1. UCAS Information Evening

2. Applying To University: Getting Ready

3. Why University? Graduate career prospects It’s expected
Natural next step after A-levels
Genuine academic interest
Can’t think of what else to do

4. Why University? Graduate career prospects It’s expected
Natural next step after A-levels
Genuine academic interest
Can’t think of what else to do

5. Take a Gap Year?

6. Take a Gap Year? Good to have a break from academia
Several advantages to not rushing straight to university
Good to have a break from academia
Possibility of earning money to help fund all those books at university
Chance to experience the world of work before making final choices as to degree
Helps to mature you as an individual
Try travelling - Travel broadens the mind!

7. But, once a student does decide to go to university, they need to know about

8. UCAS – What is it?
Central organisation through which applications are processed for entry to full-time higher education (HE) courses in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
They operate on behalf of all full-time higher education courses at member institutions:
Undergraduate Degree
Foundation Degree
HNC / HND
Certificate / Diploma of Higher Education

9. The competitive advantage
Gaining a place at university or college has two stages:
Research
Self presentation (i.e. the UCAS application)

10. Choosing a Course – Student considerations
Vocational interest/career? (Medicine, Law, Engineering…)
If not sure about career, pursue your academic interest (History, English, Physics, Biology….)
Look up new subjects (Marine Biology, Zoology, Social Anthropology, Archaeology, Astrophysics…)
Remember that you will be spending a minimum of three years studying your chosen course/subject, and will ultimately be asked to pay back £27,000 for tuition alone

11. Researching Universities
What sort of course do students want to study
Preference as to region? (West of England, the South, Midlands, is Scotland an option?)
Students need to use university websites for university specific research. (most are uni name followed by .ac.uk, but Google searches are the way!)
UCAS’s own site allows for comprehensive searches of all courses, with plenty of other good information (

13. Unistats (www. unistats
Unistats ( allows for comparative searches to be made:

14. University Rankings?

15. Ranking By Different Criteria?

16. Ranking By Different Criteria?

17. Self-Presentation – what’s needed?
Student’s academic interest and achievement, evidenced by AS grades and extra reading or research or related work experience
This feeds in to the Personal Statement on the student’s UCAS form (autumn of U6th year)
Other interests – but unis not always that bothered by this; they are recruiting on academic criteria

18. Applying online

19. How do you apply? Go to www.ucas.com and click on ‘apply’.
Students register using the school buzzword - ‘Hensley’.
Much of the form can be filled out now and over summer, though no forms can be sent off until September
There is an application fee of £23 which needs paying online (£12 for just one application).

20. Key Dates Oxbridge and medical forms must be with UCAS by Oct 15th.
So completed in school and sent by Oct 1st.
Deadline for all other forms is January 15th. 2017
Are there advantages to applying early?

21. Personal Statements Academically focussed Original (i.e. personal)
Not taken from the web or from a friend’s statement
Some extra-curricular should be on there
There is no perfect template!
Advice from tutor, subject teacher, Head of Sixth – but shouldn’t over-ask as everyone has different ideas!

22. WARNING: Similarity Detection Service
Personal Statements are checked against a library of those already in the system, and from a variety of websites and paper publications
Each new statement is added to the library after processing

23. Similarity Detection Service
Statements showing a significant level of similarity will be reviewed by UCAS Similarity Detection Service
HEIs are notified on a daily basis of any cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect collusion
Applicants will also be notified that the UCAS Similarity Detection Service has identified their Personal Statement as potentially plagiarised
The decision about what action, if any, to take regarding notified cases rests with the admissions tutors at individual HEIs

24. Admissions tests 14% of HEIs in UCAS scheme use one or more tests
Usually, but not exclusively, used to aid differentiation between most able applicants for high demand courses
Generally subject or HEI specific
Most common are BMAT (Medicine), LNAT (Law) and UKCAT (Medicine), as well as Oxford tests and now Cambridge
“A timed unseen written paper based or on-line test normally taken in the academic year before admission to an HEI, the results of which can be used by that HEI as one element in decision making on an application.” The type of test used depends predominantly on the course and the attributes deemed appropriate for the professional, vocational or academic discipline. They can be aptitude tests, essay writing exercises, problem solving tests, critical thinking assessments, subject specific tests, cognitive and non-cognitive tests. Many tests are designed to enable a correlation to be made between test results and degree success; that is they are designed to be predictive as well as testing aptitude; whether evidence can be presented to support this will require long term study and analysis.
The tests can be in the summer/autumn in the academic year before admission or at interview, normally from November onwards in the academic year before admission. A test can be an HEI's own devised test or a test devised by an HEI or group or consortium of HEIs with one or more testing/awarding bodies. A test may be used by one HEI for one or more subjects or may be used by many HEIs for the same subject.
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test uniTEST (Generic aptitude test developed by Cambridge & ACER)
BMAT Bio Medical Admissions Test (Veterinary) GAMSAT Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test UKCAT UK Clinical Apptitude Test
LNAT National Admissions Test for Law STEP Sixth Term Examination Paper in Mathematics
ELAT English Language Admissions Test

