• To write using a word processing package and cut and paste

• To focus on who will be reading the statement

What will make the reader smile?

Understanding of the course applied for

Analytical and reflective, not merely descriptive

Confirmation of chosen subject and course

Reading and other wider exploration

What you’ve done

What skills it has given you

How these relate to your course

Intellectual Pretensions Misdirected humour Plagiarism No mention of future

aspirations / direction

Applicant commits GBH

on English language ‘I so don’t want to miss

this opportunity’ ‘It was a catch 12

situation’

•Draft as a word document

•Get feedback from others

•Advisers

•Parents

•Write it early and edit

•Take it with you to interview

•Be prepared to answer questions about it

Personal Statement Guidance

Similarity Detection Service• Personal Statements are checked against a

library of those already in the system, and from a variety of websites and paper publications

• Each new statement is added to the library after processing

Ideas on what not to include?

Avoid being repetitiveFor many years now I have aspired towards a career in Business and Business Management and I have decided I want to pursue a career in the Business area. I would like to study Business Management and Business because the level I can study Business at, at the minute is really enjoyable and I want to continue my studies with this.

Be careful with humour…I would describe myself as a rather energetic person who is always looking for something to so with his free time. Previous failed hobbies include stamp collecting (too quiet), Rugby (too painful) and girl chasing (too ugly). But now I believe I am settled with my current interests, football and music. On the football side I feel that although I possess little skill I make up for it with enthusiasm. I am also an avid football supporter of my favourite team Crystal Palace (they need the help). On the music side I am a guitarist and singer in a local punk band

Check it before you send it

I feel I cope better with responsibility and have been a squirrel leader

The International Business Studies degree will allow me to expose myself internationally…

Use the right level of detailWhen I first started looking for degree courses that would suit me, I carried out my research in the college learning centre (Library). My method was effective because I discovered the “Business Information Systems” course. This has the perfect mix of Business and computing for me. My next step was to look in the careers centre in Kings Lynn Town, in here I was able to access the UCAS web-site. I decided to get a list of every university that offered Business Information Systems. I printed myself a copy of the list and rang each university on the list to ask for a copy of the Undergraduate prospectus.They were delivered and there must have been about 15-20 prospectuses (my postman’s biceps have doubled in size!).This course was definitely for me, this is because I have always had an interest in computing and business, for as long as I can remember anyway. In the last few years especially my brain has been awash with entrepreneurial ideas, some I have made a reality and some stay locked in my mind for the right opportunity. Basically this course ‘jumped out and grabbed me’, others have been considered but this is the only one that made me want to pack my bags and leave tomorrow (believe me it did).

Don’t forget though…

• Your personal statement is PERSONAL

• Make it interesting

• Don’t make things up

Year 12 students will have opportunities throughout the year to collate information and draft basic personal statements

Year 13 have already gone through this process and been asked to hand in a draft in the past two weeks

Once students have drafts marked and returned they should continue until tutor/they are happy with it

Students have access to old statements on the student shared area to help with writers’ block!

http://www.ucas.com/personalstatementweek

Jargon Busting and General Help for All (particularly parents/guardians!)

University and College Decisions

• Admissions tutors can make one of three decisions: Conditional Offer

Unconditional Offer

Unsuccessful

• Applicants then keep a maximum of two offers: Firm

Insurance

• Any remaining offers must be declined

Conditional Offer Making• Conditional offers can be expressed in 3 ways:

1. UCAS Tariff

e.g. 300 points

or

2. Exam grades (level / qualification)

e.g. BBC at A-level

or

3. Combination of both

e.g. 300 points including grade A in English A-Level

Track

• Enables you to follow the progress of your application (24/7, access via password)

• Quickest way to find out about new offers

• You can reply to offers

UCAS Extra

• Available from end of February

• Gives extra choice to applicants who have used all five choices and hold no offers

• Reduces need to rely and wait on Clearing

• Applicants informed automatically if can take part

• Vacancies published on UCAS website

Clearing

Available from July

Gives opportunities for applicants who have not been placed on receipt of their results

Applicants informed automatically if eligible and given a clearing number

Relies upon applicant initiating contact with institutions with vacancies

Vacancies published on UCAS website

A Little Information on Student Finance

Student Finance | UCAS | Student Loan & Money Management Advice

And Finally!