1. How to Make a Strong Application for a Sport degree

2. Sport in the UK  Sport is now a very important part of our culture for both participants and observers  Approximately 20 million people take part in sporting activities each week  It is one of the fastest growing sectors of employment in the UK  Sport related employment is estimated to be around 1.8% of all employment in England  Approximately 500,000 people are currently employed either directly or indirectly in sport

3. What qualifications will I need ?  Sport is one of the most competitive and popular university subjects. You will need to achieve AAA or AAB or equivalent for the most competitive courses although you will find lower offers  Look carefully at GCSE requirements for each course  Check with your teachers to find out your predicted grades. Make sure they are good enough to meet likely offers  Offers will be made on the basis of your predicted grades NOT on what you think you can get at the end of the course  Check the ‘Course Specific Requirements’ on the Entry Profile for each course on the UCAS website

4. Check the content of each course carefully  Make sure the course is right for you  Beware!! Courses with same title in different universities can be very different in terms of their content.  Look at what you will do in all years of the course  Check on course options offered in each year  Do the course assessment methods suit you?

5. Which Degree Route?  There is tremendous variety in Sport degrees offered  There are broad degrees which cover a number of relevant subject disciplines  There are also very specialised degrees degrees such as Water Sport Science, Equine Sport Science or Sports Psychology  What skills/subject knowledge do you want to be able to offer a potential employer or post-graduate degree admissions tutor?  The different types of degree will lead to very different career routes

6. Apart from Sport there are course options such as.... Community Sport Equestrian Sport Studies Equine Sport Science Human Sport Science Marine Sport Technology Science Of Sport Sport Administration Sport Coaching Sport Design Sport Development Sport Economics Sport Education Sport Engineering Sport Equipment Design Sport Fitness Sport History Sport Injuries Sport Journalism Sport Management Sport Marketing Sport Massage Sport Medicine Sport Needs Learning Disability Sport Performance Sport Performance Analysis Sport Physiology Sport Product Design Sport Psychology Sport Rehabilitation Sport Science Sport Studies Sport Technology Sport Therapy Sport Turf Management

7. Which Degree Route? Sport Science You are likely to cover such things as:  Anatomy  Physiology  The principles of training  Sports nutrition  Sports psychology It would enable you to:  provide sport science expertise to support to athletes  work in the health and fitness industry as lifestyle consultant, personal trainer or rehabilitation specialist  service exercise prescription and well-being exercise projects in the community  advise on sport nutrition Need at least one science A level for most courses

8. Which Degree Route? Sports Management You are likely to cover such things as:  Role of health and fitness in society  Business and finance  Marketing  Practical management of sport/leisure centres  Placement experience It would enable you to:  Work in commercial (business) and community sport management running sport/leisure facilities  Work in local authority and voluntary sector sport running sport/leisure facilities  Work in event management

9. Which Degree Route? Sports Studies You are likely to cover such things as:  Sport in society  The development and history of sport  Personal development  Sport issues and ethics  Global sport  Sport tourism It would enable you to:  Work in community sport  Work in sport media  Work in local authority and the voluntary sector sport  Work in sport research  Teach or lecture in Sports Studies

10. Which Degree Route? Sport Development/Coaching You are likely to cover such things as:  The theory and principles of coaching  The use of technology in coaching  Sports science  Sport psychology It would enable you to:  Work as a sport development manager/officer  Work as a community sport development officer  Work as a sport leader or coach for an organisation  Work as a youth development officer

11. Which Degree Route? Sport/Physical Education Another option is a Sport Education course with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) enabling you to teach PE in a school or college. Sport Education course codes with an ‘X’ in front on the UCAS system will give you QTS. You are likely to cover such things as:  Physiology, sociology and psychology of sport  Principles of coaching  Fitness and training  How to teach sport  Policies in sport A three year Sport degree could also be followed by a one year PGCE course as a route into teaching

12. Look at Entry Profiles on UCAS website  Use ‘course search’ on UCAS APPLY  Choose a course at a university  Look at ‘entry profile’ for History for that course

13. Sport and Exercise Science at Bath University

14. Link takes you to further information on the Bath University website

15. Research universities and courses at open days  Book early  Watch out for subject specific open days  Don’t go to too many! Use website to:  Search  Access open days calendar  Book for many of them  Get advice  Subscribe to newsletter

16. opendays.com website

17. Open days calendar Useful article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/18/university-open-days

18. What skills will I need?  An enthusiasm for sport and exercise  BUT some courses such as Sports Science may not require you to play sport as part of the degree. Check carefully  IT skills  Interpersonal skills  Communication skills  Numeracy skills  Team-work skills  Tolerance and empathy  An interest in science (often)

