Information to Parents CEIAG Year 13 Information to Parents CEIAG

Contents Year 13 Lessons One Year From Now Personal Statement School Reference Personal Portfolio Finance Scholarships Unistats Useful Resources

Year 13 CEIAG Provision Careers class: Trips Talks Work Experience Careers resources for Sixth Form The UCAS application process (UK) The CAO application process (ROI) Applying to St. Mary’s College Applying to Higher Apprenticeships Preparing for Work Experience Personal Statements Trips UCAS Convention Other opportunities for various courses. ( Medicine, Oxbridge etc.) Talks QUB Ulster Scottish Universities See full list of extra-curricular activities, cross curricular activities and lunch time seminars on website. Work Experience Guidance Interviews

Common Application Procedures for Third Level Education. UCAS CAO St. Mary’s University College, Belfast Higher Apprenticeships Foundation Degrees Part-time Degrees

UCAS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CdiyGY8Mes&list=PLwtIyai-05bVPyBQhqE_LOrK2Wg1Hcxit&index=4

One Year From Now… University applications will begin to be submitted. Personal statement submitted and marked. Reference from school written. Note the importance of personal statement. Recent course- one of the courses said they do a triple check on them Another marks them and gives each applicant a score.

Pupils must demonstrate: Personal Statement A special part of application form. 600 words. Pupils must demonstrate: Commitment Enthusiasm Relevant experience and skills Outside reading Activities Hobbies Interests Work experience How are you unique? With the use of examples Used to select the most outstanding candidates, especially in high demand courses.

School Reference Partly based on a pre UCAS interview. Will mirror the personal statement. The school needs good input from pupils at interview in order to give a good reference. *check these

Personal Portfolio Year 13 pupils should begin to assemble portfolio now. Avail of opportunities, gain relevant credit and experiences. WE, enrichement courses etc.

Opportunities Work Experience Voluntary Work Awards Achievements Leadership roles Enrichment courses

Aptitude Tests UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) HPAT (Health Professionals Admission Test) HPAT Ireland LNAT (National Admissions test for Law) BMAT (Biomedical Admissions test)

Finance Arrangements for Higher Education UK charging £9250 per year. QUB and Ulster frozen at £4160. While overall UCAS applications have decreased and many universities not filling places- QUB and UU had an increase. Not all courses available locally. QUB will not commit to how long time would last

Republic of Ireland Courses All tuition fees paid by the Irish Government. A fee for registration is charged by the universities but this will normally be paid by Student Finance NI. Apply for Student Finance in the normal way. www.studentfinanceni.co.uk

Scholarships https://www.ulster.ac.uk/apply/fees-and-finance/scholarships http://qub.ac.uk/Study/Undergraduate/Fees-and-scholarships/Scholarships/ The big one- all fees paid- Queens give out 10 of them. 2 nominations from each school Sports bursaries Stem scholarships Many others- at the link. Please investigate as there's many from top performers in all faculties, to young male farmer awards

4 A-level’s? 4 subjects is our initial requirement for majority of students. Some courses require a 4th A/S. Increases UCAS points. Allows students to more competitive for ROI. it allows them to reduce to three when they are able to discern career opportunities or subject preferences at the end of the year or earlier as pressures dictate …….if they start with three subjects and 1 is not working out choices are very limited and 2 A levels do not have much /any currency . The three best A-level’s will be considered for Queen’s. You need to ask yourself if you want to spread yourself thinly over 4? 4 A/s’s: A fourth A/s is only required for medicine and dentistry. Republic of Ireland required 4 A/s’s. And we would advise keeping on the 4th at A-Level for more points

BTEC’s Accepted by both University of Ulster and QUB. Accepted by many Universities across the water.

Higher Apprenticeships Learn while you earn, Gain a recognised qualification, Receive off-the-job training specific to your apprenticeship, Work alongside experienced staff.

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/higher-level-apprenticeships

QUB Parents Events (http://www.qub.ac.uk/News/Events/)

University of Ulster Events https://www.ulster.ac.uk/events

Useful resources Quality Assurance Agency/Times Good University Guide Scholarship Search Unistats Prospects Website LMI Quality Assurance Agency / Times Good University Guide Independent reports on universities and individual departments. Scholarship Search A search engine for available scholarships and bursaries. Unistats Compares courses across different universities. Student satisfaction. Employment statistics. Degree class statistics. Prospects Website What do graduates do ? A breakdown of the employment destinations for graduates in each subject. How much will I earn ? Find out how much salary you can expect after graduating. Labour Market Information Profiles from DELNI Factsheets from the Careers Service

Unistats

Mrs Michaella McAllister Contact Mrs Michaella McAllister Email: mmcallister439@c2kni.net Thank you