Applying To Higher Education 2016 University & Colleges Admissions Service om

2 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Who are UCAS? Organisation responsible for managing applications to full time Higher Education courses in the UK. All those wishing to study for full time Higher Education courses in the UK must apply through the UCAS website.

3 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Today’s aims Introduce you to the UCAS website and identify its main features Summarise the process of completing and sending your application Inform you of the important deadlines Provide an introduction to writing your UCAS Personal Statement Get registered on UCAS Apply 2016

4 Applying for Higher Education 2016 UCAS Homepage (

5 Applying for Higher Education 2016 UCAS Course Search Business Studies in England

6 Applying for Higher Education 2016

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8 Completing your UCAS application: Registering

9 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Completing your UCAS application: Registering

10 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Completing your UCAS application After you have registered on UCAS you will then need to complete all the sections which form the application: Personal Details, Choices, Education, Employment & Statement. Each section listed on the left will need to be marked as complete before you can Pay/Send. To do this tick the 'section completed' box at the bottom of each page and click 'save‘. A red tick will then appear indicating that section is completed.

11 Applying for Higher Education Register on UCAS Apply (We will give you the colleges ‘buzzword’ which links your UCAS application to the college) 2. Complete all necessary sections in apply: Personal details, Choices, Education, Employment, Personal Statement, View all details and then Pay/Send– mark each section as ‘complete’ and then ‘save’. 3. Once you have read and checked ALL sections of your application and marked each section as ‘complete’ you will need to select the Pay/Send option (following payment your application will be sent to RACC so your reference can be written & attached by your tutor). The cost is £23, unless you only apply for one course, in which case it is £ As soon as you have selected Pay/Send and paid the appropriate fee you will need to to inform us that you have completed ALL your sections and that your application is now ready for the reference to be written. 5. Your tutor will then write and attach your reference. References will be written in the order that completed applications are received. 6. The college will then send your application to UCAS ASAP, on your behalf. A summary of the process...

12 Applying for Higher Education 2016 PERSONAL DETAILS Residential Category: Select UK Citizen or EU National NOT Settled in the UK. Passport details: This section only applies if your permanent home is outside the EU. Fee code (how you expect to pay for your tuition fees): Most students will select code 02 (You should use that code if you are eligible for assessment under student support arrangements, even if you think your family income will be too high for you to receive support). PLEASE READ the help text to help you decide which fee code is applicable. If you are applying for certain health professional courses such as nursing, midwifery, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, radiography, and speech and language therapy you select (05 DH/Regional Health) (In the case of these courses your tuition fees will normally be paid for by the Department for Health, subject to you meeting the residency requirements). Please check with the university/college which fee code will apply for your course. STUDENT FINANCE If you will be applying for student finance for your course and living costs, you can make the process easier by allowing UCAS to share some of your details with Student Finance England. If you select 'yes' you can agree to share some of your application details with the Student Loans Company, who administer applications for Student Finance England. This makes applying for student finance much quicker. You can also request that UCAS remind you of when and how to apply. If you are going to apply for student finance it's important to make your application early so that everything is in place for the start of your course. So to help you do this UCAS will send you a reminder (either by , text or your mobile) when applications for student finance are open – so remember to SELECT ‘YES’. Words of advice for completing your application

13 Applying for Higher Education 2016 What is the UCAS Application Deadline? There are three application deadlines for courses through UCAS: it is important to check the deadline for your chosen course(s). 15 October application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for all medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and veterinary science courses and for all courses at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. 15 January application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for all courses except those listed above with a 15 October deadline, and art and design courses with a 24 March deadline. 24 March application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for art and design courses except those listed with a 15 January deadline. 15 October January March 2016

14 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Locating the UCAS application deadline date for your course 1.Go to Course Search Select your chosen course 3.Click on the course title 4.Go to the ‘How to Apply’ tab

15 Applying for Higher Education 2016 What is RACC’s deadline for completing my UCAS application? If your ‘UCAS application deadline date’ is 15 th January, your internal college deadline for your completed application is: This is NOT a target, this is the very latest you need to complete your application by. This deadline of 12 th December means that you must: 1.Complete all your parts of the application 2.Pay/Send 3. ( to alert us that your application is ready for the reference to be written & attached ). Friday 18th December 2015

16 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Completing your application by the internal college deadline of Friday 18 th December will ensure that the college can check your application, get your reference attached and completed application sent to UCAS by the UCAS deadline of January 15 th. Applications received after Friday 18 th December will have a reference attached & be sent to UCAS ONLY after all applications received before this date are dealt with. When do I Pay/Send? Only when you are completely satisfied that your application is complete and accurate & you are happy with each section should you Pay/Send. Your application should be finalised and completed, as once we attach the reference we will send it straight to UCAS. Meeting the internal college deadline

17 Applying for Higher Education 2016 What happens after your application is sent to UCAS? When RACC send your completed application to UCAS, UCAS will send you an and inform you about what happens next in the process. UCAS process your application. UCAS send you a welcome letter by post confirming your personal details and choices. Your chosen universities and colleges can view your application online. The universities and colleges decide whether to make you an offer or not. Once UCAS have received a completed application, the following steps occur:

