1. Ten Top Tips for parents Assistant Principal/Head of 6th Form
Applying to
Higher Education
Ten Top Tips for parents
R.Elmes
Assistant Principal/Head of 6th Form

2. Ten top tips Information-gathering Choose course/s
Choose university/ies
Personal statement
Meet UCAS deadline
Check UCAS application in progress
Check finance application in progress
Visit university/ies
Make CF and CI choices
Send them on their way rejoicing

3. 1. Information-gathering
How you can help?
Course choice
University choice
Student finance
Student life
Where do you find it?
UCAS Course Search (
University & college prospectuses (paper & online)
Student Finance England (
Student survey reports (
League tables (eg. The Guardian:
Standard references (eg. Heap’s University Degree Course Offers)

4. 2. Choosing courses What do you need to know? How can you help?
How many choices do they have?
Course content, structure & assessment
Required subjects & grades
Other entry requirements/ preferences
Graduate career prospects
How can you help?
Is it really what they want to do?
Do they know what it’ll be like to study this course?
Is their application realistic?
Will they achieve their course goals?
Will success on the course get them the career that they want?

5. 3. Choosing University What do you need to know? How can you help?
Will it deliver the course they want in the way they want it?
What’s the reputation of the course at that university?
What’s it like to study there?
What’s it like to live there?
How can you help?
Open days/ visits: go with them?
Talk to staff & students
Recommend use of online social networking (eg. UCAS Connect,
NB: get behind the prospectus’ glossy photos!

6. 4. Personal Statement What do you need to know? How can you help?
What it’s for: supplementing qualification data
What goes into it: evidence to show commitment and passion for the course
How it’s written: grammar, spelling, style
How can you help?
Getting the evidence: eg. work experience, voluntary work
Advising on content: curbing excesses of expression!
Proof-reading: checking the grammar & spelling
Timing: of evidence-gathering activities & of writing
Start NOW!

7. 5. UCAS Deadlines What do you need to know? How can you help?
Deadline for Medicine, Dentistry, Vet. Science, Oxbridge 15th October 2017
School deadline – 20th October 2017, UCAS deadline – 15th January 2018
Deadline for Art & Design courses (March 2018)
Deadline for making CF & CI choices (May 2018 – but can be done as soon as all 5 replies are received.
How can you help?
In the nicest possible way: hassle them!
Do a flow chart together
See information on Parents’ section of UCAS website (
Start NOW!

8. 6. After you’ve applied… What do you need to know? How can you help?
That the application is proceeding
That offers are coming in
What the offers mean
How can you help?
Get familiar with UCAS Track together (
Check courses & uni choices on Track are correct
Get familiar with UCAS Tariff together (
Make sure the offer is understood – if not, ask the university or RE

9. 7. Finance Application What do you need to know? How can you help?
How to complete the SFE online application
What information needs to be included
Deadlines (Open from February through to May 2018)
How can you help?
Do the application together
You’ll need to fill in the means-tested data on income
Ensure deadline is met
Check application is being processed
Check reference letter arrives & that they take it with them to enrolment
See information on

10. 8. University visits What do you need to know? How can you help?
When to go: dates of open days
What to do if you can’t make the open day
What to ask/ look for when you get there
How can you help?
Get them to do some prior research, eg. Facebook
Go together if you can (try to insist ...)
Check alternative arrangements – eg Saturday visits
Check OK with school
Draft questions together in advance & get answers

11. 9. Final choice of course What do you need to know? How can you help?
Can get up to 5 offers: need to choose 2
CF = conditional firm: the place you really want
CI = conditional insurance: 1/2 grades lower than CF
Deadlines for making choices
How can you help?
Discuss outcomes of university visits
Discuss most likely grades
Look at practicalities: eg. distance from home to uni, from accommodation to study centres
Be prepared to stand back!

12. 10. University Life What do you need to know? How can you help?
Budgeting & finance
Independent living
Study/ fun balance
How can you help?
Help with student bank account, how to do weekly budget
Be prepared to drop everything & dash up there
Be on the other end of the phone
Be prepared to advise, worry & let them get on with it!

13. - University Admissions Tutors
Advice from the
Horse’s Mouth
- University Admissions Tutors

14. Choosing course: tips from admissions staff
‘Don’t be afraid to contact a uni to find out more’
Shows interest and commitment
Uni may make record of personal contact
May use in decision-making
Applicants need to show they’ve really thought about the course
John Wheeler, Staffordshire University

15. Choosing course: tips from admissions staff
‘The best way to get a place is to prove you love the subject and all it entails’
Be focused when making choices
Not all courses are the same
Eg. medicine: what’s meant by
Problem-based
Traditional
Case-led?
Lucy Backhurst, University of Newcastle

16. Choosing course: tips from admissions staff
‘Don’t apply for lots of different types of courses’
Shows lack of commitment and not knowing what you want to do
Sheila Byrne, Anglia Ruskin University
‘Use the Entry Profiles on the UCAS website...’
...to make sure the course you’ve earmarked is actually what you want to study
Daniel Cox, City University London

17. Choosing institution: tips from admissions staff
‘Never be afraid to ask questions, however intrusive’
Use the live chat line for applicants – ask:
What are the rooms like?
Who will you share with?
What facilities are there?
An informed choice is a better choice – get your choice wrong and you’ll live to regret it
Nicola Rees, Kingston University

18. Choosing institution: tips from admissions staff
‘Apply early’
Don’t leave your application until the new year
The best places fill up quickly – make sure you’re in the first tranche
Look beyond traditional universities – don’t forget colleges, which can offer you the same quality degree as a university but usually a lot cheaper
Philip Davies, Bournemouth and Poole College