1. An introduction to UCAS

2. Apply 2019 Key facts Application is entirely online.
Maximum of five choices.
Some choice restrictions:
medicine, veterinary medicine/science, dentistry (maximum of four)
Oxford or Cambridge
Simple application cost:
one choice – £13
two to five choices – £24
Equal consideration.
‘Invisibility’.
Good evening,
Tonight I am going to talk about the process of applying to UCAS and the support that Sackville provides its students. Applications are online and students have five choices of course for which the charge for processing is £24 – this is payable direct to UCAS.
The application orders student choice of course in alphabetical order and the choices are ‘invisible’, meaning the one university does not know to which others applications have been made.

3. Key Dates
23rd May 2018 – UCAS Undergraduate Apply opens for 2019 entry.
6th September 2018 – Completed applications can be submitted to UCAS.
15th October pm – Deadline for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and for most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine/science. Students need to have their part of the application complete and sent to us before 1st October.
30th October 2019 – Internal deadline for submission of completed application to form tutor.
15th January pm (UK time) – Deadline for applications for the majority of undergraduate courses.
24th March pm(UK time) – Deadline for some art and design courses.
One of the most important factors is for students to be aware of the Key dates for the various stages of their application. If an applicant is applying for Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine or Veterinary science then they have to have their complete application to their form tutor by the 1st October so that administrative checks and the reference can be added and forwarded to UCAS by 15th October. For the majority however the internal deadline for completed applications to the form tutor is 30th October. This date may seem early but it takes a good two weeks to process and add the reference and the earlier the application is submitted the more likely it is that the student will receive an offer from their top choices.

4. The application process
Applicant researches and chooses courses.
Registers online with UCAS Apply.
Completes application and processes payment.
Reference added by centre/independent referee.
Centre/applicant sends application electronically to UCAS.
UCAS processes application and sends to chosen provider(s).
Decisions made.
Applicant views decisions in Track.
Applicant replies to offers.
Place confirmed.
KEY:
Red– Sackville
Green – UCAS
Blue– Uni
Black– Learner
Above is an outline of the process and who is involved. You and your sons and daughters will be able to access this from the school website.

5. How Sackville helps:
Register online with UCAS Apply. Help will be given in morning registrations during July and September. There is guidance on how to complete the form on our VLE.
Students ask subject teachers for references and predicted grades, these are discussed and cannot be changed once agreed.
Students attend a full day personal statement workshop in September. One to one clinics with representatives from Sussex University will also be available.
Firstly students who are sure they are going to apply to university should begin the paperwork of their application this summer and help will be given by myself and form tutors in some registrations for those who would like it. There is also guidance about completing the form on our VLE.
As soon as students have decided to apply they should ask their subject teachers for a reference and talk to them about their predicted grades. Once agreed predicted grades cannot be changed. Students need to know these grades as soon as possible because it will influence which courses they will apply for.
At the start of the Autumn term students will attend a one day personal statement workshop. This workshop should be attended by everyone who thinks they may at some point make an application, whether it be this year or some time in the future.
Once the statement is underway advice can be sought from the form tutor, subject tutors, the Sixth Form Team and there are two one to one clinics run by Sussex university here in late October and early November.

6. 4. Once a student completes their application, including their personal statement, they need to process the payment (‘pay and send’). The completed application is then forwarded to the form tutor by the student.
Pressing ‘pay and send’ does NOT send the application to UCAS. It is school UCAS coordinator who sends the application to UCAS.
One a student is confident that they have completed their application they should press ‘pay and send’ as this will forward the payment to UCAS and the application to the tutor for the reference to be added. Pay and send is not the end of the process for the student or for us, once this has been done however a student should expect their application to be processed by the school within the next two weeks.

7. How Sackville helps:
Form tutor writes overall reference and goes through this with the applicant. This will be done within 2 weeks of submission of the final application.
The whole application is checked by the UCAS coordinator and if there are any errors the application is returned to the student for amendment.
IT PAYS TO GET YOUR APPLICTION IN AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
There is a full guide to choosing universities and the UCAS process on the Sackville Website.
Once the application has been ‘paid and sent’ the form tutor can add the reference. The tutor will collect the subject references and add them to their own comments about the student’s suitability and strengths. Once this is complete the application is given a final check and if errors are spotted it can be returned to the student for amendment. The school will ask to see the student at this point to check the final reference and it will then be sent to UCAS.

8. Provider decisions Universities and colleges will review the:
personal statement
reference
qualifications
admissions test results
interviews
portfolios
auditions
You’ll get 1 of 3 decisions:
Unconditional offer
Conditional offer
Unsuccessful
Once the universities have looked at an application they may give an offer. This may come in a variety of forms. Traditionally it would be conditional on achieving certain grades eg ABB or it could be in the form of UCAS points.
An unconditional offer is where a university says that no grades have to be met and they want the student on the basis of their application alone. Whilst this is nice to receive students, wisely don’t often opt for these as they tend not to be of their top choice university. Whatever the format it is important that students understand their offers and if they have to undergo further tests or an interview.

