Applying to Higher Education Janet Warne External Relations Executive

Introduction and an overview of UCAS statistics

Setting the scene Total Institutions Total courses Total applicants 688,310 Total acceptances 479,057 21/10/ ,000+

2010 acceptances by degree subject Subject Degree 2010 Law by Area16,890 Design studies16,358 Psychology16,025 Nursing12,576 Computer Science11,318 Management studies11,076 Business studies10,317 English studies10,075 Sports Science9,505 Combinations within Business & Admin Studies 9,469 Source UCAS 21 Oct 2010

All stats available on line via: ‘About us’ and ‘Media enquiries’

Implications of increased applicants  The obvious – many ‘good applicants’ do not achieve their goals  Snowball effect each year – (until 2012?)  Changes in admissions practices – including number of offers down

2011 stats from 31 Jan 2011 TotalIncrease from 2010 % Increase from 2010 Total595,01924,4634.3% UK Applicants515,38715,9363.2% EU Applicants (nonUK) 41,6265, % Non EU applicants38,0063,4359.9%

The UCAS journey Potential applicant conducts research Registers online with UCAS Apply Completes form and processes payment Academic reference added by school/college School/college sends form electronically to UCAS UCAS processes form and forwards to chosen HEIs HEIs submit decisions (offer or unsuccessful) Applicant views decisions on Track Applicant replies to offers on Track (Firm / Insurance) HEIs confirm places when results are released

Key features of admissions scheme  Maximum of 5 choices  Some choice restrictions:  Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry – max 4 choices  Oxford or Cambridge  Simultaneous consideration  ‘Invisibility’  Fee for £21 or £11 for single choice  Fee for £22 or £11 for single choice

 15 October:  Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary and Oxbridge applications  15 January:  Deadline for all courses except those with 15 October and 24 March deadline  24 March:  Deadline for some art and design courses However a school may give earlier deadlines Important dates

STEP 1 Research

 Paper  Big Map  Prospectus  Books  On-line  Course search  Unistats  Universities websites  Experiential  Fairs  Open days  Taster days

New UCAS Guide

STEP 2 -6 Applying

Easy access to the application form

What information is required on Apply? Applicants are asked to complete the following sections: Personal Details Additional Information (UK applicants only) Choices Education Employment Personal Statement Having checked the above, referee will then add: A Reference

Some parts are not mandatory

Additional information – UK address

Individualised text for course choices – provided by HEIs e.g. Admissions test / campus/start date

STEP 7 Offers

University and college decisions  Admissions tutors can make one of three decisions:  Conditional Offer  Unconditional Offer  Unsuccessful  Applicants then keep a maximum of two offers:  Firm  Insurance  Any remaining offers must be declined

If no offers received…UCAS Extra  Now operates from 26 February to the end of June  Applicants eligible for Extra:  Used all 5 choices  All choices unsuccessful, cancelled or offers declined  Course vacancies listed on UCAS website  Allows additional single choices, entered and considered one at a time

Implications of increased applications  Tariff offers increasing  Tariff offers including specific subjects / grades  Tariff excluding subjects /qualifications

Further implications for offers HEIs making more specific offers:  Conditions to be met by a certain date stated  If qualifications have to be met from one sitting  If resits are not accepted  Gathered field  Understanding entry requirement v offer  Insurance

STEP 10 Results

Confirmation 1.Exam results are issued 2. Admissions staff check if the applicant has matched the conditions of the offer 3. If yes, the applicant will be sent an official confirmation of their place 4. Time to celebrate!!

Eligible applicant researches vacancies Contacts institution(s) to discuss application Applicant enters choice details on Track Institution considers application If unsuccessful applicant can start again Applicant placed on course  2010 = 46,248 placed applicants  -2% decrease on 2009 E-clearing…

2012 Application fee Course fees Additional characters Contextual data

2012 Course Search  May Course Search goes live (without fee information)  June Apply goes live for registration  Early July Course fees up-dated on Course Search  September Apply goes live for applications

2011 Course Fees – No change  England £3290  Wales £3290  NI £3290  Scotland £1820 Implications for deferred entrants?

Fees 2012?  England  £6,000 - £9,000  If over £6,000 – show how some of the additional income is used in making progress in WP  HEIs have not declared their fees to date  Wales  Basic tuition fees £6,000 - £9000 per annum  The assembly government will meet the cost of extra fees for students from Wales attending any UK university.  NI – will possibly follow England (has said cannot follow Wales)  Scotland  One option in the Green Paper (17 Dec) – students from England pay £6,500  No decision expected until after elections in May

2012 Contextual data

Contextual data

Contextual Data – UCAS involvement  Increase in use of contextual data as part of selection process for higher education  Universities and colleges currently obtain information independently from a number of verified sources  Working group set up composed of schools, institutions, SPA and UCAS  Request to UCAS to provide central source of data collected from verified sources  Changes being implemented for 2012 entry

Collection of data by UCAS  Discussions with administrations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland  Data will be supplied to UCAS on condition that institutions use it only for agreed purpose  Will be collected from UK Administrations annually  Matched to UCAS school and college reference data to enable linking to applicants

Data being provided  Data is variable between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland  School GCSE level performance Average uncapped GCSE (and equivalent) per pupil (adjusted) % of pupils achieving Level 2 threshold including 5 A*-C GCSE (including English/Welsh and Mathematics) Average (mean) school ‘Best Eight’ GCSE performance  School A level performance Average QCA points per qualification per entry Average QCA points per qualification per student

Data being provided (cont.)  % of students entitled to free school meals by Local Authority in England  Lives in a low progression to higher education neighbourhood This will be based on POLAR2 data linked to the applicant’s post code

Use of data by institutions  UCAS website will show which institutions are taking the data from UCAS  Each institution will provide/give a link to their policy on the use of contextual data  How data is used is the domain of the institutions -SPA have issued best practice advice

Personal Statements Write it early Write a few drafts Keep it personal Avoid lists Use Entry Profiles Remember invisibility

Personal Statements (2) Content  Insight into current studies  Unit information?  Motivation, aspirations, commitment  Subject  Career  Work experience  Hobbies, pastimes, interests  Reasons for deferred entry

Personal Statements (3) Structure  Skills, qualities, experiences – reflective and insightful  What applicant has done  What applicant has learnt  Why this is relevant to chosen subject / career  Structured, clear, concise, precise  Avoid waffle, slang and inappropriate language  Check Grammar and SpellingPLING

Personal statements – The ‘ABC’ RULE  Don’t just make lists of declarative statements A B C Activity Benefit Course Ability Basis Context Tourism & Leisure Captained football team Leadership skills Event management Chemistry Good communicator Experiment results

Personal statements (5)  Student’s opportunity to tell universities about their suitability for the course/s they have chosen to study  Should be relevant to all choices if possible  The admissions tutor will want to know the reasons why they connect with the subject:  Why does the subject interest them?  How they know it is right for them.  What elements of the subject they particularly enjoy and why?

Questions Janet Warne