1. Brighouse Sixth Form College Helping students through the UCAS 2018 application cycle

2. Achieve your academic potential

3. Embrace the opportunities beyond
the curriculum

4. Be prepared and informed
about your future

5. The Applicant Journey Choosing courses Applying Offers Results
Next steps
Starting
Uni / College 1 2 3 4 5 6
The steps all applicants will take to get to uni.
Focus on some areas more than others.
1 – Research, what are you looking for and do you have what the universities/colleges are looking for?
2 – Making your application
3 – Receiving offers, or not – Extra, then replying to offers
4 – Qualifications, how do your results get to the uni
5 – Confirmation, Clearing and Adjustment
6 – Starting uni – Enrolment, Finance, Life at Uni
More detail on UCAS.com, and in parents guides if you have given them these.

6. UCAS 2018 Applications COLLEGE DEADLINE Weekly UCAS tutorials
Students to use personal time for Personal Statement & Application
You have to be totally committed, organised & proactive. It is your UCAS application, the support and guidance will be there but you have to drive the process
Monitor application via UCAS online system ‘Track’
Make a Firm Choice & an Insurance
August 16th Results Day
Receive Offers
Clearing
SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG 2018
COLLEGE DEADLINE
UCAS Extra opens
If you decline your offers or do not receive any offers
w/c 10th Oct –UCAS application deadline (Oxbridge Colleges and Medicine degrees only)
Student Finance application deadline
w/c 9th Jan – UCAS application deadline
Cost: £24
Pack up your bags & enjoy!

7. Higher Education Week Destinations at 18 Conference June 2017‘
In this room there are future lawyers, teachers, artists, actors, doctors, nurses, teachers, journalist
An exciting time for you to start to plan your future

8. Higher Education Week 2017
Registered online for UCAS started application
How to choose a university & course? Best search tools
Understanding the process- from now until results day August 2018
The importance of thorough research
Support with personal statement-a good quality first draft need before summer

9. Expectations of students
Attend all tutorials
Take advice from experienced tutors/subject staff-use support systems
Be proactive & organised
Hand in a good quality draft personal statement before end of term
Course search in detail/course content
Attend Open Days
Aim to send well before UCAS deadline
College deadline is Mid November at latest

10. Universities selection tools
Qualifications & Predicted grades
Personal statement
References
Work experience
Admissions tests
Interviews
Portfolios & Auditions
So it’s important to make sure all aspects of your application are the best they can be, and that you have undertaken sufficient research so you know what your universities are looking for.

11. Government sites e.g. GOV.uk, Student Finance England Online research
UCAS.com
Institutions’ sites
Subject specific sites
Unistats
National press
Journals
Social media websites
Government sites e.g. GOV.uk, Student Finance England
Online research
Research is the most important part of the journey – you need to be fully prepared before you start your application, and in order to identify skill gaps in a timely fashion.
Every year so many applicants are unsuccessful for reasons that could have been avoided if they had undertaken better research.
When UCAS interviewed current students in their second year asking them what advice they would give to their 18 year old self, ALL of the students said – ‘do more research!’

12. Teaching Excellence Framework
high-quality, engaged teaching
a supportive, stimulating learning environment
having the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their potential
the opportunity to progress to a good job or further study
Under the new system universities are rated gold, silver or bronze based on measures including student experience, employment after university and dropout rate.

13.
A gold award means a university is of the highest quality found in the UK, providing "consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students’’
University of Leeds
University of Newcastle
The University of Huddersfield
University of Lancaster

14.
This is the main site students will use when initially researching their university options
They will apply-track etc through this site-it will become their new facebook!!
Excellent parents guide to downlaod

15. www.university.which.co.uk Example page for Hudds Uni
Go through what they can find out

16.
Hudds Uni info

17. Key features of the UCAS scheme
Only 1 x application each year with a maximum of 5 course choices for most applicants
Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry – max 4
Oxford or Cambridge
Can apply to more than one course at an institution
Online application and management at ucas.com
Apply and Track
2018 fee - £24
Once the form is in you can’t make many changes
Simultaneous consideration & ‘Invisibility’
Extra, Adjustment & Clearing
We usually just read these bullet points as this slide is fairly self-explanatory. The following web pages can help if you want further information on Extra and Clearing.

18. Tariff 2018 A2 AS A*/Distinction* 56 A 48 20 B 40 16 C/Merit 32 12 D
E/Pass 56 48 40 32 24 16 20 16 12 10 6

19. The process post-application
When applicants have received decisions from ALL of their choices, if they have offers they will be asked to make replies (and given a date in early May to reply by on Track) We do not advice students reply to offers until March 2018 and we will support with this
If an applicant does not receive any offers they can make an additional choice through UCAS Extra
If a student does better than they expect on results day they can use a system known as UCAS adjustment
By May 2018 students will hold a maximum of 2 offers (others the student declines)
Firm (if you meet the conditions you will be placed here)
Insurance
Emphasise –
If an applicant does not receive offers at the same time as their friends – this is normal. Each HEI makes offers in different ways and at different rates.
When an applicant goes CF/I uni’s can see what the other choice is asking for
If an applicant goes UF they do not have an insurance choice
Applicants do not have to have an insurance choice if they are certain they would only be interested in 1 of their offers.
Applicants cannot swap between the insurance and firm choices.
The insurance choice disappears once they have been placed with their firm choice.

20. The next stage…. AS Results day-Thursday 17th August 2017
UCAS predicted grades-impact upon course choices/tariff
Send application-5 choices/aspirational & realistic
Receive offers keep up to date with ‘track’
Make a Firm & Insurance choice May 2018
A2 Results day-Thursday 16th August 2018

21. How can parents help?

22. How can you support the application process?
Use the Parents section of the UCAS website where you can sign up to the quarterly Parents’ Newsletter
Offer to attend open days – you may have a different perspective & see different things!
Ask questions all the time regarding deadlines and ask to look at their personal statement (students call this nagging!)
Support your son/daughter’s management of their application-help them keep a UCAS filing system
Make sure they read everything they are sent carefully
Apply for student finance by deadline May 31st 2018 Si

23. How can you support the application process?
Don’t book holidays at key times such as A2 results day-Thursday 16th August 2018
Prepare them for living away from home:
Cost of living/budgeting – paying bills
Independent living skills – cooking & washing
Be there: Comforting, proof reading,
encouraging, testing, practising…………

24. Work Experience Week
Monday 10th-Friday 15th July