An Introduction to Higher Education

PLANNING AHEAD? DECISIONS? Year 12 Employment Training/Apprenticeships College Volunteering Year 13 A2 Year 13 University UK & Abroad Sponsored / Work Based Degree College/Foundation Degree/Technical & Vocational Learning Employment Employment with training Apprenticeship Gap year/Volunteering

GOOD ADVICE GOOD DECISIONS Guidance sessions Mentor School Careers Advisor Tutors/Heads of Year/ Head of Post 16 Personal interviews Careers library FROG (careers website links) Visiting speakers Parents

HIGHER EDUCATION Reasons to apply to university? Increase qualification levels Employment prospects Future earnings Personal development Social life & Social facilities New friends New interests/skills Live away from home Develop independence

HIGHER EDUCATION Reasons NOT to apply to university? Cost and potential debt Immediate entry to paid employment Separation from friends Remain close to family No job guarantees Wont get the grades Not ready Need a break from studying

The UCAS System 5 choices 4 choices for Vets, Medics, Dentists, plus 1

School Deadlines Medics, Vets, Oxbridge By or before Friday 4th October to meet 15 th October UCAS deadline All other UCAS applicants by Monday 4 th November. Early Application is beneficial to student and school.

Things To Remember Each course at every institution will apply its own criteria for entry. Specific course entry requirement will depend on the demand for the course, and may change from year to year. Courses with the same title are not necessarily the same. Application can be made for different types of courses (but care needs to be taken). It is wise to consider one or two courses that are below predicted grade level.

RESEARCH Websites Prospectus Open days Student shadowing Taster courses Work experience Heads of Year/Tutors Parents Higher Education Conferences

Key Variables Course subject options, combinations and flexibility Assessment by examination, dissertation, project, practical work experience, on line…… Leading to first degree qualification, professional qualification or requiring further qualification.

What Are Universities Looking For? Interest/commitment (passion) Qualifications –GCSE –actual –AS – actual (at the moment) –A2 –predictions Personal statement Reference

Increasing Chances Extra-curricular and enrichment activities. Involvement in school and out-of-school life. Relevant work experience; work shadowing. Part-time employment. University visits, open-days, summer schools, student shadowing. Awards, rewards, certificates, commendations. Evidence of key skills. Personal experiences, qualities and attributes.

Most Competitive Universities Cambridge Oxford Imperial College London School of Economics Bristol Warwick Durham University College London St Andrews Edinburgh

UNIVERSITY RANKING ( RankInstitutionAverage UCAS Tariff score of Students under 21 1Cambridge593 2London School of Economics 526 3Oxford 572 4Imperial College London 553 5Durham 501 6St Andrews 515 7Warwick 496 8University College London 495 9Lancaster Bath Bristol York Exeter Loughborough Southampton 439

Most popular universities applied to by KEVI students 2012/13 University No of applications 2013 Northumbria93 Newcastle59 Leeds Met38 Manchester Met36 Edinburgh27 Durham26 Leeds25 York24 Teesside23 Edinburgh Napier23 Manchester21 Newcastle College21 Sheffield Hallam20 Sunderland20 Nottingham17 Liverpool17 York St John16 Sheffield16 Cumbria15 Glasgow15 Aberdeen15 Nottingham Trent13 Bristol12 Cambridge11 Stirling10 Lincoln10 Loughborough9 Hull8 Leeds Trinity8 Liverpool John Moores7 Edge Hill7 Harper Adams7 Oxford7 Chester7 UCL6 St Andrews6 Aberystwyth6 Kings College London5 Dundee5 Bath5

Last Years UCAS Final destinations (2012 Cycle) University number of students Northumbria36 Newcastle 13 York7 Leeds7 Newcastle College5 Oxford5 Sheffield5 Lancaster5 LeedsMet4 Manchester Met4 Teesside4 York St John4 Durham4 Loughborough3 Nottingham3 Birmingham3 Bath3 Sunderland3 Sheffield Hallam2 Cambridge 2 UCL Edinburgh Napier5 Edinburgh4 Stirling 3 Aberdeen Various Others37

Most Popular University Courses Chosen by King Edwards Students 2012 Business/Economics20 Psychology/Criminology14 Sciences11 Nursing & Midwifery 10 Education 9 Journalism & Media7 Medicine8 Engineering 5 English5 Graphic Design5 History5 Sports4

Most Competitive Subjects Vet Science Medicine Dentistry Physiotherapy Midwifery Psychology Law English Literature History Aeronautical Engineering Architecture

Examples of Psychology Courses Animal Applied Applied Social Behavioural Science Business Clinical Cognitive Cognitive Science Communications Computing Counselling Developmental Education European Social Experimental Forensic Health Human Occupational Social Sport

Example: Human Psychology (Aston University) Human Psychology ( 3 year full time) Human Psychology (4 year sandwich) Psychology and Public Policy and Management Psychology and …… »Biology »Business »Chemistry »Computer Science »French »German »Sociology

UCAS Dates Registration onto the apply system – July – Sept 2013 Applications –Sept 3 rd – Jan 15 th Oxbridge Vets & Medics – must be in by October 15 th School submission dates have to be earlier. UKCAT, BMAT & LNAT examinations October / November. University specific tests usually October/November

Grade/Point offers Institutions can offer places by required grades (B-B-C) Or by required points (260 points)

OFFERS A2 LEVEL Grade A*=140 points Grade A = 120 points Grade B = 100 points Grade C = 80 points Grade D = 60 points Grade E = 40 points AS LEVEL Grade A = 60 points Grade B = 50 points Grade C = 40 points Grade D = 30 points Grade E = 20 points No double counting Points or Grades offer.

