The Higher Education Evening 7.30 The UCAS Process: a Hampton perspective Richard Worrallo Assistant Director of Careers & UCAS 8.00 The UCAS Process: a University perspective Charlotte Brooks University of Nottingham 8.30 Oxford & Cambridge Entry: a Hampton perspective Andrew Wilkinson Senior Tutor & Oxbridge Coordinator

Where are we now in the Higher Education process? Start of Oxbridge Programme Centigrade Questionnaire & Report Introductory session about American University applications Presentation to pupils about Higher Education from the University of Southampton

Future events this term: Next few days: give proposed university course to Form Tutor Thursday 11 June: attendance at the Higher Education Fair at LEH Thursday 11 June: Writing a Personal Statement from scratch

Applying to university: the medium term plan During Summer Term 2015: Make informed decisions about courses and institutions Log onto the UCAS system Complete first draft of a Personal Statement and improve through the term. During Autumn 2016: complete UCAS application Deadline for Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry & Veterinary applications is Thursday 15 October. The School internal deadline is completion by 4pm on Friday 18 September January 15: official UCAS deadline for all other applications

Oxford & Cambridge Applicants must also … June 2015: finalise college and course choice. Discuss prospects for Oxford and Cambridge with relevant Heads of Department. Establish details of any prepared work you need to take for your chosen course. Summer holidays: prepare for written tests and interviews as necessary. You will need to demonstrate a lively and well-developed interest in your chosen subject. Consolidate your Lower Sixth work, and extend your knowledge to A2 and indeed beyond the A Level syllabus. You must do extra reading. Select your other university choices.

Pupil strategy for university application You perform: Any AS module scores achieved in Lower Sixth are extremely important We predict: Predictions by departments are based on Lower Sixth performance and are non-negotiable You apply to universities. All being well, you receive offers You perform in the AS and A2 modules You get into university by fulfilling offer(s)

What sort of students do universities want? What can you offer a university? Durham University say that: ‘Students should take responsibility for: the process of applying seeking advice & guidance from staff doing their research’ LSE is looking for ‘bright, questioning, self-motivated students who are not daunted by the challenge of living and studying in an extremely cosmopolitan and intellectually demanding atmosphere’

Research Remember: choose What subject? then Which university? Use the Centigrade report as a starting point League Tables are useful. Don’t take small differences in ranking to be too significant. Always look at how the rankings are scored. There are several versions of League tables anyway There is a huge amount of information on Also, try Look over Prospectuses. We have them but get your own copies. Read objective accounts of universities; listen to subjective opinions (chat lines) but don’t believe only them. Visit universities when you can. Look out for Open Days. Short list and then decide on choices.

UCAS The UCAS system is the medium through which you apply to universities in the UK. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is based in Cheltenham. We are an all-in electronic application school, using the on-line version.

How UCAS works You can apply for up to five choices on the UCAS form There should be real consistency in the courses chosen Candidates for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science need only to make four choices Your chosen universities do not see where else you have applied From your offers, you make one Firm and one Insurance choice, and reject the rest. The deadline will be early May If all goes well with your A Levels in August, you will go to your Firm choice

The UCAS Tariff The UCAS Tariff is the expression of the results that you need in order to satisfy any university’s entrance requirements However, the top or selecting universities will still require individual A Level grades: the lower or recruiting universities give points-based offers An A grade at A Level is worth 120 points for a six-unit award. An A* is worth 140 points and a B is worth 100 points, and so on. Standard offers are based on 3 A Levels only – assume unless told otherwise that General Studies will not be included, nor as a rule will a single AS level. A few of the selecting universities have recently taken to giving an AS target in the offer in addition to 3 A Levels

Selecting and Recruiting Universities n Hamptonians will be choosing their universities from selecting institutions, and competition is toughest at the top of the ‘league tables.’ The most notable grouping of these selecting universities is the Russell Group

The Russell Group: Birmingham/Bristol/Cambridge/Cardiff/Durham Edinburgh/Exeter/Glasgow/Imperial College London/KCL Leeds/Liverpool/LSE/Manchester/Newcastle/Nottingham Oxford/QML/ Queen's Belfast/Sheffield Southampton/UCL/Warwick/York

The Russell Group & Hampton E of N Russell Group % First Choice % Gap Year International students 2014 leavers88 %79 %17 Students2 Students

E Early analysis of UCAS 2015 Entry Where did boys apply to? Nottingham 87 Bristol 82 Durham 63 Exeter 54 Bath 53 Southampton 52 Leeds 50 Birmingham 41 Manchester 40 Warwick 34 Oxford 31 Cambridge 25 UCL 19 York 16 Edinburgh/Newcastle 14 Imperial/Loughborough 12

E The Consistency of an Application You should plan to apply to courses broadly in line with your predicted grades. Example: I am predicted AAB and I wish to study Geography For my 5 choices: I most want to go to Geography at St. Andrews: typical offer is AAA I have also selected Geography at Birmingham, Leeds and Exeter. All have typical AAB offers I have added Geography and Urban & Regional Planning. Typically ABB I have three choices in line with my predictions I am aiming high for St. Andrews because I want to go there most I am adding a more varied degree at Birmingham in case I don’t do as well as predicted The spectrum of my choices runs from AAA to ABB. My predicted grades lie towards the top of the spectrum My subject choice are consistent, one course being a little more specialised

E Selling your Application An Admissions Tutor looks primarily at certain evidence to select candidates. Most important are the School’s predicted grades and reference. Boys will know their A Level predictions before they apply. An applicant’s Personal Statement provides important support material. For an Oxbridge application, it is instrumental in getting to the next stage of an Interview. For most non-Oxbridge applications, it may well be a substitute for an Interview! A “count back” to GCSE grades is also important. Some departments of some universities may formally use GCSE scores to rank candidates.

E The Dilemma for Selecting Universities Universities are increasingly dissatisfied with A Level grades as sole discriminators of ability. Hence, the varied use of admissions tests; the inclusion of an AS target in offers; a countback to GCSEs

E Places Available A university department only has so many places available. Selecting universities are oversubscribed. You may find yourself on the wrong side of a numbers game. Incidentally, universities will make more offers than it has places available. If you satisfy that offer by making the grades, then you are in! If not, don’t expect any favours!

E Hamptonian Destinations 2014 (2013 in brackets) Bristol 18 (15) Nottingham 14 (23) Oxford 13 (18) Exeter 12 (11) Durham 11 (9) UCL 9 (7) Cambridge 10 (8)

E Take care in selecting university choices: Top rejection rates 2014: LSE 75% Oxford 50% Cambridge 42% Durham 30%

E Take care in selecting university choices: Top acceptance rates 2014: Newcastle/York/ Royal Holloway/Reading/Sheffield/Sussex 100% Nottingham 98% Manchester 98% Southampton 98% Warwick 94%