Applying to Higher Education East Coast College Applying to Higher Education

Purpose of today’s session Why choose HE? Explain how to research and choose a course Start thinking about the next steps

What are the benefits of a degree? Particular jobs require you to have a degree You will gain new life skills Meet lots of different people, make new friends You will gain even more in-depth knowledge on your particular subject You will be taught by lectures who are specialists in their field More likely to earn more in your lifetime than those who do not go to university

What course? You need to have a think about what subject you want to study, you are going to be doing it for three years (minimum) so its important that you enjoy the subject and that you find it interesting Have a think about whether you want to do… Something familiar something vocational Something different joint degree A mix of subjects something with a work placement

Where do I find this out? UCAS UCAS has a great website which allows you to search for different courses and which universities provide them Subject guides – these provide you with a taste for the undergraduate course that you are interested in, what they involve and how to get onto them https://www.ucas.com/ucas/subject-guide-list UCAS search tool – allows you to search for all of the undergraduate degrees in the country, there is a search filter to narrow your search https://digital.ucas.com/search

Where? Its really important that you feel happy with where you want to study. Again you are going to be there for around three years so its important that you like the university and the place Have a think about… do you want to stay at home or go away? City or rural location student accommodation Commuting Gap year Fees

Once you have decided Research your university choices - find out what their student satisfaction rates are, percentage of graduates that went into employment. Useful website – www.unistats.gov.uk & www.university.which.co.uk Attend an open day – have a look on their website and see when the next one is. This will give you a great chance to have a look round and speak to lecturers and students. Look on the university website for more detailed information on the course

UCAS tariff points Each course will have an entry requirement this means they need you to have a certain amount of UCAS tariff points in order for you to be accepted onto the course. These are calculated through your grades. Therefore if a course has high entry requirements that means they want high grades. These will be advertised on the university's website and prospectus Choose a range of universities if you can. Some which ask for high points, a middle and then a lower.

Next steps Preparing for your personal statement The earlier you decide on which university and what course then the earlier you can start planning for your personal statement You will have longer to prepare relevant work experience and to do some wider reading on your subject – this will come in handy when it comes to writing your personal statement What is a personal statement? This is a part of your UCAS application where you get to tell the university about yourself, what part of the subject in particular in you are most interested in

Student Finance You may be eligible for student finance, when you are filling out your UCAS application it will ask if you want details to be shared with student finance – this should make the process easier. You only start to pay back your loan when you are earning over £21,000 – this money will be taken from you before you are paid Think about… How much are you likely to get? Look for part-time jobs to help with your living costs and for a extra bit of spending money

Student finance repayment table

What if I don’t get the grades to get into my first choice? UCAS Clearing starts on A Level results day – this is usually the third Thursday in August Universities which have vacancies will advertise them on their websites and through UCAS You can phone them directly to see if you can have a place

Any Questions? d.rooke@eastcoast.ac.uk