1. Bedlingtonshire Community High School
University Advice Evening

2. 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

3. Apply 2015

4. Setting the scene 309 50,000+ 327 Universities / Colleges
50,000+ courses

7.
Please refer students to this pdf document, which highlights the number of universities. This should be used as you set the scene. Give a short talk about the range of different insititution in terms of :
Location
Cost of living (on map)
Style of teaching, etc.

8. What’s important to you about where you study?

9. 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:
A course that is interesting
A good standard of teaching
A favourable geographical location
A realistic/achievable offer
A good graduate employment record
A range of excellent facilities, not least accommodation .

10. 1: A course that is interesting 2: A good quality of teaching
Research Tools and Strategies:
UCAS
League Tables
Prospectuses
Encourage students to ask ACO about League Tables: good place to start but don’t reject out of hand those with low ratings
HEAP: “Choosing your Degree Course and University” is available in the LRC. Ask ACO about it as a matter of priority! It gives at a glance strengths and weaknesses of each uni, etc
Prospectuses: Get your own copies – for upcoming sessions students will need prospectuses to use and refer to. We have copies of Northumbria and Newcastle’s in Common room but get on websites and order your own, Some unis even offer “personalised” Prospectuses
Russell Group: Best research ratings among unis, best reputation among employers and generally best kudos! i.e. Durham , Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, UCL, etc
Stress that the “best” unis might not be best for each students and that they need to consider other factors: employment prospects, course content and location

12. 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

13. 3: Geographical Location
Do you want to live away from home?
Pros –V- Cons
In pairs/small groups ask students to discuss pros/cons of living away from home
Ask students to remember that there are many skills to be learned from moving away from home and that these can prove significant when looking for a job
Remind students that wherever they go – the place will become “home” for the next 3-4 years!!

14. 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!
There is no real way to be tactful here – you have to tell students to be realistic about what they can achieve and not apply for university courses out of their range!

15. BE REALISTIC! THERE IS LITTLE POINT APPLYING FOR
COURSES THAT ARE BEYOND YOUR ABILITY
PLEASE ALSO CHECK GCSE REQUIREMENTS
FOR COURSES BEFORE APPLYING

16. CERT/OCR NATIONAL CERT
BCHS UCAS Tariff for 2013 A2 AS
EPQ
BTEC NATIONAL
CERT/OCR NATIONAL CERT
AWARD/
OCR NATIONAL AWARD
UCAS TARIFF POINTS DD
240 DM
200 MM
160 MP
120 A*
140 A D B
100 C pp M 80 70 60 50 E P 40 30 20

17. 6: A range of good facilities/services
Check out:
Library
Sports Facilities
Students Social Facilities
Careers Service
Student Support Services
Bursary/financial support
Accommodation
Encourage students to embark on comparing and contrasting the above facilities/services
Focus on bursaries, etc. ACO has a book outlining financial incentives for varying Unis

18. What do you want to study?

19. 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

21. 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

22. Visit…

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

26. The Personal Statement

27. What do you know about Personal Statements?
True or false?
Universities don’t read Personal Statements.
You can use as many lines as you need.
You can use bold and underlining.
You can use paragraphs.
Apply has spell and grammar checks.
You can write different statements for each of your choices.
You should concentrate on out of school activities.
You should leave it to your referee to explain why you should be selected.

28. What do you know about Personal Statements?
True or false?
Universities don’t read Personal Statements. (F)
You can use as many lines as you need. (F – 47 max.)
You can use bold and underlining. (F)
You can use paragraphs. (T)
Apply has spell and grammar checks. (F)
You can write different statements for each of your choices. (F)
You should concentrate on out of school activities. (F)
You should leave it to your referee to explain why you should be selected. (F)

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. What skills it has given you
What you’ve done
What skills it has given you
How these relate to your course

33. Personal Statement Guidance
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
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’

35. 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

36. Ideas on what not to include?

37. Avoid being repetitive
For 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.
At this stage in your education we would like to assume you would be able use a wide vocabulary and if you don’t have one, that you can use a thesaurus. Think of your personal statement as an essay and show your writing skills.
Don’t write anything in the personal statement that the admissions tutors can read somewhere else on the form e.g. name, age, qualifications being studied, courses applied for etc. You only have about 56 lines of text – use them carefully

38. 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
We all have a sense of humour, we don’t all have the same sense of humour and after reading more than 20 of these, admissions tutors have generally lost theirs. Concentrate on the topic at hand, why should the admissions tutor let you on the course.

39. 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…

40. Use the right level of detail
When 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 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).

41. Don’t forget though… Your personal statement is PERSONAL
Make it interesting
Don’t make things up

42. 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!

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

45. 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

46. Conditional Offer Making
Conditional offers can be expressed in 3 ways:
UCAS Tariff
e.g. 300 points or
Exam grades (level / qualification)
e.g. BBC at A-level
Combination of both
e.g. 300 points including grade A in English A-Level

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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

50. A Little Information on Student Finance

51. Student Finance | UCAS | Student Loan & Money Management Advice

56. And Finally!