25. School System Tutors are main advisers
Subject staff are often useful extra consultants
Tutors write draft reference
Head of Sixth writes final reference
Turnaround time – between 1 and 2 weeks, but with caveats
Early application helpful to student but does not have impact on university consideration
After form submitted, UCAS communicate directly with student
“Track” can be used to monitor forms’ progress
“A timed unseen written paper based or on-line test normally taken in the academic year before admission to an HEI, the results of which can be used by that HEI as one element in decision making on an application.” The type of test used depends predominantly on the course and the attributes deemed appropriate for the professional, vocational or academic discipline. They can be aptitude tests, essay writing exercises, problem solving tests, critical thinking assessments, subject specific tests, cognitive and non-cognitive tests. Many tests are designed to enable a correlation to be made between test results and degree success; that is they are designed to be predictive as well as testing aptitude; whether evidence can be presented to support this will require long term study and analysis.
The tests can be in the summer/autumn in the academic year before admission or at interview, normally from November onwards in the academic year before admission. A test can be an HEI's own devised test or a test devised by an HEI or group or consortium of HEIs with one or more testing/awarding bodies. A test may be used by one HEI for one or more subjects or may be used by many HEIs for the same subject.
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test uniTEST (Generic aptitude test developed by Cambridge & ACER)
BMAT Bio Medical Admissions Test (Veterinary) GAMSAT Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test UKCAT UK Clinical Apptitude Test
LNAT National Admissions Test for Law STEP Sixth Term Examination Paper in Mathematics
ELAT English Language Admissions Test

26. On the Form Up to 5 choices can be made
Different courses at same university are acceptable
NOT Oxford AND Cambridge
If Medicine or related – only 4 choices, with a non-medicine top up for the fifth
“A timed unseen written paper based or on-line test normally taken in the academic year before admission to an HEI, the results of which can be used by that HEI as one element in decision making on an application.” The type of test used depends predominantly on the course and the attributes deemed appropriate for the professional, vocational or academic discipline. They can be aptitude tests, essay writing exercises, problem solving tests, critical thinking assessments, subject specific tests, cognitive and non-cognitive tests. Many tests are designed to enable a correlation to be made between test results and degree success; that is they are designed to be predictive as well as testing aptitude; whether evidence can be presented to support this will require long term study and analysis.
The tests can be in the summer/autumn in the academic year before admission or at interview, normally from November onwards in the academic year before admission. A test can be an HEI's own devised test or a test devised by an HEI or group or consortium of HEIs with one or more testing/awarding bodies. A test may be used by one HEI for one or more subjects or may be used by many HEIs for the same subject.
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test uniTEST (Generic aptitude test developed by Cambridge & ACER)
BMAT Bio Medical Admissions Test (Veterinary) GAMSAT Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test UKCAT UK Clinical Apptitude Test
LNAT National Admissions Test for Law STEP Sixth Term Examination Paper in Mathematics
ELAT English Language Admissions Test

27. Offers Students eventually opt for one Firm and one Insurance choice
They are bound to these once made
Clearing operates at results time for students who have either not achieved their offers or hold no offers
“A timed unseen written paper based or on-line test normally taken in the academic year before admission to an HEI, the results of which can be used by that HEI as one element in decision making on an application.” The type of test used depends predominantly on the course and the attributes deemed appropriate for the professional, vocational or academic discipline. They can be aptitude tests, essay writing exercises, problem solving tests, critical thinking assessments, subject specific tests, cognitive and non-cognitive tests. Many tests are designed to enable a correlation to be made between test results and degree success; that is they are designed to be predictive as well as testing aptitude; whether evidence can be presented to support this will require long term study and analysis.
The tests can be in the summer/autumn in the academic year before admission or at interview, normally from November onwards in the academic year before admission. A test can be an HEI's own devised test or a test devised by an HEI or group or consortium of HEIs with one or more testing/awarding bodies. A test may be used by one HEI for one or more subjects or may be used by many HEIs for the same subject.
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test uniTEST (Generic aptitude test developed by Cambridge & ACER)
BMAT Bio Medical Admissions Test (Veterinary) GAMSAT Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test UKCAT UK Clinical Apptitude Test
LNAT National Admissions Test for Law STEP Sixth Term Examination Paper in Mathematics
ELAT English Language Admissions Test