1. Parents’ evening presentation Cardinal Newman – 22nd March 18

2. Purpose of the evening
For parents to understand the Cardinal Newman process regarding university applications, and to understand how students are supported to make informed decisions regarding their progression after college.

3. The role of UCAS
UCAS processes applications for full-time courses at higher education providers in the UK.
Together with college staff, they guide students through the whole process, providing valuable information and supporting services for applicants and their parents.

4. Choices available at 18 Higher education.
Apprenticeships and traineeships.
Studying abroad.
Gap year.
Getting a job.
Understand the options available at
Apprenticeships give you the opportunity to work for an employer, earn a salary and gain a qualification at the same time. Traineeships provide essential training to prepare for work and gain skills to help you get an apprenticeship or a job.
Apprenticeships are available at different levels:
Intermediate level apprenticeship – equivalent to five GCSE passes.
Advanced level apprenticeship – equivalent to two A level passes.
Higher apprenticeship – can lead to NVQ level 4 and above, or a foundation degree.
From September 2015, some universities started offering degree apprenticeships – these are new and enable apprentices to achieve a full bachelor's or master's degree as part of their apprenticeship program.
For more information see:

5. Apprenticeship advice service
UCAS have launched an apprenticeships advice service to help students make informed decisions about their post-16 and post-18 opportunities.
Find out about:
the different types of apprenticeships
how to find and apply for apprenticeships
preparing for the application and interview process
With the predicted growth of Higher & Degree Apprenticeships you’ll also find a dedicated degree and professional apprenticeships section on ucas.com which profiles current programmes in more detail – from chartered surveying to broadcast engineering.

6. Why higher education? Opportunities whilst studying With a degree
Chance to study a subject they are passionate about.
Achieve a qualification that will lead to their chosen career.
Gain confidence, independence, and important life skills that will widen their prospects.
Making lifelong friends.
With a degree
The opportunity to follow their career path.
Better job prospects.
Many employers target graduates.
Higher earning potential.

7. Researching courses
Your son or daughter can use the UCAS search tool search.ucas.com
Emphasise they should start researching now!

8. Things to consider
There are a number of things for an applicant to consider when applying for higher education, such as:
the subject they enjoy – investing time, money and effort
if it is right for their career path – check with employers
location – city/rural, transport links
the study style that suits them
finances – course fees, travel and living costs
extra-curricular activities
Which modules are the most interesting and relevant to the applicants career aspirations?
How many lectures are there and how much group work will be done in seminars?
What combination of exams, coursework or presentations is the course assessed by?
Who are the tutors and are they experts in areas the applicant wants to learn about?
What subject areas do they specialise in?
Can applicants study abroad or get help with work placements?
Do they have sports facilities or societies to join?
How near home, a city center or the countryside are they?

9. Research – it’s free
Search tool – to look for providers, courses and minimum entry requirements.
Open days and virtual tours – a great way to explore campuses and facilities.
UCAS higher education exhibitions – useful to meet different universities and colleges, and explore options.
Learning from others – student videos, blogs and case studies.
Career options – our career finder tool is ideal for considering the options after education.
Our search tool has over 37,000 courses at over 370 providers in the UK. It includes detailed information about the universities and colleges, including a map showing where they are, and the courses they offer. Course information includes entry requirements, fees, UCAS deadline date for applying, and course start date. You can search by course, university or college, or location. There’s also a subject search for those who want to search by subject categories, as well as an A–Z list to look for individual subjects. Research is the most important part of the journey.
Every year, 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!’ Nearly all courses on ucas.com have an Entry Profile that contains detailed information about what the provider is looking for in terms of their applicants – a bit like a job description. The best time to attend open days is before you submit your application – in plenty of time!
Find all the information about open days and virtual tours at
Find out about exhibitions at
Videos and case studies are available at
For career finder tool look at

10. University open days University open usually start mid June.
Details can be found at –
Students need to plan ahead and book places

