The Programme for Tonight The UCAS Process – Mr Sexton - Brigitte Burrows Queen Mary College London What should Y12 do this year - Making the most of Year 12-Mrs Wisdom - Oxbridge – a personal perspective Jamie Gibson - Questions –

The Application Process (use parents guide) Choose courses Complete form on line and write personal statement School checks, adds reference, sends to UCAS UCAS sends to universities Universities make offer or rejects. Student accepts one firm and 1 insurance Key dates on handout

The Application Form 1. Qualifications- includes unit grades of completed AS exams, increasing use of personal statement 2. Courses/Institutions up to 5 institutions. NB screened applications. 3. Personal Statement 4. School Reference

What will happen this year Termly monitoring –target grades Students investigate choices and prepare database of possible choices Will be shown where to look Higher Education Convention-April 09 Outside speakers Oxbridge convention Will start to fill in application form online-July 09 Drafting Personal Statements before end of year but this process starts now!

Role of Parents Read and digest Parents Guide Monitoring,support and encouragement- is performance in termly reports at or above target grades? Help in choosing courses, visiting universities Is course highly rated?(unistats), do graduates get jobs easily?, is the course challenging enough? (Target grades) Use of Times/Guardian Good University Guides NAGGING about deadlines

Competitive courses English, Law, Physiotherapy, Medicine, Oxbridge, Journalism, Architecture Selecting Universities ( Russell Group 1994 group etc) Increasingly not keen on retakes. Keen to see success in AS grades- particularly if GCSEs could have been better Increasing use of personal statement Increasing use of extra tests

Student Finance- Costs Tuition fees not payable up front (can do if you want) Fees Grants Bursaries Means test loans available

What needs to happen now Research Universities Attend Open Days / visit universities Put information together for a personal statement-prefect, jobs, activities Taster Courses Spring Summer 09 Summer Schools Maximise Grades this year