Applying to University Jade Wheeler UK/EU Student Recruitment Advisor jade.wheeler@surrey.ac.uk

What is UCAS? Choice restrictions: Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry - max 4 Oxford or Cambridge Central application service Only method of entry to UK degree programmes UCAS = University and Colleges Admissions Services This is the service you will use to apply to university (run through each point) Lists 37,000 courses and 395 providers Can apply to up to 5 universities Tuesday, 06 November 2018

Timeline March – August Start to do your research. Make your 5 final choices September 1st – Applications open on the UCAS Website October 15th – Oxford, Cambridge, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Medicine deadlines November - December Interviews and Applicant days take place. Universities will start to make offers January 15th – Application Deadline February – April Interviews and Applicant days take place. Universities will continue to make offers May 8th - If you applied by the January deadline all your institutions will have made you an offer June – July Declare your firm and insurance choices August 17th – Results day September - October Confirmation and arrival This is the timeline of the university application process from research until confirmation and arrival. We will now run through each stage in more detail.

UCAS Form Spend enough time on your application Give time for references to be written This is what the UCAS form looks like You will need to complete each section down the left-hand side, once this is complete your teacher will need to write you a reference before it gets submitted to UCAS. The university may send you a confirmation letter and any other information

Offers Your offers will appear on UCAS Track Conditional (C) – You must meet the requirements of the university these will usually be the entry requirements Unconditional (UC) – you have met the offer and have a place at the university regardless of any results You may be asked to attend an interview or an audition and you may be made an offer based on this A conditional offer is the most common if you are applying whilst still in school. This means you must meet academic conditions (e.g. AAB at A-Level) in order to get the offer. An unconditional is when there are no conditions as the students has already received their results. Your offer may also be based on performance at interview/audition.

Firm and Insurance Once you have received your offers and the deadline has passed you must decide on your Firm (1st) and Insurance (2nd) choice universities This is all completed via UCAS Be realistic: Your insurance should be lower entry requirements Insurance/Firm: If you make your first (firm) choice lower entry requirements than your second (insurance) choice and do not meet the requirements of your firm then you will not meet the requirements of the insurance May have to enter Clearing

Results Day UCAS Track will update as soon as the university has received your results You can access UCAS from anywhere Once you have met the university’s offer you must confirm your place via UCAS If things don’t go to plan there are other options Once you have received your results and the university has confirmed that you have met their offer and they would like to offer you a place then you must confirm this via UCAS

Clearing and Adjustment If you already have your exam results, but you have no offers If your exam results weren’t what you expected You can identify courses (with vacancies) that interest you and contact the universities directly to see if they will offer you a place. You have to have either been rejected or rejected all of your offers. Cannot have any outstanding offers Works by phoning various universities that still have spaces on your desired course and telling them your grades to see whether you can be accepted. Adjustment works in the same way. Adjustment If you have done better than expected then you can opt into Adjustment (If you've met and exceeded conditions for your firm choice)

UCAS Extra You might be able to add more courses to your application if you're in the following situation: You've applied for five courses You've received decisions from all five course providers You weren't accepted or you decided to decline any offers you received If you haven’t used all five choices, or if you have accepted an unconditional offer you won’t be eligible

Find out more Tuesday, 06 November 2018

Student Finance 2017/18 Presented by Lizzie Burrows Head of UK/EU Student Recruitment Tuesday, 06 November 2018

2017 entry fees The Government are allowing Universities to increase fees for the academic year 2017/18 onward, subject to certain criteria being met (subject to approval from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)). This increase will represent a 2.8% increase which is in line with inflation and linked to the Retail Price Index (maximum fee of £9,250 for 2017/18) It is the intention of the University of Surrey to charge £9,250 for the academic year 2017/18.

Financial support for 2017 entry Loans - repayable after graduation Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance Loan Bursaries and Scholarships - non-repayable Bursaries and scholarships from institution Disabled Student Allowance Others… From 1st August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health students no longer receive NHS bursaries and will be replaced by a loan There are two categories of financial support available for students We will discuss the different types of loans, bursaries and scholarships available

Loans Students can take a ‘Tuition Fee Loan’ from Student Finance England regardless of household income The amount available is up to the level of fees The money will be paid directly to the university Students can take a ‘Maintenance Loan’ from Student Finance England This is paid into the student’s bank account The amount available varies: Place of study Place of living Household Income

2017/18 Maintenance Loans Full rate (100%) Does not depend on household income Depends on household income Living at home £7,097 £3,124 Up to £3,973 Living away from home, outside London £8,430 £3,928 Up to £4,502 Living away from home, in London £11,002 £5,479 Up to £5,523 You spend a year of a UK course studying abroad £9,654 £4,667 Up to £4,987 These are the maintenance loan amounts for 2017 entry.

2017/18 Maintenance Loans Example of what an English student, studying outside of London, might receive: Household Income Maintenance Loan £25,000 or less £8,430 £30,000 £7,825 £35,000 £7,220 £40,000 £6,615 £42,875 £6,266 £45,000 £6,009 £50,000 £5,404 £55,000 £4,799 £60,000 £4,193 £62,187 or above £3,928 Example showing how the entitlement decreases as the household income increases

Student Loan Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance Loan Upon Graduation Once you graduate both loans are combined into one lump sum of money

It’s payback time £21,000 threshold If you never earn over £21,000 you will never have to pay back the loan If your salary drops below £21,000 your repayments will stop “Another line on your payslip” “Graduate tax” Outstanding loans written off after 30 years No penalty for early repayment

More information can be found on: www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk How the interest works Interest rate While the student is studying Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 3%. From graduation Interest will be based on their income: £21,000 or less = RPI Between £21,000 and £41,000 = RPI plus up to 3%, depending on income £41,000 and over = RPI plus 3% Student loans accrue interest from when they are taken out, the rate is based around RPI. For more information please visit this website. More information can be found on: www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

Student Loan Repayment Examples Automatically deducted from salary through PAYE Payback rate is 9% (at present) of earnings above £21,000 in the UK If you move overseas the payback threshold is adjusted according to cost of living in that country Salary Amount of salary from which 9% will be deducted Monthly repayment £25,000 £4,000 £30 £30,000 £9,000 £67 £35,000 £14,000 £105 £40,000 £19,000 £142 £45,000 £24,000 £180 £50,000 £29,000 £217 £55,000 £34,000 £255 £60,000 £39,000 £292 The monthly repayments are designed to be manageable so that graduate does not feel heavily weighed down with debt

Applying for financial support New students can apply to Student Finance England from January 2017 for funding for academic year 2017/18 Financial entitlement calculator www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator Universities have means tested bursaries available, if you think you may be entitled to a bursary, please “share your information” Online application – one for parents, one for the student. Soft deadline in May Finance calculator – very useful tool to use now!

University support Bursaries Support will vary between institutions Find out more at www.gov.uk Scholarships Many universities are award academic scholarships to high achieving students These vary from university to university and from course to course Music, Sports and Arts scholarships Institution specific – check university websites to see what they are offering Bursaries – extra support for students who need it most, on top of the maintenance loan Scholarships – merit based

Thank you, any questions? Jade Wheeler UK/EU Student Recruitment Advisor study@surrey.ac.uk