Brighouse Sixth Form College Helping students through the UCAS 2016 application cycle

Why choose Higher Education Higher Education Week Student Support in College The applicant journey Key dates and deadlines Student Finance How can parents help? Designed to cover the main areas parents have questions about and provide a greater understanding of the application process for HE.

Higher Education Week 2015 Trip to UCAS conference at Hull university Registered online for UCAS 2016- started application How to choose a university & course? Understanding the process- from now until results day August 2016 The importance of thorough research Support with personal statement Lots of available resources

Choosing courses Applying Offers Results Next steps Starting Uni / College 1 2 3 4 5 6 The steps all applicants will take to get to uni. Focus on some areas more than others. 1 – Research, what are you looking for and do you have what the universities/colleges are looking for? 2 – Making your application 3 – Receiving offers, or not – Extra, then replying to offers 4 – Qualifications, how do your results get to the uni 5 – Confirmation, Clearing and Adjustment 6 – Starting uni – Enrolment, Finance, Life at Uni More detail on UCAS.com, and in parents guides if you have given them these.

Key features of the UCAS scheme Only 1 x application each year Maximum of 5 choices for most applicants: Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry – max 4 Oxford or Cambridge Online application and management at ucas.com Apply and Track 2016 fee - £23 Once the form is in you can’t make many changes Simultaneous consideration & ‘Invisibility’ There are opportunities for other choices: Extra, Adjustment & Clearing We usually just read these bullet points as this slide is fairly self-explanatory. The following web pages can help if you want further information on Extra and Clearing. http://www.ucas.com/advisers/sixsteps/offers/extra http://www.ucas.com/advisers/sixsteps/nextsteps/clearing

The process post-application When applicants have received decisions from ALL of their choices, if they have offers they will be asked to make replies (and given a date in early May to reply by on Track) If an applicant does not receive any offers they can make an additional choice through the Extra scheme UCAS will send reminders – but if applicants fail to reply to offers by the date, offers will be automatically declined! By May students will hold a maximum of 2 offers (others declined) Firm (if you meet the conditions you will be placed here) Insurance Emphasise – If an applicant does not receive offers at the same time as their friends – this is normal. Each HEI makes offers in different ways and at different rates. When an applicant goes CF/I uni’s can see what the other choice is asking for If an applicant goes UF they do not have an insurance choice Applicants do not have to have an insurance choice if they are certain they would only be interested in 1 of their offers. Applicants cannot swap between the insurance and firm choices. The insurance choice disappears once they have been placed with their firm choice.

Universities selection tools Qualifications & Predicted grades Personal statement References Work experience Admissions tests Interviews Portfolios & Auditions So it’s important to make sure all aspects of your application are the best they can be, and that you have undertaken sufficient research so you know what your universities are looking for.

Government sites e.g. GOV.uk, Student Finance England Online research UCAS.com Institutions’ sites Subject specific sites Unistats National press Journals Social media websites Government sites e.g. GOV.uk, Student Finance England Online research Research is the most important part of the journey – you need to be fully prepared before you start your application, and in order to identify skill gaps in a timely fashion. Every year so many applicants are unsuccessful for reasons that could have been avoided if they had undertaken better research. When UCAS interviewed current students in their second year asking them what advice they would give to their 18 year old self, ALL of the students said – ‘do more research!’

www.ucas.com This is the main site students will use when initially researching their university options They will apply-track etc through this site-it will become their new facebook!! Excellent parents guide to downlaod

www.university.which.co.uk Example page for Hudds Uni Go through what they can find out

www.university.which.co.uk Hudds Uni info

Resources for Parents http://university.which.co.uk/search/advice?a[q]=Parents%20guide www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/getting-started/parents-and-guardians http://www.brighouse.calderdale.sch.uk/journey/post16/UCAS

www.ucas.com/students/choosingcourses/choosinguni/opendays www.opendays.com or

Student Support in college Higher Education Week Work in tutorials & also independently University Open Days-plan sensibly Tutorial session once a week UCAS drop-in sessions every lunchtime form September to January Thursday 22nd October another full day of UCAS support Work Experience-can do more!

The next stage…. AS Results day-Thursday 13 August 2015 UCAS predicted grades-impact upon course choices/tariff Send application-5 choices/aspirational & realistic Receive offers Keep up to date with ‘track’ Make a Firm & Insurance choice May 2016 A2 Results day-Thursday 11th August 2016 Clearing if needed

Expectations of students Attend all tutorials Take advice from experienced tutors/subject staff-use support systems Be proactive & organised Draft a personal statement before end of term Course search in detail/course content Attend Open Days Aim to send well before UCAS deadline College deadline is Mid November at latest

How can parents help?

How can you support the application process? Use the Parents section of the UCAS website where you can sign up to the quarterly Parents’ Newsletter Download Parents’ Guides on UCAS site and Which University-on the Brighouse Website & emailed to students Offer to attend open days – you may have a different perspective & see different things! Support your son/daughter’s management of their application-help them keep a UCAS filing system Make sure they read everything they are sent carefully! Apply for student finance by deadline May 31st 2016 Si

How can you support the application process? Don’t book holidays at key times such as A2 results day Prepare them for living away from home: Cost of living/budgeting – paying bills Independent living skills – cooking & washing Be there: Comforting, proof reading, encouraging, testing, practising…………