Applying to University 2017

Applying to University 2017

Key Dates

June 2016 / Registration and start of application
15th October 2016
18.00 / Deadline for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and applications for medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and veterinary medicine
October Half Term / Deadline for applications to be submitted to Mrs Deary
15th January 2017 / Deadline for applications to be sent by Mrs Deary to UCAS
24th March 2017 / Deadline for most Art and Design courses (check individual course details)
Deadlines / 1
Application process / 2

Personal Details

/ 3

Choices

/ 3

Education

/ 4

Employment

/ 5

Personal statement

/ 5 - 7

Pay and Send

/ 8

Offers

/ 8

Exam results and confirmation

/ 8
Example of a completed application / 9 - 11
A poor personal statement / 12

Students must remember that applications are checked by the following staff:

1st Form Tutor – students print out completed application forms including personal statements and pass to their tutor for final checks.

2nd Mrs Hughes – students click pay and send ONLY after all checks have been made by tutors. Mrs Hughes receives applications, if there are any mistakes applications will be returned which makes the process take longer.

3rd Mrs Deary

4th Miss Sedley and The Senior Leadership Team

Several of these people may require students to make amendments to their application and so students must allow time for this.

The Application Process

Youwill be asked for a buzzword - Chesterfield17

PERSONAL DETAILS

Add your personal information and contact details.

Also confirm that:

-Your address is your permanent address.

-Your Country of birth.

-Your Nationality

-Area of permanent residence, from the drop down menu - select Sefton.

-Residential category e.g A UK Citizen/EU National.

Student Support

Enter the fee code as 02

Enter the student support arrangements which for most students is Seftonfrom the drop down menu

Select your mailing preference(s)

Ensure you select one from the list of options

Nominated access

This is normally left blank. You only need to insert someone if you know you will be out of the country on A level results day and wish a member of your family, or friend to negotiate with the Universities on your behalf.

Disability

Select None, or an appropriate code

CHOICES

You can choose up to 5 choices

(No more than 4 choices in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science).

You can choose more than one course at each University (with the exception of Oxford or Cambridge)

You should research carefully.

-Use the UCAS course search

-Use the University prospectus (located upstairs in the Sixth Form Learning Resource Centre)

-Use the University specific website

What should you know before applying for a course;

-The course content.

-The location of the University or specific campus where study takes place.

-The duration of the course.

-The tuition fees.

-The entry requirements.

Use the ‘see list’ button to help you add the institution, course and campus codes.

EDUCATION

Add each Secondary Schoolyou have attended, together with the datesyou attended. For most, that will be starting Chesterfield High School in September 2010 and leaving in July 2017.

Add all of your current qualifications (GCSEs,BTECs, OCRs & AS Levels)

This needs to include the examination board, date (examination results day, August for most) and grade.Your tutor will have a list if you need further guidance.

Add every qualification such as A Levels that youstill have to take, together with the date of results day, marking the box “PENDING.”

If you are completing a BTEC course,you will need a BTEC registration number. Your BTEC number is personal and if you use another student’s number the Universities will access that person’s examination results and not yours. You can get your BTEC number from your form tutor or Mrs Hughes.

EMPLOYMENT

Complete this section if you have completed any work or work experience, giving the full address and dates.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Type your personal statement into a ‘Word’ document. When it has been accepted by your tutor you can then ‘cut and paste’ into the relevant space on the application form.

It must not exceed 47 lines or 4000 characters.

Use the advice you have already been given and the examples contained in this booklet to produce a statement which outlines your intentions and impresses the admissions tutors whom will read it and make a decision on your application.

Be aware that UCAS scans all personal statements to prevent plagiarism.

What to include

Paragraph One - Writing about the course and your suitability

Two of the most important things to include are:

Why you're applying for the course you've chosen: this is particularly important when you're applying for a subject that you have not studied before. Tell the university the reasons why that subject interests you, and include evidence that you understand what's required to study the course, eg if applying for psychology courses, show that you know how scientific the subject is.
Why you're suitable for the course: tell the universities the skills and experience you have that will help you to succeed on the course.

Also think about:

how your current or previous studies relate to the course that you have chosen
any activities that demonstrate your interest in the course
Why you want to go to university or college.

Below are reasons given to students from UCAS on why there application was not successful:

Your personal statement does not strongly support your desire to study your chosen degree.
Your personal statement did not show sufficient understanding, relevance or knowledge about the course you are applying for.
You failed to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and interest in the subject in your personal statement.

Paragraph Two – Academic skill and achievements

Reflect on the subjects that you are studying/have studies and the skills that you have demonstrated. Provide examples of areas of success and skills such as teamwork, presentation, analysis, evaluation skills etc. Link such skills to the course you are applying for to show how you are suited to study it.

Paragraph Three – Extra curricula skills and achievements

Universities like to see if you've been involved in any schemes or with organisations.

