Section 1 University Applications

UCAS (the University and Colleges Admissions Service), is the body that organises all applications to universities and other higher education institutions. The actual decisions about who will be made offers and accepted as students are made by the academic staff in the universities and colleges concerned.

Admissions teams will be looking for students who have the intellectual ability to cope with the course, have the right attitude and motivation, and who will contribute positively to the life of the university. In particular, they want students who are likely to accept an offer if it is made and are in line for achieving the type of examination grades the course concerned generally commands. It is essential to look at the admissions criteria profiles on university websites, which give a clear statement of the grades and other requirements demanded.

However, you should remember that just because your predicted grades are in line with the standard offer a university makes, this does not mean that you will automatically receive an offer. Many departments have far more good candidates than they have places to offer. For example, In 2017-18 for example, a university received 29,218 applications (not including applications for deferred entry) for 4644 places. For popular courses at Bristol, such as English, there may be over 15 applicants per place, and a great many of these will exceed the minimum or typical grade requirements. It is highly competitive out there!

The standard offer for a particular course may be stated in a variety of ways, although most offers received by Channing students are expressed by grades rather than UCAS points The UCAS tariff points system is available online

Section 2

UCAS Preliminaries

1. For applications in 2023-4, the application fee is £27.50. This will be paid centrally by the school and the cost added to your end of term bill or you can pay independently when we send the application.

2. You may choose up to five universities on your UCAS application. The order is purely by University Code Number and you are unable to state any order of preference. Candidates applying for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Medicine may nominate only four universities in these subjects. No university will be aware of the other universities to which you have applied – UCAS sends them only the information relevant to that particular institution.

3. All students will make their application using the online application system, called UCAS Apply which you can access through UCAS hub.

4. When you have completed your UCAS Apply form, including your personal statement, you will go through the form with the Director of Sixth Form When we are satisfied that it is complete, you will send it electronically to the school. It will be checked and the school reference will be added. Once you have checked the form for a final time, it will be sent to UCAS. You are ultimately responsible for checking that the information you provide is correct

5. UCAS will acknowledge that your application has been received and processed, and you will be able to see the progress of your applications in the coming months via the UCAS Track system.

6. UCAS will send your application to each of your chosen universities. Each university considers the application and informs UCAS of its decision. UCAS then notifies you. You will be able to log into UCAS Track as often as you like to check the progress of your applications. Some university decisions are conditional upon interview and some universities may contact you for further details or information. You should note that the later you submit your UCAS form, the later decisions will be. However, even those who have applied early in the Autumn may not hear from certain universities before May. Patience is key!

7. You will have to reply to any offers received through Track. You are permitted to hold two offers – a Firm offer and an Insurance offer. Once you have chosen these, any other offers you received will be automatically declined. You should not reply to offers without discussing first with the Director of Sixth Form what you are planning to do as it is not possible to change your final decisions later on. You must adhere to the deadlines set by UCAS; for most applicants, you will need to make your final decisions by the first week in May.

8 It is not advisable to accept an offer firmly until you are absolutely certain that it is the university you wish to go to. You are free to decline any offer before you have received all the decisions, but such a decision is then irreversible. If you firmly accept a conditional offer and then achieve the examination grades stipulated in that offer, then the agreement between you and the university is binding on bothsides. This is also the case if after the A level results your Insurance offer is confirmed instead. You are not free to negotiate with other universities. If you wish to try for a different university, you must withdraw from UCAS in August 2024 and submit a new application after 1 September 2024 for entry in 2025.

9. At the end of February, if you find yourself without any offer for whatever reason and you have used up all five choices, UCAS Extra enables you to have an additional choice. The system operates from the end of February to June. Institutions with vacancies indicate this on the UCAS website and you can then make an application to one additional institution through UCAS.

10.When A level results are published in August, it may be that the conditional Firm and Insurance offers you hold are not met. You will then enter Clearing, and it is essential that you should be available from mid-August onwards to discuss appropriate action with the School. Admissions tutors do not look favourably on approaches from parents in Clearing; they wish to talk directly to the prospective student.

