Higher EducationEvening

2015

• Choosing a Course• Choosing a University• How universities choose• What happens after the application

is sent in• How BHASVIC helps• Common mistakes• Recent changes• BHASVIC Students

Higher Education

Current Issues

• Although numbers dropped following the rise of tuition fees, they are on the rise again. 35% of 18 year olds made a UCAS application last year.

• Big gender gap nationally – over 87 000 more women than men applied (out of 580 000 applications). However, this wasn’t mirrored at BHASVIC last year!

Current issues

• The abolition of the student cap– a changing ‘market’

• Unconditional offers and other offers with strings attached

• The Russell Group effect

Choosing a courseWhere do you get information from…

Lots of websites but some key ones are:

Complete University Guide (general information about universities):

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/

Unistats (comparing Universities):http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/

UCAS (excellent information about the application process itself):

www.ucas.com

Complete University guide

Course

• Interest and enjoyment•Professional; academic•Employment•Single or joint•Content •Assessment

Entrance Requirements•Required subjects•Grades requirements•Entrance test•Non academic requirements, e.g. work experience

“Acceptable” A Levels

• Generally speaking all A levels are acceptable for University entry but it can depend on the course or individual university.

• There is much talk of so-called ‘facilitating subjects’ and it is true that some ‘high tariff’ universities prefer candidates to have at least two of these.

“Acceptable” A Levels

• A ‘spread’ of courses is fine e.g. Biology, Maths, Drama would be fine as 2 courses are regarded as being strong academically.

• But Drama, Music and Dance would be excellent for any performance related degree

• The key thing to ask is “do your A levels demonstrate the skills you will need at degree level in a subject?”

Points or Grades?

• Some universities ask for grades, e.g. Chemistry at Oxford requires A*A*A

• Some ask for points, e.g. Chemistry at Nottingham Trent requires 260 points

• Points are calculated using the UCAS Tariff

• The UCAS Tariff also gives details of the points allocated to L3 BTEC qualifications.

Grade A2 (A Level)

A/S Level

A* 140 -A 120 60B 100 50C 80 40D 60 30E 40 20

BTEC Qualifications

• BTEC qualifications have their own UCAS points attached to them.

• For example, the Sports Science course at BHASVIC is a double course and so a double Distinction would be 240 points (2 A equivalent), a double Merit would be 160 points (2 C equivalent).

Choosing a university• The right course, quality of facilities,

provision

• Type and size, quality of accommodation

• Distance from home

• Reputation league tables, employer links, word of mouth

• Scholarships and bursaries

• Learning Support

• Student mix state school/private/mature students/ international students/diversity

Studying abroad

• Some degrees at UK universities will offer a year abroad, typically languages or American (or other cultural) Studies

• A student could think about studying their entire degree abroad and this now has greater relevance given the recent rise in tuition fees

• This year BHASVIC students have applied to

study in the U.S and Netherlands

Using UCAS Apply

Once student has decided on potential courses and universities, they apply to them using ucas.apply

UCAS: universities central admissions system, not a decision making body.

Handles applications for all full time first degree higher education courses.

After Application

• Sep – Dec 2015: nearly all applications will be in (final deadline Jan 15th)

• Oct 2015 – March 31st 2016: Students get Offers• February to May – students make their choice of

two offers to be their ‘firm’ and ‘insurance’ choice

• Results –August• Clearing

How BHASVIC can help

January Is HE For Me? (Students)

March Information Evenings (Parents)

Thursday 30 April Specialist Application Evening (Parents)

Monday 8 June Progression Event (Students)Writing Personal StatementsFinanceUsing UCAS ApplyChoosing courses/institutions

• Students can apply for five courses (unless applying for medicine/veterinary science)

• Applications begin in September

• Deadline for Oxbridge, Medicine, Veterinary Science and Dentistry - 15 OCTOBER

• Deadline for all other students - 15 JANUARY

• Internal deadlines are earlier

How do universities choose1. A student will have to have the grades – GCSEs

are important, as are AS grades. These will be what an Admissions officer will regard as an accurate prediction of A level or BTEC achievement.

2. The student’s personal statement

• Student’s enthusiasm and motivation for course. Why they want to do it?

• Student’s understanding of the course• What students have gained from their current courses (specific

interests, skills)?• Additional reading• Evidence of special commitment, work experience, attendance at

lectures, organising clubs

3. Reference – written in collaboration between teachers and Tutor- includes predicted grades

4. Tests (BMAT, LNAT, HAT) where appropriate

5. Interview (where used)

6. Widening Participation

Common mistakes• Lack of research - Applying for courses without the

right qualifications/subjects• Applying only to courses whose entry requirements

are higher than AS grades• Applying for extremely diverse courses• Leaving writing a Personal Statement/applying until

the last minute• Applying to universities or courses they do not want

to go to

Where do BHASVIC students go?• Top ten (2013):

University of Sussex University of Brighton University of Bristol University of Southampton University of Surrey University of Portsmouth University of Nottingham University of Bath University of Kent Kingston University University of Leeds University of Manchester

What do they study?• Top ten individual subjects studied by BHASVIC students (2013):

PsychologyLaw MathematicsPoliticsHistoryHumanities/Social StudiesEconomicsEnglish BiologyComputer Science