UCAS Parents’ Information Evening 2018

Life Beyond St Margaret’s University College Apprenticeships Employment Gap year Over 90% of last years cohort applied to University and so I will focus on how to apply.

What is UCAS? Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

The Application Process is done online at www.ucas.com/apply The UCAS website is ‘live’ now but applications cannot be sent electronically until 5th September. Your daughter can apply for up to 5 courses. For medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, they can only make 4 applications to these subjects, plus one other. Your daughter can apply for more than one course at any university, but it is unusual for anyone to apply to the same Uni for more than two different courses. However, they can make only one Oxford OR Cambridge application.

How do Universities decide to whom they will make an offer? They look at: Grades already gained Predicted grades for next year Personal Statement School Reference

What are UCAS points? These are mostly used for English Universities. UCAS awards points for all exams passed. Points are also awarded for some dancing and music exams at grade 6 level or above. See online, or your daughters UCAS folder, for the points tariff, but as a guide an A at Higher is worth 33 points, a B 27 points and a C 21 points. An A at AH is 56 points. If you pass AH after a Higher, you only get the points for the AH and the same applies for Nat 5 and Higher.

St Margaret’s Timescale “Early Bird” applications Oxford, Cambridge (Oxbridge), medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry - First drafts of PS to be with Ms Brown by the end of August. This should be worked on in the summer holidays. Final applications will then be sent by Ms Brown to UCAS by 15th October. All other applications First drafts of all other PS to Ms Brown by end of September. Once complete these will be sent to UCAS by 15th December.

What happens then? UCAS will acknowledge their application. Your daughter can then follow her application through TRACK on the UCAS website. Each university also sends out a paper copy of their decision. Once they have heard about all their applications, they will be given a date by which they have to have made up their mind which offer they want to accept.

What could the offers be? Unconditional Conditional – they will specify what they want your daughter to get in VIS Unsuccessful

Will your daughter have an Interview? Maybe! Cambridge and Oxford interview having made an initial selection through their rigorous assessments. Most medical schools interview, but not Edinburgh for example, although this is set to change. Some healthcare courses use MMI’s. Interviews are usually held for primary teaching, architecture, veterinary medicine and sometimes engineering. All girls will receive at least 1 mock interview and more than this if they wish.

How do they accept an offer? Once UCAS has been notified of their decision they cannot normally change their mind. They can accept an unconditional offer. They can accept a conditional offer (CF) as their first choice with an unconditional insurance offer (CI) if they don’t get the grades. They can accept a conditional offer as their first choice with a second conditional offer which needs lower grades as their insurance offer.

What happens if they don’t get any offers? If they find themselves without an offer for whatever reason and they have used all 5 choices, they can then use UCAS Extra as of 25th February until 5th July. They get another chance to apply to more courses, but one at a time. If their first Extra choice does not make them an offer, they can then apply for another course.

What happens if they don’t get the grades for my Firm or Insurance Offer? They then enter CLEARING and find out which universities still have places available for the course in which they are interested. Full Clearing opens Thursday 5th July.

Adjustment Period Only for applicants with a firmly accepted conditional offer. If an applicants exceeds the conditions of their offer, they have 5 days to research places more appropriate to their performance whilst still holding on to their original offer. Adjustment starts on 16th August until 31st Aug. When they register they only have 5 days to research other courses. They will get a countdown in track. Applicants must consider accommodation and student finance before considering this option.

Personal Statements 47 lines, 4000 characters This is your daughter’s chance to sell herself They want to convince the universities to make them an offer rather than someone else They must show passion for the subject they are applying for ‘Academic extra-curricular’ interests Positions of responsibility Extra-curricular activities Work experience

What could be included on a Personal Statement? Head Girl/Senior Prefect/Prefect/Library Prefect/Department Prefect Budapest/Geneva/Tanzania trip etc Maths Challenge Food Hygiene certificate House Captain/Vice Captain Prefects’ Leadership course Sports Captains Young Enterprise Colours – music, sport, debating Exchange student Duke of Edinburgh Award Summer Orchestras Hockey/netball/basketball teams etc Theatre companies Hockey Youth Umpire Volunteering Grades for music, dancing etc Work experience Debating and Public Speaking Buddy Paired Reading

Deadline reminder “Early Bird” applications First drafts of PS to be with Ms Brown by the end of August. All other applications First drafts of all other PS to Ms Brown by the end of September.