APPLYING TO UNIVERSITY
STUDENT GUIDE
SEPTEMBER 2015 ENTRY
LOOKING TO GO TO UNIVERSITY? – THEN START THE PROCESS NOW!
UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS – SEPTEMBER 2015 ENTRY
BUZZWORD – Fareham15
When you log onto to the UCAS site, click Apply 2015 for undergraduate courses. You need to register first. Click on register and follow the step by step guide.
Remember the first page of your UCAS application form is the first thing that a University looks at - even before they know anything else about you or your expected qualifications. If the first page is full of errors it does not give them a good first impression. Make sure that when you complete the application you use capital letters (where necessary) and use your full name as it appears on your legal documentation (sounds simple enough, but many students do not do this). i.e. Tom Ed Jones – Thomas Edward Jones
When you give an email address please be aware that it is not always a good idea to use your normal tag, for example does not give a particularly good impression! Some students set up an email account specifically for University and UCAS correspondence. Do not use your college email accounts as you will still be getting information through after you have finished your course at the college and when your college email accounts will be disabled. Always check your JUNK MAIL as well.
The official closing date for applications to UCAS for courses is Thursday 15th January 2015 but if you leave your application this late you may well find that places on some courses will already have been allocated and you may be unsuccessful. You must stick to the college deadline which is listed below. Remember, after you have completed your part of the application, a college reference has to be completed by your tutor and attached to your application before it is finally sent to UCAS. This could take some weeks when there are many students applying as each reference has to be individually written for each student.
Student College Deadline Date
– 21st November 2014
Applying to University is not as daunting as it first might appear when you log onto the application site www.UCAS.com providing you have done your research. Hopefully during the summer, you will have researched universities and logged onto the various sites, viewing their prospectus and courses and if necessary booking yourself to attend open days to view the universities you like the look of and which are offering the courses you want to do. If you did not do this over the summer then we suggest you do so NOW. www.opendays.com
You can apply for one university at a cost of £12 or up to five at a cost of £23. Choose wisely. If you submit an application with five choices through to UCAS it is not possible to add another one if you change your mind or alter a course because you “put the wrong course or the incorrect university code” on the application.
Choosing the right University and Course for you
Some students know where they want to go to university and the career path/university degree course that they want to follow – others are less certain. The UCAS website can help you decide where you study and what you study - even if you think you know what you want to do, it is useful to follow these suggestions through and all are found on the UCAS website.
Institution Guide
This is a really helpful guide that can be found on the UCAS website. Use the UCAS search tools to help you look at Universities offering the course you may be interested in. A list of Universities will come up and by selecting the ones you feel you may wish to go, and selecting, the location, it details when their open days are, information on accommodation and interviews, various contact details and the number of students the campus holds (which will give you an idea of the size of the college).
When you select the universities which you feel you would like to view and which offer your chosen course you should also check that any other criteria you may have is also met. You will be at this university for the next 3-4 years and you need to do as much as you possibly can to make sure this is where you want to be based. Some general criteria you may like to think about before making your final choice are:
· Do I want to be based in a town or country? This is particularly relevant if you have sporting interests that you wish to pursue.
· What sort of student accommodation is available? Check what is on offer after the first year as many students get “in hall” residence the first year but after this have to find their own accommodation.
· How close to home do I want to be – take into account the cost and ease of getting home if this is an important factor to you?
· What other facilities does the university have to offer – social, sport, drama etc?
· Is the local nightlife important to me?
· Can I park my car somewhere convenient and is it free?
· If you are interested in broadcasting or journalism then it is useful to find out if you would be able to work on the student radio or magazine.
Unistats - A website for students to research and compare subjects and Universities
www.unistats.co.uk
Entry Profiles (how many UCAS points do I need to do the course)
Once you have decided on the degree you wish to study and where you wish to study you will need to check the entry criteria and this can be found through the course search site under the course title. You will need to be realistic when applying for courses. If, for example, you are predicted 2 x C’s and 1 X D grades in your A’ level subjects then it would be extremely unlikely that a university with entry requirements for 2 A grades and 1 B grade would accept anything less.
Very often the entry requirements are an indication of the popularity of a particular course and the demand they have for it at that university, as well as the difficulty of the course content. If you are looking at a course which specifically wants a B grade in a science subject then it is unlikely that they will accept an application from a student who is predicted a lower grade.
Completing your application
Every section of your UCAS application is important and should be completed carefully, accurately and honestly. This application is the first impression a university will get of you - make it a good impression. Care MUST be given to spelling and punctuation and every section which needs to be filled in should be completed.
What is Apply?
APPLY is an application system that allows you to apply online for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges. UCAS ask you to complete the following sections.