9. There are lots of online UCAS calculators – try googling them
A level UCAS Tariff
AS levels (40% A level) A 20 B 16 C 12 D 10 E 6
Extended Project (higher tariff than AS) A* 28 A 24 B 20 C 16 D 12 E 8
A levels A*
56 (equiv D* at BTEC Sub Dip) A 48 B 40 C
32 (28 is A* for EPQ) D
24 (20 points is A at AS level) E 16
BTEC UCAS Tariff
And their equivalents at full A level
BTEC Diploma
D*D*
(A*A*)
D*D
(BBD) DD
(AA) DM 80 MM 64 MP
(DD) PP 32
BTEC Extended Diploma
D*D*D*
168 (A*A*A*)
D*D*D
160
D*DD
152
DDD
144
DDM
128 (ABB)
DMM
112
MMM
96 (CCC)
MMP
80 (BB)
MPP 64
PPP 48
BTEC Certificate D*
28 (C/D) D 24 M
16 (E) P 8
BTEC Subsidiary Diploma D*
(A*) D
(A) M
(C) P
(E)
There are lots of online UCAS calculators – try googling them
An offer of three Bs in a tariff format would be 120, if the student has an AS level in another subject this can be added. BTEC have their own tariffs. All these are available with tariff calculators on the UCAS website.

10. Applicant replies
Applicants wait for all decisions from all choices, then they can choose one:
firm – if all conditions are met, where they will be placed
insurance – usually lower conditions in case firm conditions are not met
Any other offers must be declined.
They don’t have to have an insurance.
Applicants wait for all decisions from all choices, then they can choose one:
firm – if all conditions are met, where they will be placed
insurance – usually lower conditions in case firm conditions are not met
Any other offers must be declined.
They don’t have to have an insurance.

11. Clearing process Eligible applicant researches vacancies Contact
providers to discuss application
Applicant enters choice details in Track
Universities and colleges consider application
If unsuccessful, applicant can start again
Places secured via Track.
A verbal agreement must be made between applicant and university.
Eligible applicants will have a ten digit Personal ID number (PID) and a six digit clearing number.
Should be able to quote both to the universities they contact.
Applicant placed on course
If a student receives no offers or decides to decline all their offers and apply for a different kind of course they will probably go through the clearing process. Students will be advised about this process in their final term next year.

12. Personal statements and references
This is the most difficult and important part of an application. Some universities claim not to read them but others may read them more than once. There is a wide variety of approaches to how offers are made. Statements and references are vital is if a student just misses an offer by a grade. In this situation a good statement and reference might get them the place.

13. ? Most common opening lines
1. From a young age, I have (always) been [interested in/fascinated by]… [1,779]
2. For as long as I can remember, I have… [1,451]
3. I am applying for this course because… [1,370]
4. I have always been interested in… [927]
5. Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed… [310]
6. Reflecting on my educational experiences… [257]
7. Nursing is a very challenging and demanding [career/course]… [211]
8. Academically, I have always been… [168]
9. I have always wanted to pursue a career in… [160]
10. I have always been passionate about… [160]
It is important to make a good opening paragraph, above you can see the most common opening lines.

14. Points to remember Strong opening paragraph.
Research into courses applied for will help.
80% academic, 20% extra curricular.
Be honest.
Draft, redraft, and proof read.
There’s no perfect statement.
Apart from the opening paragraph personal statements are best when tailored to the courses applied for. They need to spend 80% of the content of why they want to study the course and be honest. Although there is no perfect statement it does need to be carefully proof read.

15. What is being looked for?
Independent study skills.
Self-awareness.
Motivation and commitment.
An understanding of the course.
Good numeracy and literacy.
Research skills.
Essay writing – don’t write lists.
Enthusiasm – going beyond the syllabus.
Time management skills.
Reflective thinking.
Above are some things that are looked for and students will be focussed on this in the workshops arranged for them at the start of September.

16. ABC rule…so what? Activity: what have you done?
Benefit: what skills have you gained?
Course: how will this prepare you for the course?
I thought this was quite a good rule! It helps focus the statement.

17. Changes at UCAS New for 2019 cycle.
Alternative options for students including apprenticeship information and advice and the ability to search for apprenticeships, graduate jobs, and internships.
Widening participation, including a factsheet explaining what contextualised admissions means.
Offer rate calculator.
There are now alternative options to the traditional degree route which you will be hearing about this evening. Much information is to be found about these on the UCAS website. There is also a student guide to the application process on the Sackville Website as well as a copy of this presentation.

18. It might not be a bad idea to visit the UCAS website and sign up for the parent newsletter and look at their up to date guides.