UNIVERSIT

Y APP

LICAT

ION

PROCESS

TH

E F

I RS

T S

TE

PS

YOUR DECISIONS

Why Apply to University?

Great learning experience

Huge range of courses available

Offers benefits for future employment

BUT DON’T FEEL PRESSURISED TO APPLY – THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

Look at alternatives – see careers online for extra information

WHERE TO GET INFORMATION

UCAS website

itunes – university podcasts

www.unistats.direct.gov.uk for official info

www.yougofurther.co.uk - UCAS student network

Open days and taster courses

HE Conventions

Ask family, friends and professionals

CONTINUE YOUR RESEARCH

Open daysUCAS.comAlternative guidesLeague tablesInfo from schoolFind out the specifics of the

courses

WHAT

ABOUT

YOUR

GRADES?

BE REALIS

TIC

DIS

CUSS WIT

H TUTO

RS

AND T

EACHERS

SHOW

IMPRO

VEMENT

DO

N’T B

ULLY!

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS POSSIBLY NEEDED FOR UNIVERSITY COURSESIf you are applying for certain subjects at certain

universities you will also have to sit entrance exams like LNAT, HAT, PAT, MAT, TSA, UKCAT and BMAT.

You must check prospectus details and university websites to find out what you have to do; for example to study History at Cambridge you need to sit HAT (History Aptitude test) and be registered by mid October.

Look at www.atsts.org.uk to find out about Cambridge Entries.

HOW TO REGISTER

www.ucas.com/applyYou must register first!You will need:The buzzword – STEDMAN16

Username – given to you by UCAS after you have registered (the school will not have it)

Password – you will choose your own password

(6-14 characters with at least 1 number)

Memorable word/phrase – you will use this each time you log on to apply

THE LAYOUT OF THE FORM

There are 5 key sections:

Personal details

Additional information

Choices

Education

Employment

Your Statement

COMPLETING THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

Once you have registered you can start completing the form.

It can be completed in any order.Regularly save your workYou have 5 choicesUniversity choices – include the institutions

and their codes in order any. The programme will sort them

alphabetically.It costs £23 to apply through UCAS, £12 for

one choice

PERSONAL DETAILS

Education – include schools (last 3 secondary schools) and qualifications. These must be accurate.

Include your AS grades You can also include other grades, e.g.

music exams, etc.You may also have to sit exams e.g. the

LNAT or BMAT tests. These may be taken in school in the first week of November.

Say yes to the progress file and keep all your documents together.

PERSONAL DETAILS

Employment – include weekend and holiday jobs.

Personal Details – nationality, etc. Your residential category is probably A, Your fee code is probably 02, Student support arrangements is

probably Wilts LEA.Your personal statement should probably

be 47 lines long. Copy and paste it from WORD.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FORM?

Check the form thoroughly – do not make mistakes with codes or results.

‘Send to Referee’ and agree to the accuracy of the form

Pay online with a credit cardThe school will track your application form

and see how far you have got with each section

Forms will be returned to students for corrections – please be prompt and check your email address regularly

The school reference is then addedThe forms are sent to UCAS

THE UCAS JOURNEY

Step 1: Choosing courses – start with course search at www.ucas.com

Step 2: Applying – apply for up to 5 courses at www.ucas.com

Step 3: Offers – check Track at www.ucas.com to see if you have got your place, it is constantly updated

Step 4: Results – again check Track, UCAS will receive your results directly from the exam boards

Step 5: Next Steps – you may wish to look at Track and course vacancies at www.ucas.com

Step 6: Starting College or university – make sure that you have everything ready, such as finance and accommodation

THE UCAS TARIFF SYSTEM

Applicants may receive an offer of a place that is conditional on their

achieving a certain number of UCAS Tariff points. For up-to-date information about the UCAS Tariff, go to www.ucas.com.

You cannot ‘double count’ exams in the same subject; e.g. AS and A2. Only points in bold can be added.Subject Level Grade Tariff

Points

History AS C 40

Engl Lang AS B 50

French AS B 50

Health/Social Care

A C 80

Engl Lang A B 100

French A C 80

Total tariff points

300