1. APPLYING TO HIGHER EDUCATION
SEPTEMBER 2018

3. Why bother going to Uni? Learning
Thinking, speed of processing, analytical ability
Independence
Money
The average graduate starting salary is approx £24000 (NI)
Average lifetime earnings of a graduate are £227,000 more than those of a non-graduate with two A-levels

4. How do you apply?
Most applications will be through UCAS (electronically) or UCAS Conservatoires
Applications for universities in Ireland are through CAO (electronically)
A few situations require direct application to the specific institution
Many European countries charge lower tuition fees than the UK (

5. Applications through CAO
Closing date of 1 February (meeting in November)
Up to 10 degree and 10 diploma choices
Listed in order of preference
No personal statement or reference
Different values for grades compared to UCAS tariff
No conditional offers – selection by order of preference and results in August
Student Contribution fee – up to €3000 a year, loan available.

6. UCAS application Timetable
Oxbridge and Medical / Dentistry / Veterinary Applications
Closing date 15th October 2018
Forms completed and handed in by 5th October
Sent by 12th October 2018
All other applications
Closing Date 15th January 2019
Forms completed and handed in by 19th October
Sent by 12th November 2018
UCAS Student Guidance Interviews September 24th 2018 – 12th October 2018

7. The UCAS form www.ucas.com Register Undergraduate
Username and password

9. The UCAS form Personal details – name, address etc
Education – schools attended, exams completed and pending
Employment – not very relevant to majority of pupils
Choices – maximum of 5 realistic courses
Personal statement
Cost £24

10. The Personal Statement
Justify course choice (very important for a vocational course)
Work experience
Activities inside & outside school
Positions of responsibility
Skills, qualities
Concluding statement

11. UCAS Guidance interview
Pupils will be allocated to a teacher
Pupils are responsible for booking an interview in the 3 week time period
Pupils bring a printout of their whole UCAS form, including personal statement, and grades required for their courses
Teachers check their courses are realistic and check form and personal statement

12. What happens next?? Make any corrections as quickly as possible
Pupils then bring a finalised paper copy of their form to Mrs Rea
The form is checked one more time and pupils can now “pay and send”
£24 paid online by debit/credit card
The form is automatically sent electronically to school
The school now writes the confidential reference and attaches this to the electronic form and sends this to UCAS

13. What happens then??
UCAS sends the form electronically to all the universities
Admissions tutors then make a decision based on the personal statement, predicted A-Level grades, admissions test scores, GCSE grades & A/S grades, evidence of motivation and the school reference
Some pupils may have to go to interview
They may reject an applicant, make a conditional offer or (rarely), an unconditional offer

14. What does an offer look like?
May be expressed as grades eg ABB
May be expressed as UCAS Tariff points eg 120 points
May be expressed as a combination of the two eg 120 points to include an A in chemistry
A detailed break down of tariff points is available on the UCAS website
At A2, A*=56, A=48, B=40,C=32, D=24, E=16
For a 4th AS, A=20, B=16, C=12, D=10, E=6

15. What next??
Pupils must wait until all five decisions are made before they can confirm any decision
By early May, pupils accept a Firm Conditional offer and an Insurance Conditional offer which should have lower grades
These are binding but there may be some leeway
If rejected, the decision is final but pupils can ask for feedback
UCAS Extra is available online from the end of February to the end of June if a pupil has no offers – provided a pupil used all their options
Pupils can only apply to one course at a time in Extra

16. Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 October
Mock Interviews
Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 October
6-9 pm

18. Finance 1 – Tuition fees
Universities in England, Scotland and Wales have now set their own tuition fees to a maximum of £9250 (2018)
NI have set fees for NI students at £4160
All students will be eligible for a non-means tested loan to cover their tuition fees. The student takes the responsibility for the loan which is repaid directly from their salary when they earn over £18330
Loans are optional

19. Finance 2 – Maintenance Loans
Loans are also available for living expenses
Amount available depends on household income (pre-tax income minus pension contributions and allowances for dependents)
London £6780
Living away from home £4840
Living at home £3750
If a pupil receives a maintenance grant, the amount of maintenance loan available will be reduced
Also optional

20. Repayment Loans are repaid at 9% of earnings above £18330
The time to repay is based on income and amount borrowed – not on a fixed time period
After 25 years, any remaining debt is wiped
Interest on the amount is linked to inflation
BUT, this means that you will owe the money for longer and potentially repay more
Loans do NOT go on credit files

21. Pre-tax Earnings (annually £)
Monthly salary (£)
Monthly repayment
Up to 18330
1527 £0
19000
1583 £5
21000
1750
£20
24000
2000
£42
27000
2250
£65
30000
2500
£87

22. Finance 3 - Grants Grants are non-repayable
Students from lower income households will be eligible for a non-repayable grant up to £3475
If household income is less than £19203, student is eligible for the whole grant
Sliding scale up to £41065
If a student is entitled to the maximum grant, the maximum maintenance loan is reduced

23. Finance 4 - Bursaries
Universities often provide additional support to students
tuition-fees/other-financial-support/university-bursaries- and-scholarships/
Scholarships are available in many subjects
Hardship funds
Health Professional Degrees (S&LT, OT, Radiography etc) can have fees paid if pupil is accepted on NHS funded place
Individual university websites

24. Finance 5 - Sponsorship
Some companies offer employment and pay for university – Higher Apprenticeships
Deloitte – software, consultancy, finance prenticeships.html?icid=top_apprenticeships
Thales – engineering kingdom/news/degree-apprenticeships- future-career-development
Army - offer/regular- officer/~/~/link.aspx?_id=773F62DBCA8F43 28B3E1A95193C8E2FD&_z=z

25. How can I help? Talk to your son / daughter about their choices
Check the form is completed correctly
Discuss the content of the personal statement and ask to read it
Try to remind them of key dates
Encourage, encourage, encourage!!

26. Information available
(Careers advice – what can I do with my degree)
DEL – “Financial Support for Higher Education Students” (Apply in February/March)
and-services/higher-education/student- finance

27. What if I need help??
www ucas.com/parents (sign up to receive the UCAS parent guide and quarterly bulletins)
Contact Mrs Rea at school ( or
Check the school’s website – all dates, presentations and useful websites are listed

28. QUESTIONS????