11. Apply 2018 key facts Application is entirely online.
Maximum of five choices.
Some choice restrictions:
for medicine, veterinary science/medicine and dentistry there is a maximum of four choices
can only apply for either Oxford or Cambridge
Simple application cost:
one choice – £13
two to five choices – £24
Equal consideration if deadlines are met.
Invisibility – universities cannot see where else someone has applied.
Equal consideration – this means that if you meet the published deadlines then a provider must consider your application. Applications received after the deadlines will still be forwarded to universities and colleges, providing they have vacancies, but they are not obliged to consider them.
We send the application on to each of the chosen universities and colleges at the same time. Each university or college has access to the information about their choice only. They must not ask you to reveal your other choices. This is what we call invisibility. Only much later in the application cycle, when you have received decisions on all your choices and replied to any offers, will each university or college be able to see details of the other choices. This ensures that each university or college decides independently whether to offer a place and what conditions, if any, to attach to an offer. You do not need to rank your choices in order.

12. When to apply/college deadlines
September – students register and start completing their applications in college and at home
College deadline for Oxbridge, medicine, Vet science and dentistry – Friday 28th Sept
UCAS deadline for Oxbridge, medicine, Vet science and dentistry – Monday 15th October
College deadline for all other undergraduate courses – Friday 30th November
UCAS deadline for all other undergraduate courses - Tuesday 15th January
30 June (18:00 UK time) – last date to submit an application before Clearing.
Explain about the early application deadlines and ‘all other course’ deadline. Explain why we have an early college deadline
Applications received after deadlines will still be forwarded to universities and colleges, providing they have vacancies, but they are not obliged to consider them.

13. The personal statement
The only section your son or daughter has control over.
Their only chance to market themselves individually.
One personal statement for all choices.
Max. 4,000 characters, 47 lines
Min. 1,000 characters
No spelling/grammar check
No formatting

14. Where to start
Think about what makes them stand out in an exciting and positive way.
Show enthusiasm for the course they are applying for and list supporting evidence to back this up.
Extra curricular activities and relevant work experience.
Skills they can use on the course – leadership, communication, team work for example.
Encourage them to ask you for more ideas.
Allow plenty of time.

15. What your son/daughter should be doing now?
Research
Extra curricular
Work experience
Go beyond the syllabus
Focus on this year’s studies

16. How can you support them?
Use the parents/guardians section of the UCAS website/Parent Guide publication – and sign up for the newsletter.
Offer to attend open days, you may have a different perspective.
Don’t book family holidays at key times.
Make sure they read everything carefully that is sent to them.
Support your son/daughter’s management of their application.

17. How do Cardinal Newman support them
How do Cardinal Newman support them? March/April Progression themed tutorials including – - ‘Options at 18’ (University, Apprenticeships, Gap year, study abroad..) - ‘Personal statement writing’ Sept Jan UCAS support tutorials or Employability tutorials March Higher Education Student finance or Apprenticeship talks
Explain how we support them
The HE & progression fair

18. Explain what the students have been involved in today – over 90 exhibitors on site to support the students with their progression options, Focus on the variety of universities and the range of organisations

19. Videos for parents UCAS has developed four videos on key topics:
The UCAS process
Open days
Student finance
Clearing
FIRM = where you really want to go
INSURANCE =
you would be happy to
get into
your FIRM choice
INSURANCE = somewhere
you would be happy to
get into
your FIRM choice

20. And finally ….Why your son/daughter should apply to UCAS whilst at CNC…
Last 3 slides just explaining to parents why we generally encourage UCAS applications

21. 1 2 3 Give themselves a choice in August 2019
A University offer is a target, your final grades may be higher
Some don’t apply to avoid making a decision
Take through and explain the 3 points – explain that over 80% of Y13 students apply to university by 15th Jan deadline every year and of the 20% who don’t apply a large number apply late. Some will submit UCAS applications as well as apprenticeship/job applications to ‘keep their options open’
Students need to be aware that the higher/degree apprenticeship application process is tough! Much tougher than UCAS. They are more competitive and students need to have extensive ‘employability’ skills to ensure they stand out.

22. You can decide to not go, defer, or go through clearing for any course
A gap year is not a goal in itself 4 5

23. Applying now when all the support is around you is far easier than doing so in the next few years – your application will be sitting waiting for you 6
You only pay back loans when you have a good job and can afford it 7
Experienced team in college to support with applications
Student loan repayments are a ‘tax’ not a debt!

24. Any questions?