Beginners Guide to UCAS. Setting the scene HE provision in the UK including: 4 Northern Irish HEIs...
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Transcript of Beginners Guide to UCAS. Setting the scene HE provision in the UK including: 4 Northern Irish HEIs...
HE provision in the UK
including:
4 Northern Irish HEIs 20 Scottish HEIs 280 English/Welsh HEIs
300 plus UCAS institutions,
The applicant journey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
▪Applicant researches where to study
▪Registers online with UCAS Apply
▪Completes form and processes payment
▪Academic reference added by school / college
▪School / college sends form electronically to UCAS
▪UCAS processes form and forwards to chosen HEIs
▪HEIs submit decisions (offer or unsuccessful)
▪Applicant views decisions on Track
▪Applicant replies to offers on Track (Firm / Insurance)
▪HEIs confirm places when results are released
Key features of admissions scheme
Maximum of 5 choices
Some choice restrictions:
Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry – max 4 choices
Oxford or Cambridge
Simultaneous consideration
‘Invisibility’
Application fee for 2014 - £23 or £12 for single choice
The electronic application cycle
School or college registers as an online
Apply centre Appointed ‘Apply Coordinator’ sets up
staff and centre details and creates
buzzword
Student registers using buzzword and
fills in application Completed application is forwarded
(electronically) to tutor
Tutor checks completed applications
within staff area and adds reference Completed applications are sent to
UCAS
If application contains errors
or omissions, tutor can return
form to student
School / Centre Perspective
August Register on UCAS
website – enter personal
details Research potential
universities and courses PSE 1 – input from
Universities PSE 1 -Support to begin
writing personal
statement
School / Centre Perspective
September All personal details entered Courses / universities
entered (if known) First draft of personal
statement completed –
Principal Teacher of
Guidance will provide
feedback Pay UCAS! (£23, £12 for
single choice)
School / Centre Perspective
October Courses / universities
entered Final draft of personal
statement prepared in
light of feedback Final draft of personal
statement submitted
after October holiday
School / Centre Perspective
November
December
Courses / universities
confirmed Application completed!
Pupil receives feedback
and amends online
application (if required).
School / Centre Perspective – Key Dates
Tuesday 23rd September Early Applicants – Personal Statement to Mrs MacKay
Thursday 25th September First draft of Personal Statement submitted to Guidance Teacher
Tuesday 15th October Deadline for early applicants (Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Oxbridge)
Friday 24th October Final draft of Personal Statement submitted to Guidance Teacher
Wednesday 15th January Deadline for most courses
Tuesday 24th March Deadline for some Art and Design courses
Experiential research
Obtain a real ‘feel’ for the institution, subject, course, career:
HE Conventions Institution Open Days Taster Courses Subject specific events
Compose your Future Design your Future Examine your Future
Career Fairs
Getting started
Registration only takes 10 minutes (max)
Use the school/college ‘buzzword’
No need to pay at registration stage
Should already have been completed in PSE
(Tuesday)
15 October: Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary and Oxbridge applications
15 January: Deadline for all courses except those with 15 October and 24
March deadline
24 March: Deadline for some art and design courses
Important dates
What information will I supply?
Applicants are asked to complete the following sections:
Personal Details
Additional Information (UK applicants only)
Choices
Education
Employment
Personal Statement
Having checked the above, referee will then add:
A Reference
What admissions staff tell UCAS they are looking for in a personal statement
Evidence of:
Independent study skills Self-awareness Motivation and commitment An understanding of the course Good numeracy and literacy Essay writing Research skills Time management skills Enthusiasm to go beyond the syllabus
Supported through PSE, support from Guidance Teacher
Top Tip – avoid ‘list addiction’
I enjoy watching football, I play netball for Fife schools, I sing in the
choir, I belong to the debating society, I am taking part in the Duke of
Edinburgh Award scheme, I work in Tesco on Saturdays and I shop
for my Granny on Monday after school.
Be selective (i.e. amplify key activities)
I have been an active member of the debating society at school for
the last three years. This has proved really interesting as I have had
the chance to research and defend viewpoints that I would normally
not agree with; an exercise which I’m sure will prove valuable as a
Law degree student.
Error ‘hot spots’
Failure to check entry requirements
Qualifications (eg. SQA results)
missing, or incorrectly named, on form
Wrong student support fee code
Email address not verified
Ticking criminal conviction box
Forgotten to register for admissions
test Nominated access
What happens next?
UCAS sends form (simultaneously) to all choices on the
form
Applicant may need to: Attend an interview Send a portfolio of work Sit an admissions test
University and college decisions
Admissions tutors can make one of three decisions: Conditional Offer Unconditional Offer Unsuccessful
Applicants then keep a maximum of two offers: Firm Insurance
Any remaining offers must be declined
Conditional offers
Can be expressed in:
UCAS Tariff points 305 points
Grades AAAB in Scottish Highers
a combination of both 305 points, including a B in Maths
UCAS Tariff
Points system used to report achievement
Provides comparisons between applicants with different types of qualifications and volumes of achievement
Tariff =
Highers Tariff Points
A 80
B 65
C 50
D 36Please read the conditions of th
e offer
carefully and if you have any queries speak
to the institution.
Student Track
Enables your students to
follow the progress of their
application (24/7, access
via password)
Quickest way to find out
about new offers
Students can reply to offers
If no offers received…UCAS Extra
Operates from 25 February to July 6
Applicants eligible for Extra: Used all 5 choices All choices unsuccessful, cancelled or offers declined
Course vacancies listed on UCAS website
Allows additional single choices, entered and considered
one at a time
Why was Adviser Track developed?
Requested by Apply Centres to:
View applications after submitted
Centres continue to support students through the application process
Communicate with groups and individuals
Launched 2009
Confirmation (1)
1. Exam results are issued (Scottish Qualifications early August, by letter,
email or text)
2. Admissions staff check if the applicant has matched the conditions of
the offer
3. If yes, the applicant will be sent an official confirmation of their place
4. Time to celebrate!!
Confirmation (2)
Adjustment period
What is it?
Five day window of opportunity to seek place at
another university or college
Eligibility
Results must have exceeded CF offer and
subsequently been made UF
Clearing
The stage at which all ‘unplaced’ applicants are
finding a place at institutions that have
vacancies.
The applicant journey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
▪Applicant researches where to study
▪Registers online with UCAS Apply
▪Completes form and processes payment
▪Academic reference added by school / college
▪School / college sends form electronically to UCAS
▪UCAS processes form and forwards to chosen HEIs
▪HEIs submit decisions (offer or unsuccessful)
▪Applicant views decisions on Track
▪Applicant replies to offers on Track (Firm / Insurance)
▪HEIs confirm places when results are released
School / Centre Perspective – Key Dates
Early Applicants – Personal Statement to Mrs MacKay
Monday 23rd September
Thursday 26th September First draft of Personal Statement submitted to Guidance Teacher
Tuesday 15th October Deadline for early applicants (Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Oxbridge)
Monday 21st October Final draft of Personal Statement submitted to Guidance Teacher
Wednesday 15th January Deadline for most courses
Tuesday 24th March Deadline for some Art and Design courses