18 Applying for Higher Education 2016 How to follow the progress of your application What is Track? Track is an online system that allows you to follow the progress of your application. Log in to Track using your Personal ID, Username and Password. You can see what's happening with your application, like whether you've received any offers and the replies you've made. If you supplied a valid address on your application, UCAS will you when a decision has been made. The will not contain the actual decision: you'll still need to go to Track to check the details. You can also use Track to: accept or decline offers change some personal details (address, , telephone number)

19 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Conditional offer This means that the university or college will offer you a place if you meet certain conditions. Each offer is specific to your qualifications and circumstances. For example, universities/colleges will be specific about the level of achievement they are looking for on your Access course e.g. a specific number of credits at merit or distinction and/or merit or distinction in particular units. They may also ask for GCSE C or equivalent in Maths and/or English. Unconditional offer An unconditional offer means that the university or college will offer you a place, without requiring you to meet any conditions. Withdrawn application A choice can be withdrawn by you or the university or college. The reason will be displayed in Track. It may be withdrawn because you didn't respond to any letters or s from the university or college, or because you didn't attend an interview. Unsuccessful application This means that the university or college has decided not to offer you a place on the course. Applicants can be declined for many reasons; the quality of your application e.g. poor personal statement or not meeting the entry requirements. The university or college may provide a reason for their decision. If no reason is shown in Track, you can contact the university or college to see if they will discuss why you were unsuccessful. Decisions sent by universities and colleges

20 Applying for Higher Education 2016 When the last university or college you have applied to makes a decision, it is time to reply to any offers you have received. When do I reply to my offers? How many offers can I accept? If your offers are conditional you can accept one firmly and another as insurance. Your insurance acceptance acts as a back-up in case you don’t meet the conditions of your firm offer. If your offers are unconditional, you can only accept one. If you have a mixture of conditional and unconditional offers, you can hold an unconditional offer as insurance if you firmly accept a conditional offer.

21 Applying for Higher Education 2016 Writing your Personal Statement ABOUT THE SUBJECT AND COURSE Why you have chosen the course Why the subject interests you Your suitability for the course How current/previous studies relates to the course(s) chosen Experience and understanding of the subject Any activities that demonstrate /reinforce your interest in the course WORK Details of jobs, placements, work experience, voluntary work (concentrate on aspects relevant to your chosen course) Explain why an experience or activity makes you an excellent candidate for the course ACHIEVEMENTS YOU ARE PROUD OF Hobbies and interests that demonstrate your skills & abilities Non-accredited skills and achievements SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES Attributes that make you interesting, special and unique Positions of responsibility that you have held How would you be an asset to the university/college EVIDENCE Give evidence of the skills you have that are required to study your subject or to get to the occupation you want Evidence of academic insight and enthusiasm Evidence showing understanding of what is required to study the course WHAT I WANT FROM THE FUTURE Why you want to go to university/college Future plans of how you want to use the knowledge and experience you will gain

22 Applying for Higher Education 2016 How can you go about impressing the Admissions Tutors? Establish your enthusiasm, commitment & motivation to study. Show personal reflection on what it is that interests you about the subject and why. Emphasise and draw attention to your academic interests and strengths, work experience - paid/voluntary (positions of responsibility, what you have done and learnt) and future plans. But make sure it is relevant to course/study! Reinforce your interest and passion for the subject e.g. appreciation for current affairs in your field through reading relevant journals, books, newspapers, attending exhibitions or talks. Show them that you are a well rounded individual ready for university study. It’s not all about grades. Talk about your hobbies, interests, social activities and achievements, what you like to get involved in. Demonstrate relevant abilities, skills, qualities & experience you have developed and how you feel these are particularly relevant to the course you are applying to and university study/life.

23 Applying for Higher Education 2016 The DON’TS Don’t mention any uni’s/colleges that you are applying to or state a preferred uni/college unless you want to offend the admissions officer. Don’t submit an application full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Admission tutors will not be impressed! Don’t make your statement too short – could indicate a lack of commitment. Don’t give excuses – always be positive about what you have done and achieved. Don’t waffle – make sure that all information noted is relevant and you show how skills learnt from hobbies/outside interests are transferable to your chosen degree. Don’t tell lies – you might get caught out, especially if asked to elaborate on your personal statement at an interview. Remember that UCAS uses a similarity detection service to detect copied work. Remember there is only one statement regardless of whether you apply for 1 or 5 courses 600 Words Prepare in Word and cut & paste into APPLY

24 Applying for Higher Education 2016 The RACC UCAS Buzzword is: RACC2016 (using capital letters)

25 Applying for Higher Education 2016 RACC Course Title Qualification type to select on UCAS Awarding Body FL3 BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Level 3 Foundation Diploma (Art & Design) (QCF) EDEXCEL Access to (Computing, Business, Multimedia Technology, Art & Design, Interior Design, Drama, Music Technology, Photography and Digital Media, Health & Human Sciences, Humanities, Social Work) Access to HE Diploma (2009 onwards) OCNLR A2 English Language and Literature AQA Level 3 GCE Advanced LevelAQA AS English Language and Literature AQA Level 3 GCE Advanced Subsidiary (First Award 2001) AQA GCSE (English, Science, Maths)GCSEAQA Entering RACC Qualifications The qualification types and awarding bodies for the above courses are only correct for courses currently studied at RACC in You will need to check the qualifications type and awarding body for courses completed in other schools/colleges.