1. Ossett 6th Form College HE Fair (Unique)
Welcome

2. Presentations this evening:
UCAS Process & How it works at Ossett 6th College
Dan Green (Employment & Progressions Manager/ Careers Lead)
Student Finance
By Beth Tranter (Huddersfield University)

3. The role of UCAS
UCAS processes applications for full-time courses at higher education providers in the UK.
What does UCAS stand for
Universities
Colleges
Admissions
Service

4. Choices available 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. 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?

8. 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

9. Open days and virtual tours

10. Open day search tool

11. Virtual open days

12. 2019 UCAS 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.

13. Application Deadlines
Ossett 6th Form College Oxbridge, Medicine and Veterinary course deadline is Monday 1st October All applications have to be fully complete for quality assurance and reference writing.
External Deadline Monday 15th October 2018 (18:00 UK time) – deadline for Oxford or Cambridge, and most courses in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine/science.
Ossett 6th Form College - Friday 12th October 2018 Personal Statement draft deadline
Ossett 6th Form College Deadline Friday 21st December All applications have to be fully complete by for quality assurance and reference writing
External Deadline Tuesday 15th January 2019 (18:00 UK time) – deadline for all undergraduate courses.
Applications received after deadlines will still be forwarded to universities and colleges, providing they have vacancies, but they are not obliged to consider them.

14. 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

15. 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.
Use the information uploaded to Unifrog!!

16. Tracking applications
Track will allow your son or daughter to:
follow the progress of their application online
see their choices and personal information
see their offers
reply to offers online

17. Decisions and replies Provider decisions: Unsuccessful
Unconditional offer
(Be mindful of unconditional offers on long term employment)
Conditional offer – qualifications and achievements and/or UCAS Tariff points
FIRM = where you really want to go
INANCE =
Once all decisions are received, they can hold up to two offers:
One as their firm choice
One as their insurance choice (if they want to)
All other offers are declined
Track will show their reply date.

18. Other options Extra 24 Feb – early July
If all five choices have been used and they have no offers/rejected all offers.
Clearing from early-July
If there are no offers, or have applied after 30 June deadline.
Adjustment (from A level results day)
If they’ve gained better results than the conditional offer they hold, they could apply for a different course or university.

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

20. 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.

21. 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

22. Additional help
1 to 1 Careers Appointments – from Mr Green (Me) & Parents can attend too
All year 12 are attending the UCAS Fair at Leeds Beckett University on Thursday 28th June - Please complete permission slips if you haven't already done so
UCAS Customer Experience Centre Tel:
Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 18:00 (UK time)

23. Scholarships – Academic Excellence
Eligibility
Predicted to achieve ABB or higher at A level or equivalent
Be in receipt of, or entitled to, discretionary payments at school/college, or has a household income below £42,875
Have no experience of higher education in their immediate family eg mum/dad
(not including siblings)

24. Apprenticeships & Employment Workshops
In March & April each year workshops are run within college to support students wishing to progress onto an degree apprenticeships or employment, some employers who have attended:
First Direct Bank British Gas Aral Foods
Plexus Law Earnest Young (EY) Wakefield Council
RWC Engineering Gordons Solicitors
Civil Service & Department for Work & Pensions (DWP)
Windsor Materials Handling
We also promote the Regional Apprenticeship & Employer Fair at Leeds Arena in March every year

25. Ossett 6th Form College – Key Information
Mocks for Year 12 start th June 2018 until 9th July 2018
(Very important as determine progression into Year 13)
Following completion of mocks, students will be met individually to discuss mock results and progression pathways
19th July 2018 (Thursday 3pm) college finishes for Summer
10th September 2018 (Monday 8.30pm) - College Re starts for Year 13

26. Any further help & advice need please speak to member of the sixth form team here this evening….