Duke of Edinburgh Award
Leadership Awards
Other awards/schemes such as the Nuffield Bursary
any other achievements that you are proud of, eg reaching grade 3 piano or being selected for the county cricket team.
positions of responsibility that you hold/have held both in and out of school, eg form representative or representative for a local charity.
Peer mentor/paired reader

Paragraph Four – Work experience and Hobbies/interests

Include details of jobs, placements, work experience or voluntary work, particularly if it's relevant to your chosen course. For example, rather than just saying

'I spent two weeks working at a department store. I enjoyed speaking to customers and helping them with their enquiries'

you could say

'I spent two weeks managing customer enquiries at a department store. I learnt how to interact with customers and handle complaints. The experience highlighted the importance of positive communication between a business and its customers, and taught me how to manage difficult enquiries effectively. I would like to develop this skill further by studying a degree in public relations.'

Future plans - If you know what you'd like to achieve after completing a university course, explain how you want to use the knowledge and experience.

Key advice - Applying to multiple courses

Remember that you only write one personal statement so it will be used for all your choices. Try not to mention a university or college by name, even if you're applying to only one university - your personal statement cannot be changed if you apply to a different place later.

If you're applying for a joint degree you will need to explain why you are interested in both aspects of this joint programme.

If you're applying for different subjects or courses, you need to identify the common themes and skills that are relevant to your choices. For example, both mathematics and law are subjects where you have to think logically and apply rules. You may like both subjects because you enjoy solving problems, using theory and natural or man-made laws to come to a correct conclusion.

Dos and don'ts when writing your personal statement

Dos / Don’ts
Do create a list of your ideas before attempting to write the real thing.
Do expect to produce several drafts before being totally happy.
Do ask people you trust for their feedback.
Do check university and college prospectuses, as they usually tell you the criteria and qualities that they want their students to demonstrate.
Do use your best English and don't let spelling and grammatical errors spoil your statement.
Do be enthusiastic - if you show your interest in the course, it may help you get a place. / Don't feel that you need to use elaborate language. If you try too hard to impress with long words that you are not confident using, the focus of your writing may be lost.
Don't say too much about things that are not relevant - if you think that you are starting to, take a break and come back to your statement when you feel more focused.
Don't lie - if you exaggerate you may get caught out at interview when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement.
Don't rely on a spellchecker as it will not pick up everything - proof read as many times as possible.
Don't leave it to the last minute.

You will be provided with additional resources from you Form Tutor and can also access advice on the UCAS website

FINALLY - PAY AND SEND

Complete the entire form and mark each section as ‘complete’.
Click ‘Pay and Send’ ONLY once your tutor has checked through the application. You will then be frozen out of the application and cannot make any further amendments unless it is sent back to you.
Tick your agreement of the 5 statements.
This then informs the school(Mrs Deary and Mrs Hughes) that your application is complete.
You must then see Mrs Hughes with the fee of £24 (multiple courses) or £13 (one course).
Both cash and cheques and cash are accepted. Cheques must be made payable to Chesterfield High School.
Your application will then undergo final checks before being sent to UCAS which may take a few days.

Offers

Universities respond differently to applications. Some will respond quickly with an immediate offer, some may take time to make their decision and some may even invite you for an interview.

Conditional Offer – you are likely to receive an offer from an institution that is conditional on you gaining certain grades or point.

Unsuccessful – the course may be full, all places allocated or you may not have met certain criteria to gain a place. If you receive 5 rejections you will be eligible to make 2 additional offers through UCAS EXTRA free of charge.

Once you have received replies from ALL your choices you must decide which offers you wish to accept. Carefully check your deadline for doing this. The deadline varies from person to person.

You must make a Firm Choice and an Insurance Choice.

Your Firm Choice is the University you intend to go to.
Your Insurance Choice is your second choice.

It is sensible to select your insurance choice with a lower offer than your firm choice.

Exam Results and Confirmation

Universities will directly receive your exam results. If you meet the conditions of your Firm Choice offer the University will confirm your place. You are then committed to this offer and your Insurance Choice is withdrawn. If you fail to meet the requirements of your Firm Choice but meet the requirements of your Insurance Choice it will be confirmed and you are committed to that offer.

If you change your mind, or if you fail to meet the requirements of either offer, you have the choice of entering Clearing. If you gain better results than expected you may go through Adjustment.

An example of a completed UCAS Application

Personal Details

Personal

TitleMr

GenderMale

First/given name(s) XXXX

Surname/family name XXXX

Preferred first name XXXX

Previous surname at 16th birthday XXXX

Postal address XXXX, XXXX, LIVERPOOL, XXXX

Is your permanent home in the UK? Yes

Home address

Home telephone number XXXX

Mobile number XXXX

Email address XXXX

Date of birth XXXX

Country of birth United Kingdom

Date of first entry to UK

Nationality UK national

Dual nationality

Area of permanent residence Sefton

Residential category UK Citizen or EU National

Reference numbers

Unique Learner Number Please ask your Form Tutor for this

Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) Number

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Number

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Number

Student support

Fee code02 UK, Chi, IoM or EU Student

Student support arrangements Sefton

Commercial Mailings from UCAS

I want to receive sales information by email No

I want to receive sales information by text message to my mobileYes

I do not want to receive sales information by post Yes

Nominated access

Full name of nominee

Relationship to you

Criminal convictions

Criminal convictionsNo

Disability/Special needs

Category No disability

Please give details of any special needs

Choices

University of Central Lancashire (C30)

Course XXXX

Campus: Main Site (U) Live at home?: No