Higher Education: Choosing and Applying www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Why go? www.ed.ac.uk Makes you more employable Higher average starting salaries and lifetime earnings for graduates Study something you enjoy: thousands of courses to choose from! Independence - chance to try living away from home Meet people from all over the world & discover a new talent www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Which degree course? www.ed.ac.uk Research course content carefully – even for familiar subjects Flexibility of degree course Teaching and assessment methods Quality of teaching and research Consider future career paths www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Which university? www.ed.ac.uk What sort of environment will suit you? Location? Big or small? Campus or city? www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Entry requirements www.ed.ac.uk Entry requirements, and levels of competition, vary between subjects and universities! Be aware that for competitive subject areas, minimum entry requirements (or above) may not be sufficient to gain a place Check admissions information carefully when making final choices Use all UCAS choices to maximise chances of getting a place – be realistic and consider alternatives www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Admissions requirements www.ed.ac.uk Subject Specific requirements? Requirements vary whether taken up to S5 or S4 – S6. Are Advanced Highers recommended? General entrance requirements? Work experience? Additional tests? E.g. UKCAT (for Medicine) or LNAT (for Law) Interviews? If in doubt – check with University directly before applying www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Competitive process Undergraduate applications by tuition fee status 2016 Undergraduate acceptances by tuition fee status 2016 Scotland rUK Overseas Overseas rUK Scotland www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

The UCAS System www.ed.ac.uk Application system for degree (and HNC/D) courses at most Universities One application for up to five courses (four for Dentistry, Medicine & Vet Medicine) Application to be completed by 15 January of the year of entry, except for: Dentistry, Medicine & Vet Medicine Oxford or Cambridge, Some Art & Design applications where deadline is 24 March year of entry Perhaps giving an indication of typical class sizes and amount of time spent engaging in different types of teaching approaches. E.g., lectures, tutorials, lab work, group projects, independent study, etc. www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

The UCAS Process

The UCAS System: Register Register your details e.g. name, age, address, contact details (mobile / email) Use an appropriate email address Keep your personal ID and password safe Obtain your school’s ‘buzzword’ to begin your application www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Personal and Additional Details The UCAS System: Personal and Additional Details Information you provided at registration will be stored here. You are also required to give further personal details including place of residence, fee status, whether you have any disabilities, criminal convictions etc. www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

The UCAS System: Choices Course details can be selected from lists of institutions and course names. You can also indicate if you plan to live at home whilst studying or if you wish to defer your entry (i.e. apply to start your degree after a gap year). System automatically places courses in correct order www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

The UCAS System: Education Enter your schooling history Details of the qualifications you have taken and/ or will be taking in the future www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

The UCAS System: Employment Enter up to five different paid employment details, past or present, including weekend and holiday jobs. www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

The UCAS System: Statement Type your personal statement into the box, or use ‘copy and paste’ to insert text that you have already prepared (e.g. on using Microsoft Word). This section allows 47 lines of text / up to 4000 characters. (approx 750 words) When checking spelling, use UK spell checker. www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Reference & Final Steps The UCAS System: Reference & Final Steps School adds reference – this can include details about predicted grades. School checks whole application and sends to UCAS (with fee) www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

UCAS – The next steps www.ed.ac.uk UCAS: distributes it to universities and monitors application Students can monitor progress of application through ‘UCAS Track’ The University Response: Conditional Offer Unconditional Offer Unsuccessful Application Up to five offers can be received www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

UCAS – The next steps www.ed.ac.uk Wait for all offers to come in - only have to respond once all offers have been made and not before Can hold onto a maximum of 2 conditional offers (firm or insurance) Much thought required before responding to offers – insurance choice should be realistic You may also decline all offers received and enter UCAS extra or Clearing www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Writing personal statements www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Why is it important? www.ed.ac.uk Competitive application process You are unlikely to be interviewed We do read them! Your only chance to stand out from the crowd… www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Example structure www.ed.ac.uk Paragraph 1: Introduction to the subject Paragraph 2 & 3: What you have done related to the subject, perhaps details from Highers Paragraphs 4: Work experience placements and relevant activities at school Paragraph 5: Your interests outside of school Paragraph 6: Your goal after attending university www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Remember www.ed.ac.uk One personal statement Don’t list Make sure it reads well Tell us what you’ve learned Don’t plagiarise www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

Are they right for the University? Are they right for the course? Do they have a genuine interest in the subject? Are they likely to drop out or are they hard working and dedicated? What are their communication skills like? Are they right for the University? Are they right for the course? Can the student work under pressure? Will the student be able to cope with the course? Is the student suited to the course they are applying to? Dedicated to this course & have they done their research? Will the student be able to adjust to life at university?

www.ed.ac.uk applyedinburgh

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