19. Think about the contemporary relevance of the subject Develop your own ideas on the following:  Why sport is worth studying  What it offers the individual  What benefits it has to offer society  Whether it is worth studying for its own sake whether or not it benefits society

20. Read Peak Performance journal and use the website and article archive

22. Research on the leisure network website: jobswithballs.com

23. Use Career Tools link

24. Keep up to date with the ‘Inside Sport’ pages on the BBC website

26. Read PE Review

27. What should I put in my Personal Statement?  Use the ‘Entry profiles’ for your courses on the UCAS website to give you pointers about skills you will need and what is being looked for by selectors.  Details about your relevant experience, sporting achievements and reading, and your reasons for wanting to study sport should dominate rather information about extra-curricular activities, gap year plans, etc.  80% on Sport 20% on general interests  Concentrate on interests and experiences that are relevant to the course you are applying for  Remember, not all universities will interview you so the PS is all they may see BUT keep a copy in case you are interviewed

28.  Your reasons for choosing the course  Demonstrate that you know such a course involves  What you enjoy in those of your A levels that are relevant to the course  Additional reading you have done BUT don’t just list book titles. Say what you got from them  Your sporting achievements  Positions of responsibility held especially where relevant to the course  Relevant work experience/employment (What did you get from it?)  Skills that you have that are relevant to the course. Give evidence for them

29. What to avoid in your Personal Statement?  Being pretentious and trying to hard to impress. Write clearly and concisely.  Being boastful  Poor written English  Following a formula  Plagiarism. You will get caught out  Writing in note form rather than continuous prose.

30. The interview  Not all universities interview for all of their courses so you need to make sure your Personal Statement is good because this may be all they see  It will often tell you what their policy about interviewing is either in the Entry Profile information on UCAS or in the prospectus  If you do get an interview you will need to prepare carefully and show evidence that you have gone out of your way to find out about the course  You will also need to show that you have tried to broaden your knowledge and experience of the subject  Remind yourself of the things you wrote about in your Personal Statement. They will probably ask you about this

31. General questions  Tell me about yourself?  How would you describe yourself?  Tell us about your current courses?  What are you best at?  What are your main interests?  Do you have any weaknesses These are self awareness questions, so prepare by thinking about: 1)Your key personality characteristics 2)Your general and study interests 3)Try and be relevant and talk about those personality qualities and interests that match the course.

32. Questions about your motivation for the course and the university  Why do you want to study for a degree?  Why did you choose this course?  What do you think university can offer you?  What else, apart from study, interests you about this university?  Why do you want to study at this university?  Why do you want to study in this town/city?

33. Subject related questions  Why do you want to study this subject?  What do you know about the course?  What attracts you to this course?  Are there particular aspects of the course that attract you ? Why?  What have you read recently that is relevant to your interest in this course?  What experiences /work experience/ visits/ independent study have you done which is relevant to this course?

34. You may want to study the subject because: 1)You want to study it further and in more depth 2)It is a strong interest and/or your best subject 3)You will need it for your future career plans 4)That a particular university has a type of course that is suited to you 5)Or some other reasons of your own. 6)Use supporting evidence and examples where possible.

35. Topical questions  Interviewers may ask your opinion on something topical, that is something in the news or related to your subject.  Prepare for the interview by looking in the media to see what is current  You can reading the national serious newspapers online or in hard copy and pick out current stories that seem linked to your subject.  Collect them in a folder and think about how you could respond to a question on these topics.  Watch TV documentaries related to the subject

36. Hypothetical situation or problem solving questions  Be prepared to have to think on your feet and do not over rehearse prepared answers  Give me an example of a time when... you dealt with a problem, or overcame some obstacles, or worked in a team to achieve an outcome etc  If you were asked to....do something creative about......what would you do?

37. What skills will a Sport degree give me?

38. Prospects.ac.uk website Click ‘Careers advice’ link

39. Click ‘Options with your subject’ link

40. Two page ‘Options with Your Subject’ sheets  Skills the degree will give you  Job options related to your degree  Jobs for which your degree would be useful  Links to each of the jobs for further details  Career Areas chosen by those with your degree  Where are the jobs?  What next: other possibilities after your degree

41. Examples of jobs directly related to a Sport degree  Sport coach/instructor  Sports development officer  Personal trainer  Outdoor pursuits manager  PE teacher/lecturer  Higher education lecturer

42. Examples of jobs for which a Sport degree would be useful  Sport psychologist  Sports therapist  Fitness centre assistant  Leisure club assistant  Sport administrator  Health promotion specialist

43. What do graduates do with a Sport (Science)degree? The HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey