Parents’ Briefing April 2014

TIMELINE Year 12  January-July – UCAS talk then independent research and open days/meetings and discussions with Mrs Chadwick  May (today) – UCAS Information Evening  May – personal statement and research with form tutors  June – personal statement checking with tutors/subject staff and Mrs Chadwick  UCAS registration process completed (with choices to be confirmed in September)

TIMELINE Year 13  September (first week of term) “reminder” talk on the application process  September-October – submit application online  Deadlines in Sept-November (see later slide)  Offers made between September 2014 and May 2015  Choose “1st” and “insurance” choice

Applying to University Which course and which university?  Some (but not many) professions demand specific qualifications e.g. medicine / vet medicine / engineering / architecture (check that the course will give you the right qualification)  Other courses e.g. history / biological science / archaeology / media studies / geography will lead to a BA, BSc, or other degree level qualification that may not immediately lead to a specific career.

Applying to University Which course and which university?  Read prospectuses / visit websites / read University guides such as “Heap - Degree Course Offers” (available in the Logic Centre)  Visit University Open Days/Taster courses  Decide on courses, discuss with tutor and subject staff then choose universities looking at the grades required/your predicted grades  if unsure  Apply online through

The UCAS System  Centrally administered system for application to British Universities  Apply to five university courses  Currently £23 (when applying for more than 1 course) – online payment  Online system  Students able to track their application

The UCAS form Student section  Personal details – incl. contact information and special learning needs  Additional information – incl. nationality, parental occupation, care statement.  Choices  Education  Employment  Personal Statement School section  Reference  Predicted Grades Go to the website and watch the video your-application your-application The UCAS website has lots of information for both students and parents

The UCAS form Choices  Up to five courses (maximum of 4 for medical, dentistry, vet courses + 1 other recommended)  Choose (very) similar courses  Don’t apply to five different courses at the same institution

The UCAS form Education  Secondary education attended  GCSE results  All IB qualifications expected to be taken

The UCAS form The Personal Statement The most important part of the application form?  Why I want to study my chosen course.  Why I think that I can do well in this course.  What I have done / achieved that will make me a strong candidate for this course  What else I can bring to my university.

The UCAS form The Personal Statement  Use good standard direct English  Spend 3/4 on academic 1/4 on non academic  Importance of reflections on academic work (and work experience for competitive vocational courses e.g. medicine or law)  Avoid opening pretentious quotations often of doubtful relevance  Generally career ambitions are not that relevant or important

The UCAS form Reference and Predicted Grades  School reference – mainly academic, and constructed by tutor from comments from all teachers (added after student submits form and before it is sent to universities)  Other relevant information (e.g. positions of responsibility in school, work experience, CAS, other interests and achievements) But these are better in your personal statement.  Predicted Grades based on IB internal examination results. Again it is good to mention excellent internal exam results in your personal statement.

Aptitude tests Some universities and courses require additional evidence of your aptitude, eg  Law: LNAT  Medicine (+some Veterinary Medicine) BMAT and UKCAT  History: HAT  English Literature ELAT  Philosophy, Politics and Economics: TSA  Mathematics: STEP  Details available from university prospectuses Students must do their own research as these change from year to year

Aptitude Tests  Register by the dates specified by the universities  Most tests in November 2014  Past papers and mark schemes often available online  Other resources are commercially available  Ask subject staff for help where appropriate Look at the links on the university websites and the UKCAT website Speak to Mrs Chadwick if you need help

Key Dates: Deadlines at TGS  15 th September 2014: Vet Science, Medicine and Oxbridge applicants  Main applicants deadline 1 st December 2014 – the majority of students YOU MUST ADHERE TO THESE DEADLINES. The school can take up to four working weeks to process an application (often this is due to mistakes made by students when completing the form and on their personal statement)

Key Dates: Interviews  Oxbridge: begins mid-November 2014  Medicine: begins around January 2015 (but could be earlier)  Others – increasingly other universities are using interviews

Key Dates: Offers  Begin to be made at any time from the date of application until the end of March 2015  When students have an offer or rejection from all of their universities, they must choose a “first/firm choice” (an offer they can expect to achieve on a good day) and an “insurance choice” (for a less good day) and there will be a deadline given for responding  Some universities do not make offers until very late, most notably for Medics, Dentists, vets etc and many Scottish universities

UCAS Extra  Extra is a way of making a further choice after you have applied. You are eligible for Extra if you have used all five choices on your application and have either been unsuccessful at all of them, or have declined all offers you have received.  Extra cannot be used while you have an offer on your application. Once in Extra, you can't leave it to go back to any original offers  The Extra service operates from the end of February until the end of June.