· Registration
· Personal details
· Additional information (UK applicants only)
· Choices
· Education
· Employment
· Personal Statement
· Reference – this is added by the college
· Declaration
· Pay and send
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. The system allows you to leave a section partially completed so you can return to it later and change any information you have entered.
Registration
UCAS need to know your personal details, such as your name, address and date of birth. They also ask you to read and accept the terms and conditions for using Apply. The registration progress generates your username and you create your own password which you use to login to Apply.
**You must make a note of your username and password when registration is complete**
A quick guide to registration:
- Log on to www.ucas.com
- Click on APPLY
- Click on APPLY undergraduate section
- Click on APPLY for 2015 courses
- Click on Register
- Student should read terms and conditions
- Select “registering through school or college”
- Type in the buzzword Fareham15
- Follow instructions to register personal details (i.e. name, address, telephone number, e-mail address etc)
- Choose a password and enter a security question and answer (can be used as a prompt in the event that student forgets login details)
11. Click SEND to create and issue a username – YOU MUST NOTE THESE DETAILS!
Education
UCAS need to know where you have studied and which qualifications you are taking/have taken. You need to enter your school and college details and then list your qualifications. Make sure you have included all relevant qualifications, including any that you have completed and any that you are currently taking. As well as GCSEs taken at secondary school and AS/A2 subjects being studied at college you may also have taken Music or Speech and Drama exams and these are also worth UCAS points, alongside Function skills. You will need to know the centre number for each institution – this will be shown on your exam certificates.
You will also need to know the exam awarding board for each qualification – again you should have this on your exam certificate(s).
ENTERING MODULE UNITS AND GRADES:
Enter all your module units and grades.
College advice would be to either include all of them to show consistency within your application.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
We cannot stress how important your personal statement is. You need to spend considerable time on this and get your tutor to read through it when you feel it is completed.
This is your chance to “sell yourself” to the university of your choice. A good personal statement is very important and it could be the deciding factor in offering you a place – many universities do not interview candidates and your UCAS application and exam results, is what they use to make that choice. Anything which gives your application an “edge” over the application of another student with the same qualifications can only be to your advantage.
You will receive guidance on compiling your personal statement through presentations by Universities in the autumn term 2014 but ultimately it is up to you to make sure that it is what you want to say. It must be your own work and if it is found to be plagiarised your application will be withdrawn by UCAS from all universities – they do run an automated check on it.
Some pointers when writing your statement
Read the information on the UCAS site about what they are looking for in a personal statement – they are the experts
· Make the statement as original as possible and all your own work
· Do the statement in draft format and get your lecturer to read it through
· Check spelling and grammar
· Use paragraphs (there is nothing more off putting than 48 lines of text with no paragraphs)
· Do not refer to an individual university – for obvious reasons
· Do not use quotes
· Do not start every sentence with “I”
Your personal statement should include:
· What course have you chosen
· What interests you about it
· What are your career intentions (if you know)
· Exam qualifications gained (mention any projects, essays etc – relevant reading, work experience or trips).
· How you feel the subject(s) you have studied at college will help with your course at University
· Positions of responsibility (in school – prefect, head of year etc and at college – student representative)
· Interest outside college i.e. sport, music, languages, Duke of Edinburgh etc
· The end of your personal statement should be about you and what qualities you have which you feel will benefit from the course – words and phrases such as: passionate, mature, conscientious, committed, enthusiastic, creative, like a challenge are good.
Some Common Errors with applications
· Not finding and not correcting common typing errors (spelling, comprehension and punctuation). You must do an overall thorough check of the whole application before paying and releasing the application. Ask someone to check if for you.
· The most common and important mistake was forgetting to put in the course which was being currently studied at college and the results from the previous years i.e. if you got a First Diploma before embarking on your ND or A/s results if you are currently doing A levels (also A/s results for subjects not being followed through to A level need to be included – even if the result was not as good as you hoped).
· Make sure that the title of the course you are following is correct, ie. National Certificate, National Diploma, what Access course it is you are following. It is your responsibility to make sure this is correct and to have the correct Examination Boards. Where BTEC Registration numbers are asked for put them in.
· GCSE subjects and grades must be included (even those which you don’t feel were very good). One of the boxes you tick at the end of your application is declaring that the information you have supplied on the form is complete and accurate.
· Make sure that the centre numbers for past schools and the college are correct.
· If a BTEC registration number is asked for you MUST include it – if you don’t know what it is then ask your lecturer or the examination office.
· Students have to release each section of the UCAS application as it is completed.
WHAT HAPPENS ONCE MY UCAS APPLICATION HAS BEEN CHECKED AND I HAVE PAID?
Once you are happy your UCAS application is correct and you have paid the UCAS fee your part of the application process is finished with at this stage. Your tutor will then write a reference for you which has to be electronically attached before it is sent to UCAS. Each reference is individual to the student and written personally for them. After this has been attached, the application will be sent to UCAS.