GETTING INTO H.E. 10 th June 2013 THE APPLICANT JOURNEY

The Applicant Journey UCAS SCHEME RESEARCH APPLICATION OFFERS & REPLIES CONFIRMATION CLEARING & ADJUSTMENT

Key dates and deadlines  Early June: applicants can register and start to complete their application  Early September: School can start to submit completed applications to UCAS  15 October: deadline for  Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry  Oxford or Cambridge  15 January: main deadline  24 March: deadline for some Art & Design  30 June: deadline to be considered in main scheme (1 July on – Clearing)  20 September: final application deadline THEY ARE VITAL Admissions test may need to be registered for prior to submitting UCAS application

School Process Now - Begin course research and first draft personal statements. Student completes application form including personal statement, course choices and education. Student pays (£22 for five or £11 for one) and ‘sends’ to referee. Tutor collates subject references including predicted grades for current courses and personal touch based on knowledge of the students’ amazing qualities. Application and reference checked by HoS / Assistant HoS and sent to UCAS.

School Deadlines:  Early Applications complete:27 th Sept.  All other applications complete:8 th Nov.  Aiming to turn applications around with references in 2 school weeks.

Art & Design courses  Used to have a separate application route (Route B)  Brought into main system in 2010  Some courses have a later (24 March) deadline - some applicants do 1 yr foundation course before applying to university - need time to decide on specialisms and for referee to get to know them well enough to write a meaningful reference  Likely to require portfolio evidence to support application

UCAS APPLICANT JOURNEY

Research  Requires:  Sufficient time  Resources  Organisation  Knowing where to look / what to look for  Encouragement and support  Works best when:  Systematic  Methodical  Thorough  Range of resources:  Paper  Experiential  Online

UCAS Course Search  Which courses are offered at which institutions  Open or closed for application  Entry profiles EP  Specific information about course and university  Guide to minimum qualifications/grades required  Information about what kind of candidate  Guide to the selection process  Clues for writing Personal Statement  Financial information (fees, bursaries etc)  Headline link to unistats website

When to apply  One application per year - give yourself plenty of time and make it the best it can be  Deadlines matter - applications received by deadline will be considered - applications received after deadline may be considered - HEIs can close courses after the relevant deadline  Apply early only if absolutely sure of choices - if only sure of some choices, either wait, or submit with sure choices and add others later (but not able to change personal statement)  Application numbers spike around deadlines - Admissions officers may have less time to spend with each!

What information will UCAS require? Students are asked to complete the following sections:  Personal Details  Choices  Education  Employment  Personal Statement First of all you need to register:  10 minute process  Applicant given username  Applicant creates password  Applicant given Personal Identification Number (PID)

HEI decisions  UCAS processes and makes available to considering HEIs (usually within 24 – 48 hours)  Institutions consider independently ~ UCAS not involved (average waiting time 2012 was 51 days, so patience required!)  Each HEI will record a decision through UCAS  unsuccessful  offer - unconditional where qualifications held - conditional where results not yet known  Track updated and sent to the applicant

Conditional offers  Could be made in terms of UCAS Tariff score alone e.g. Score 320 UCAS Tariff points from all qualifications.  Could be made in terms of grades or scores e.g. Achieve grades A, A, B in A-levels being taken summer 2014  Could be a mixture e.g. Score 360 UCAS Tariff points including a grade A in A-level Mathematics  Could include further conditions or limitations e.g. Achieve A*,A,A in A-levels and STEP I and III at Grade 1 or....Achieve 280 Points from a minimum of 3 full A-Levels

Track  Enables you to follow the progress of your application (24/7, access via password)  Quickest way to find out about new offers  You can reply to offers online

Applicant replies  When?  Decisions received from ALL choices  If offer(s) made applicant asked to reply and given a date to reply by on Track  Reminders sent, but failure to reply by the reply date results in offers being declined by default  What replies can be made?  For unconditional offers – ACCEPT – DECLINE  For conditional offers – FIRM – INSURANCE “What am I committing to?”

Confirmation  If conditions of a FIRM choice offer are met, applicant is PLACED with the FIRM choice HEI  If conditions of a FIRM choice offer are not met, the HEI could (at its discretion) still choose to confirm and the applicant would be placed with the FIRM choice HEI  ONLY if conditions of a FIRM choice offer are NOT met and the FIRM choice HEI does NOT confirm does the INSURANCE choice come into play.

Extra  5 choices used – no offers held  None received  Offers received but declined  Choices withdrawn from  If an offer is received, replies made as in main scheme  If an offer is declined or no offer is received another EXTRA choice can be added  Ends 6 July (cannot add new choices after this)  From 25 February able to add 1 EXTRA choice  Courses in EXTRA marked X in Course Search  Choice added via Track  HEI has 21 days to record a decision

If FIRM choice conditions met applicant is PLACED Near miss? FIRM choice HEI can still accept (at their discretion) If FIRM choice conditions not met and HEI does not accept? If an INSURANCE choice held & conditions met applicant is PLACED If unsuccessful with FIRM & INSURANCE choice CLEARING Near miss? INSURANCE HEI can still accept (at their discretion) CONFIRMATION When HEIs make final decisions based on applicants’ exam results CLEARING

Eligible applicant researches vacancies Contacts institution(s) to discuss application Applicant enters choice details on Track Institution records decision If unsuccessful applicant can start again Applicant PLACED on course Clearing +

Clearing: What happens when?  Some people eligible mid-July (but no vacancy list)  Track is ‘frozen’ the weekend before A-Level results are published in mid-August  Vacancy list published on UCAS website 1 minute past midnight the night before A-Level results are published  Track is ‘unfrozen’ the morning A-Level results are published (always a Thursday)  Option to ‘Add Clearing Choice’ via Track appears GMT on the day A-Level results are published

PLACED applicants and Clearing  Any applicant who has been PLACED with a university or college has made a commitment to the HEI  No simple automatic process to get out of the commitment  ONLY option is to ask HEI to change record to a decline  Applicant would have to:  Contact HEI direct  Explain circumstances / what they wish to do  Seek HEI agreement (it is at HEI’s discretion)  Ask HEI to action decline (UCAS cannot)

Adjustment  For applicants whose place has been confirmed at their FIRM choice, and who have  MET all conditions of offer and  EXCEEDED at least one condition  Can hold on to confirmed place while seeking a more aspirational one for UP TO 5 DAYS MAXIMUM (Consecutive 24 hour periods - clock starts when applicant PLACED or A-Level results day, whichever is later – end time shown in Track)  No vacancy lists registered 382 adjusted

Applicant PLACED at FIRM choice believes met & exceeded Max. 5 days start from when PLACED or A-Level results day Applicant REGISTERS on Track and calls HEIs direct HEIs have final say if met & exceeded If applicant not adjusted after 5 days still PLACED at original FIRM If an HEI wants the applicant, will ask for an first then ADJUST Adjustment +

QU + E + S + T = Degree offer QU + E + S + T = Degree offer Competition: what it means for applicants? QualificationsExperienceSkillsTestimony QU = Degree offer

Questions