1. UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS 2016 Martin Johnson, Head of Academic Enrichment

2. Important decisions! Whether to apply for HE? What to study? Studying in the UK, USA, UAE or elsewhere? Which universities? What grades are required? How much will it cost?

3. UK: Applying via UCAS Go to www.ucas.com to registerwww.ucas.com Click on ‘Apply and Track’ for 2016 Use the buzzword bsak2016 Select your tutor group MAKE A NOTE OF YOUR USERNAME & PASSWORD

4. UCAS sections Personal information Financial information Course choices Education history Pending qualifications Personal statement References and predicted grades

5. Course choices Longlist of around 10 universities/courses Spread of typical grade offers Maximum of 5 choices on the UCAS form: You can select more than one course from the same institution Up to 4 medical courses in total Only one of Oxford and Cambridge Universities Use the ‘Making Decisions’ booklet to help you The Library has lots of new resources for you to borrow (from Thursday) Try to visit some universities over the summer if you are in the UK

6. Personal statement Maximum of 4000 characters (including spaces) and 47 lines One personal statement covers all your chosen courses and universities You need to convey: motivation academic suitability understanding of the course what you want to do with a degree supporting experiences (work-related and co-curricular) why you should be offered a place on the course over anyone else Be prepared to write (and re-write) several drafts!

7. Specialised applications Oxbridge (MJ) Medicine, dentistry and veterinary science (LL) Law (JM/HMG) Canada/Australia (SB) USA (HMG)

8. Deadlines End of this week: register with UCAS longlist of universities/courses 13/8/15: AS results published review your chosen courses 30/8/15: submit draft personal statement to tutors shortlist of universities/courses 11/10/15: Oxbridge and medical applications 1/11/15: all other UCAS applications