UCAS Offers A maximum of 2 offers may be held after final decision has been received. There are 3 replies that can be made. 1.F = Firm Acceptance 2.I = Insurance Acceptance 3.D = Decline If an unconditional offer is firmly accepted no other offers may be held.

Aspiration v Realism It is essential to apply for courses that are in line with predicted grades Predicted grades cannot be negotiable Make one or two choices below predicted grades Always remember insurance choice

No Offers UCAS EXTRA Clearing Dont get Grades Clearing

Tuition Fees for 2013/14 Any university or college will be able to charge fees of up to £9,000. Universities are able to charge higher contributions up to a limit of £9,000, subject to meeting conditions on widening participation and fair access through student bursaries. It is up to universities and colleges to decide what they charge and whether or not there will be different fees for different courses. Realistically all universities are charging between £6,000 and £9,000 with many at the upper end. Universities in Scotland and Wales have similar fee charges to those in England.

Tuition fees Access to university will be free at the point of entry, with repayments of loans for fees only occurring following graduation and entrance into employment. The threshold at which graduates will have to start paying their loans will be £21,000 at pre-tax annual earnings. Graduates will then pay back 9% of their income each month above that level. Any outstanding debt will be wiped out after 30 years. It is still currently possible to pay university fees up front in order to avoid accruing any debt.

Student Loan repayment source: –finance/repayments

University Bursaries These differ from university to university. They enable universities to target appropriate financial help. Sometimes they are used as encouragement to apply to a particular university. It is the students responsibility to find out about and apply for a bursary. Bursaries can offer between £300 - £3000.

Will I get a grant? Students from families with incomes of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a full grant of up to £3,354 and those from families with incomes up to £42,611 will be entitled to a partial grant (sliding scale). The maximum Maintenance loan for 2013/14 is £5,500 (living away from home, outside London). Living at home is up to £4,375 dependent on household income.

Living Costs: estimated and variable Up to £7000 per year for a student living away from home. To cover such things as: Rent or hall fees Household and general bills Food and drink Travel Entertainment Books, stationery and other course needs Clothes Contingency fund (Parents!)

Graduate Employment For most subjects the chances of getting a job are about the same A significant proportion of graduate job vacancies do not specify any subject at all Quality of degree is important: students with first class honours are very rarely unemployed whatever subject they study

What do graduates earn? Starting salaries can be in the region of between £20,000 - £40,000 dependent on the job But remember not all graduates get graduate jobs as soon as they finish their degree

Alternatives to UCAS applications Apprenticeships leading to HE qualifications Apprenticeships Study abroad Getting work

Ernst & Young, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Proctor & Gamble are all big employers within accounting and taxation offering various ways to help people get into the financial professions. Balfour Beattie employ school/college leavers in construction and engineering related jobs with the chance to study a degree part time while working for the company.

Studying in Europe Fees can be cheaper Particularly in the Netherlands there are English speaking courses YOU NEED TO BE THOROUGH IN YOUR RESEARCH What are the entry requirements? How long will the course be? Is there a foundation year? Is there a requirement to undertake work experience? Will there be student accommodation? What will the living and travelling costs be?

So far Assembly guidance programme Group and one to one advice sessions HE Convention University visits: Lancaster, York, Newcastle, Northumbria School university visits: Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Edinburgh Napier, Cambridge,Oxford. Student shadowing Open Day visits

Extended Registration Programme UCAS Course search / Russell Group Universities/ Foundation Degrees Apprenticeships & Study Abroad Online resources available through Northumberland Library Service / UCAS preparation/Open days UCAS course search in further detail and initial HE intentions

COMING UP…….. KPMG presentation Newcastle College presentation Leeds University talk Careers HE Guidance UCAS Registration – July – Sept Visits from other universities to be confirmed Summer Schools Personal Interviews Open Days Taster Courses Pure Potential See adverts in the SFC

Some useful websites and which shows location of all UK Higher education institutions. for university research quality ratings. provides a complete guide to higher education in Englandwww.aimhigher.ac.uk for Scottish University informationwww.studyinscotland.org for the University of Waleswww.wales.ac.uk and for examples of league tables which gives a view of what its like to be a studentwww.uni4me.com will give ranking and bursary information Distance Learning: For Gap years, foundation degree programs, apprenticeship vacancies, gap year jobs, distance learning courses & distance learningwww.notgoingtouni.co.uk Official Graduate Careers Websitewww.prospects.ac.uk