Key Dates: results  IB results available on 6thJuly 2015 Students who need support will be able to come to school on 7 th July to be advised by Mrs Chadwick.  Students who have not finalised an offer earlier will need to contact their universities on 13 th August when the A2 results are released to Universities.

Clearing  You are eligible for Clearing if....  your offers have not been confirmed because you did not achieve the required grades or.....  you have declined your offers  Clearing is open until Mid September

Adjustment  Adjustment lets applicants who have met and exceeded the conditions of their firm choice an opportunity to reconsider where and what to study. If they are accepted by another university or college, the new choice will replace their original choice as their unconditional firm offer.  The Adjustment process is available from A level results day until the end of August.

A brief overview

Oxbridge candidate Learner Profile  Highly self-motivated  A clear passion for or interest in your subject area – this could be demonstrated by strong evidence of reading or exploration well beyond the confines of the subject syllabus  Strong GCSE results (for example half GCSEs at A* and half at A or better)  Minimum predicted grades of 766 at Higher Level and 38 IB points overall  Good Year 12 examination results  An ability to learn and flourish in a challenging tutorial setting

Oxbridge candidates should:  enjoy developing their subject interest independently  have registered their interest with Mrs Chadwick  talk to subject teachers and ask for advice  visit colleges  complete their personal statement in July  go on the university websites for full details  do extra reading / work over the summer

Oxbridge support  help with personal statements (and SAQ)  practice interviews  advice on work to be submitted / admissions tests  subject-related support from departments  general interview and application support  READ YOUR S

Overseas universities  US –Fulbright  EU  Australia / Canada  Elsewhere

Student Finance - Overview Expenses whilst at university or college fall broadly into two categories:  Tuition fees – which help meet the cost of a course  Other higher education expenses, mainly living costs

Tuition fees  Students living in England may be charged up to £9000 tuition fees by institutions in the UK. Many institutions have not decided their charges for 2015 entry  Fees will vary between courses and between universities – this may affect your choices.

Help with Tuition fees  All Students can take out a Student Loan for Fees for the amount charged by the university or college  No income assessment  Student Loans are repayable once students have left their course and are earning more than £21,000 a year (current figure – may change for you)

Help with living expenses  Same type of living cost support no matter where student studies – England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (London is slightly higher)  Includes - Maintenance Grant (means tested) - Student loans for maintenance

Financial support – Student loan for maintenance  Student loans are subsidised by the government and issued by the Student Loans Company.  Interest charged is linked to inflation.  All details (including a “calculator” where you can enter your household income etc) at finance/further-informationat finance/further-information

The best websites for student finance  user friendly and up to date information on student finance  UCAS website section on student finance includes a budget calculator ance/  for tips on managing your money, information on the best student bank accounts, overdrafts discounts and finding work.

SOME FINAL ISSUES  Processing within school – how to speed it up Apply early (complete your personal statement in the summer term, finalise your choices over the summer holiday, fill in the form in September) Make sure there are no mistakes (read all instructions and guidance carefully, get your tutor and a subject specialist to check your form, ask if unsure, CHECK IT YOURSELF) Take responsibility – use the support available in school, but don’t be dependent upon it. Read your s

The majority of TGS students apply to university in year 13. Those that don’t usually apply in year 14.

The lowest is 24 for Law, Education at Canterbury Christ Church, Astrophysics Foundation at University of Central Lancashire, Animation at Worcester, Astronomy at University of South Wales The highest (not Oxbridge) is 39 for Computer Science, Law at UCL Cambridge Computer Science 38 – 766 CambridgeGeography Oxford Law38 – 666 Oxford Biological Sciences39 – 766 None of these are above predictions

One of our law students remarked how useful she found TOK in her interview Extended essay is really useful too

Cambridge interviewed 766 grades Most IB offers are below predictions Durham Law 38 v 43 Bristol Geography 37 v 39 Exeter Modern Languages 34 v 37 UEA Economics32 v 36 PortsmouthEnglish 26 v 36 LeicesterCriminology Unconditional v 39

A*42 A/A*38 A35 B/A32 B29

The UCAS Website has everything you wish to know