1. Year 13 UCAS Parents’ Information Evening 23 rd June 2015

2. Outline of session UCAS application the process Making a successful application Targets vs predicted grades Extra-curricular development Workload Student Finance

3. Student Journey January 2014 Sutton Trust Summer school (1) / Uniq Summer school (Oxford) (2) Wednesday 19 th March 2015 UCAS HE Convention Westpoint Exeter Monday 22 nd Thursday 25 TH June 2015 Students receive log in details and start filling in general application Monday 29 th June 2015 Plymouth University UCAS Personal Statement October 23 rd 2015 Personal Statements completed 2 Collapsed days in September and November- Student Finance

4. How to apply? On line application system – easy! https://www.youtube.com/user/UCASonl ine/videoshttps://www.youtube.com/user/UCASonl ine/videos UCAS.tv http://www.ucas.tv/ucas/video/DZQ2n http://www.ucas.tv/ucas/video/DZQ2n Number of applications - £12 for one course and £23 for 5 choices for Personal statement Reference

5. Making an application UCAS online application system called APPLY 2016 October 15 th 2015 Four choices - medicine, veterinary science, veterinary medicine, dentistry October 15 th 2015 One choice - Oxford or Cambridge (unless graduate medicine) www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply All other courses - five choices 15 th January 2015

6. 2015 UCAS Statistics 526,570 applicants 2% increase on 2014 cycle 12,000 unconditional offers 1.8 million offers made in 2014 6% increase compared to 2013 61,300 successfully went through clearing

7. January 2015 there were 50,000 applications made in the 24hrs before the deadline.

9. How do institutions make a decision on who to give offers to? Predicted grades and all entry requirements satisfied GCSE results AS grades Reference Quality of application Interview Extra assessments BMAT / UKCAT / Contextual data Unconditional offers 10,000 Scholarship offers AAB-ABB caps are off! Personal Statement

10. The Personal Statement 4,000 words Software is used to scan all personal statements. Avoid clichés- they have been used before. They will be rejected if they have a spelling or grammar mistake. Bath read personal statements twice. Must be 70-80% relevant to subject. Medicine ban words such as interested and enjoy. Don’t list, explain your experiences and drive. Volunteering

11. Targets vs predicted grades Target calculated from prior performance and contextualised dataTarget calculated from prior performance and contextualised data Predicted grades – professional judgment

12. A competitive market. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jan/13/uk-graduate-job-market-strongest-2014 Starting salaries for graduates are expected to remain unchanged for a fifth year at a median of £29,000 Some of Britain's biggest employers including Google, British Airways, John Lewis, the police and the civil service are planning to hire a total of 18,264 graduates this year, an increase of 8.7% compared with 2012. The lowest salary offered is expected to be around £16,000, rising to £50,000 for graduates in some investment banking positions. Graduates from UK universities hired by the European commission can expect to receive salaries of up to £41,500, while Aldi will pay trainee area managers £41,000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8556307.stm But graduates can expect to earn £100,000 more over their working life after tax than teenagers who get a job after A-levels, according to the government. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33204691 Four in 10 of the first students to pay higher fees do not believe their courses have been good value for money, a survey for BBC Radio 5 live suggests. Just over half say their university course has been good value and about 8% are undecided. The survey of 1,004 final-year students also shows 46% would do the same course again. Universities UK said the last national student survey found 86% of students were satisfied with their course http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/aug/12/student-debt-to-rocket-2012-freshers However the average debt is £5,681 a year (not including tuition fees)

13. The Steps Choosing a course Applying Student finance England online application http://www.sfengland.slc.co.uk/media/651034/sf e_guide_financial_support_ft_1415_d.pdf Results Next steps (clearing and adjustment) Starting university / college

14. Year 12 into Year 13 Examination results- Thursday 13 th August Lessons learnt (no opportunity to resit until 2016) Timetable Change in approach Preparing for lessons

15. Extra-curricular development Increasing employability Work experience / voluntary work / part time work / supporting clubs / playing sport competitively etc Employers wish list https://www.ucas.com/advisers/guides-and-resources/illume- feature-focus/why-work-experience-so-important-your- students

16. MAINTENANCE LOAN Maintenance support is available to help with your living costs while in higher education. There are two main types of support, Maintenance Loan (repayable) and Maintenance Grant (non-repayable). All eligible students are entitled to receive some maintenance support. The amount of Maintenance Loan you can get depends on where you live and study. Maintenance support is paid directly into your bank account each term.

17. London Live away from home & study in London Up to £8,009 £ Elsewhere Live away from home & study outside London Up to £5,740 £ Parental home Live at home while you study Up to £4,565 £ MAINTENANCE LOAN MAXIMUM LEVELS 2016/17 If studying overseas as part of a UK course, Maintenance Loan support is still available. Up to £6,820 for 2015/16. i

18. Full-Year Student* 65% Non Means Tested 35% Means Tested Maximum Loan Parental home£2,967£1,598£4,565 Elsewhere£3,731£2,009£5,740 London£5,205£2,804£8,009 Overseas£4,433£2,387£6,820 i Additional loan may be available for any extra weeks of study if your course goes beyond 30 weeks in an academic year *Lower rates are available to final year students MAINTENANCE LOAN MAXIMUM LEVELS 2015/16

19. The Maintenance Grant doesn’t have to be repaid. How much grant you can get depends on your household income (100% means tested). Full Grant: £3,387 Partial Grant: (Min £50) Household income: Up to £25,000 Household income: Up to £42,620 MAINTENANCE GRANT SUPPORT AND MEANS TESTING Household income is the taxable earned and unearned income of the parents/partner you live with most of the time. i

20. www.gov.uk/studentfinance GET YOUR ESTIMATE

21. ...what can you do? conversations questions listening ideas understanding research open days