APPLYING TO HIGHER EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2013

Why bother going to Uni? The average graduate starting salary is £20,964 and for a non-graduate is £13,721 Graduates entering law, banking, IT and engineering can expect salaries above this the average lifetime earnings of a graduate are £227,000 more than those of a non- graduate with two A-levels The top earning graduate jobs of 2010 are law, investment banking, consultancy and confectionary manufacturing

How do you apply? Most applications will be through UCAS (electronically) Applications for universities in Ireland are through CAO (electronically) A few institutions are direct entry Many European countries charge lower tuition fees than the UK ( UCAS Student Guidance Interviews - September 24 th 2012 – 12 th October 2012

Applications through CAO Closing date of early February (meeting in November) Up to 10 degree and 10 diploma choices Listed in order of preference No personal statement or reference Different values for grades compared to UCAS tariff No conditional offers – selection by order of preference and results in August No tuition fees but a €2000 registration fee which can be reclaimed from DEL

UCAS application Timetable Oxbridge and Medical / Dentistry / Veterinary Applications Closing date 15 th October 2012 Forms completed and handed in by 5 th October Sent by 12 th October 2012 All other applications Closing Date 15 th January 2013 Forms completed and handed in by 19 th October Sent by 9 th November 2012

The UCAS form Register – username and password Personal details – name, address etc Choices – maximum of 5 realistic courses Education – schools attended, exams completed and pending Employment – not very relevant to majority of pupils Personal statement Cost £23

The Personal Statement A personal statement is probably the single most important piece of work that pupils have had to do so far Justify course choice (very important for a vocational course) Work experience Activities inside & outside school Positions of responsibility Concluding statement

What happens next?? After the interview, pupils are asked to make any corrections as quickly as possible Pupils then bring a finalised paper copy of their form to Mrs Browne The form is checked one more time and pupils can now “pay and send” The cost is £23 and paid online by debit/credit card The form is automatically sent electronically to school The school now writes the confidential reference and attached this to the electronic form and sends this to UCAS

What happens then?? UCAS then sends the form electronically to all the universities Admissions tutors then make a decision based on the personal statement, predicted A-Level grades, admissions test scores, GCSE grades & A/S grades, evidence of motivation and the school reference Some pupils may have to go to interview before a decision is made They will reject an applicant, make a conditional offer or (rarely), an unconditional offer

What does an offer look like? May be expressed as grades eg ABB May be expressed as UCAS Tariff points eg 320 points May be expressed as a combination of the two eg 320 points to include an A in chemistry A detailed break down of tariff points is available on the UCAS website At A2, A=120, B=100,C=80, D=60, E=40 The 4 th AS grade is worth half these points

What next?? If rejected, the decision is final but pupils can ask for feedback Pupils must wait until all five decisions are made before they can confirm any decision By early May, pupils accept a Firm Conditional offer and an Insurance Conditional offer which should have lower grades These are binding but there may be some leeway UCAS Extra is available online from the end of February to the end of June if a pupil has no offers Pupils can only apply to one course at a time in Extra

Finance 1 – Tuition fees Universities in England, Scotland and Wales have now set their own tuition fees to a maximum of £9000 (NI students may be classed as EU citizens if they have an Irish passport) NI have set fees for NI students at £3465 All students will be eligible for a non-means tested loan to cover their tuition fees. The student takes the responsibility for the loan which is repaid directly from their salary when they earn over £21,000

Finance 2 – Maintenance Loans Loans are also available for living expenses All eligible students are entitled to 75% of the maximum figure The remaining 25% is means tested and depends on residual income (pre-tax income minus pensions and allowances for dependents) London £ £6780 Living away from home £ £ 4840 Living at home £ £3750

Other info about loans Loans are repaid at 9% of earnings above £21000 After 30 years, any remaining debt is wiped Above interest inflation will be charged Allowed to earn more before repaying (previous limit was £15000). This means that those earning £ will be £540 better off annually BUT, this means that you will owe the money for longer and potentially repay more Loans do NOT go on credit files

Earnings (annually £) Annual tax (£)Monthly pay reduction (£)

Finance 3 - Grants Grants are non-repayable Students from lower income households will be eligible for a non-repayable grant up to £3475 If residual income is less than £19203, student is eligible for the whole grant If income is more than £41065, student is eligible for none of the grant A sliding scale works in between the upper and lower limits If a student is entitled to the maximum grant, the maximum maintenance loan is reduced

Finance 4 - Bursaries Universities have to provide additional support to students who receive the full grant – a minimum of £347 These are non-repayable A number of scholarships are available in engineering and IT Universities also have “Access to Learning Funds” which are available to students on low incomes Health Professional Degrees (S&LT, OT, Radiography etc) can have fees paid if pupil is accepted on NHS funded place

Information available (What do graduates do? Section) DEL – “Financial Support for Higher Education Students” (Apply in February/March) DEL – Student Finance Branch Education & Library Boards

How can I help? Talk to your son / daughter about their choices Check the form is completed correctly Discuss the content of the personal statement and ask to read it Try to remind them of key dates Encourage, encourage, encourage!!

What if I need help?? www ucas.com/parents (sign up to receive the UCAS parent guide and quarterly bulletins) Contact Mrs Browne at school ( or Check the school’s website – all dates, presentations and useful websites are listed