1. Life after 6th Form

2. Parents perspective

3. Application summary 1 Applicant researches and chooses courses. 2
Registers online with UCAS Apply. 3
Completes form and processes payment. 4
Reference added by centre / independent referee. 5
Centre / applicant sends form electronically to UCAS. 6
UCAS processes application and sends to chosen provider. 7
Decisions made (offer or unsuccessful). 8
Applicant views decisions on Track. 9
Applicant replies to offers. 10
Place confirmed.

4. It’s a Good Time to be Applying to University

5. The shrinking number of 18 year olds means that some universities are worried about missing recruitment targets and not filling all their places
They need the £9,250 income per year from tuition fees and do everything to attract as many students as possible

6. Chance of any Offer has Increased

7. Types of Offer: Unconditional
(1) Before exams no strings offer. HE provider has identified your potential to succeed on a chosen course
(2) Or unconditional only if you accept it as your firm choice (Temptation to accept for wrong reasons)
Of course, you may get an unconditional offer because you already have the exam grades required

8. Unconditional offers highest ever
Proportion of applicants who received at least one unconditional offer increased again, to 18%
Higher and medium tariff providers made many more unconditional offers than last year
Result of competitive environment?

9. Unconditional Offers Vary Between subjects

10. So......Only Some Courses May be Eligible
Eligible courses include business, education, English, drama, marketing and PR, law, criminology, psychology, sociology, technology, engineering and the environment.

11. The more there are...... More UC offers in order
to compete with other universities
More students ask for them
More parents ask for them
More universities changing initial conditional offer to UC

12. Don’t Take it Personally! Some Don’t make UC Offers
We do not make unconditional offers to applicants who are yet to complete their A levels or equivalent.
This is because of the high level of demand for our programmes and the strength of the applications we receive.
We also want to make sure that you are suitably prepared for when you start your studies.

13. We feel that unconditional offers based purely on predicted performance are unhelpful both to applicants and their advisers.  
Our courses are challenging and it is important that students are resilient and equipped to take advantage of the many opportunities provided by our undergraduate programmes

14. Keeping working will stand you in good stead when you get to university
You could fall behind in a subject you want to study in HE especially Maths
You can get into bad study habits if you ease off too much
Bigger gap to make up between school and HE

15. Your A level/BTEC grades will go on your Resume/CV when you apply for jobs after HE 
Many employers shortlist for internship, work experience and jobs on the basis of A level grades
At Birchwood if we notice a significant shift in attendance or performance students may risk not being entered to sit exams at the end of Yr13

16. Post 18 Options Higher Education Further Education Gap Year
Birchwood!
Higher Education
Further Education
Apprenticeship
School Leaver Scheme
Employment
Start my own Business
Gap Year
Mr Torrance has spoken about the university route, I would like to highlight some of the alternatives
Each one of these has additional choices within them
Next slide

17. The choice can be overwhelming
Students (and parents) can find it very confusing. We are here to help.
We can provide impartial guidance to students and signpost you to the best sources of up to date information

18. Apprenticeships Traditional route into a trade
eg Electrician, plumber, carpenter, hairdresser
An alternative route into some professions
eg Accountant, Engineer, Solicitor, Surveyor
There has been a lot in the news about apprenticeships.
Government is pushing the apprenticeship agenda – apprenticeship levey
Lots of new apprenticeships coming on stream – an alternative route – Show video
student needs to be pretty sure of their career choice

19. The top apprenticeships and school leaver schemes can be VERY competitive
These are to top 50 apprenticeship employers – look at numbers!
They are very competitive – rigorous recruitment process – often looking for top grades, enthusiasm, commitment

20. Despite the increase in higher & degree apprenticeships they are still dwarfed by the number of students going to university

21. Changes in the Labour Market
Identify their transferable/employability skills and learn how to talk about them
This is a life long process
Need to be flexible, adaptable and resilient
The labour market is changing rapidly – it is very different from when we left school. New technology is making some roles redundant but new ones are emerging all the time.
What does this mean for your children?
Transferable skill become more important
Students need to be able to recognise these skills in themselves but above all they need to be able to talk about them in a way that employers understand

22. Where to find information
UCAS website
Which? University
RateMyApprenticeship
Unifrog

23. Thank you for listening and do you have any questions