Section 3

UCAS Apply 2023-2024: completing your application

How to register for the application (DO NOT START THIS YET! WE WILL DO THIS TOGETHER on 21st June)

Make sure that you know all your basic details accurately – address and postcode, phone number and email address. Have paper and pen to hand/phone so that you can jot down the username given to you by UCAS – once given, it will not be repeated.

You are ready to go! Allow 15 minutes to register. You will need to be at a computer that has access to the internet.

To register:

● Log into UCAS HUB and on the first page there will be: START application

● Apply for 2024 entry (not 2023!!!) even if you are considering deferring

● Select Register and follow the instructions on screen.

● You need to tick the box accepting the terms and conditions.

● Enter your details. Give your name as it appears on official documents as this must match with the name on your exam certificates so that the universities can match your application with your grades.

● You are registering through a school – Channing School

● Type in our buzzword which is Channing2023 (all one word and note the capital C).

● Confirm that you are registering through Channing School.

● Write down your UCAS-ID. You will need it if you call UCAS or correspond with universities.

● Always remember to log out – don’t just close the screen. Beware that there is a timeout function on the Apply website which logs you out after a period of inaction and will not save the changes you have made unless you have checked the appropriate box. However, you can always go back and re-enter the information.

How to complete your application

You are now ready to start filling in your application. Your screen should look something like this:

PLEASE START WITH:

1. PERSONAL DETAILS

2. CONTACT AND RESIDENCY DETAILS

3. EDUCATION

4. EMPLOYMENT

5. NATIONALITY DETAILS

6. SUPPORTING INFORMATION

7. ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS

8. FINANCE AND FUNDING

9. ADD CHOICES

10. PERSONAL STATEMENT

Personal details

● Details you entered at the beginning will appear in this section. Check them carefully and make any necessary amendments.

● Once finished click Save this section and move on.

Contact and residency details

● Your permanent address is where you live most of the time.

● You must verify your email address – unless you do so you cannot send your form to us.

Nominated access

● This allows you to nominate someone with whom UCAS can discuss your application if you are away (e.g. on a gap year or over the Christmas holidays). This should be a parent or guardian.

Residency details

● For most of you, your residential category is likely to be UK Citizen or EU National. For some of you, it may be ‘Other’. If you are not sure click on the ? button for help. State if you hold dual nationality.

● Once finished click Save this section and move on.

The Education section (please check the qualification/boards at the end of this booklet to help with this section)

This is the section where we see the most frequent number of errors. Read the instructions below carefully and follow them step-by-step – do not rush ahead!

● Click Add place of education and only enter the schools that you have attended at secondary school level (ADD details here)

● Once you have entered your schools, you can then Add Qualifications. Choose from the shortlist displayed.

IGCSEs and GCSEs

● Note that you took GCSEs in some subjects and IGCSEs in other subjects.

● For GCSEs, select GCSE (Grade: 9-1). For IGCSEs, select International GCSE (9-1) unless you did a subject that still awards A*-G in which case select the A*-G alternative.

o Select the exact subject title -do not guess this!

o The qualification date for GCSEs or IGCSEs taken at the end of Year 11 is August 2022.

o Select the correct exam board o Select the correct grade (you should know this or be able to check against your certificates) o Click Save and add another to submit more GCSEs or IGCSEs –but be careful! The form resets but the qualification date and exam board remain unchanged. You will have to manually change these if they need to be changed.

● If you took a GCSE early, your qualification date will be different. You will need to check your certificates carefully for the date.

● Do not complete this section from memory – double-check your results, qualification dates and exam boards on your certificates. This is particularly true for girls who did not take GCSEs here (and you will need to put these GCSEs under your previous school).

A levels

● This is where you enter the subjects that you are continuing to the end of Year 13.

● For Further Mathematicians, this is also where you enter your Maths and Further Maths A levels.

● Select GCE Advanced Level o Select the exact subject title o The qualification date for A levels is AUGUST 2024, even for Maths A level for Further Mathematicians. o Select the correct exam board o Select Pending as the grade. o Don’t enter any information about modules/units. Leave this blank. o Click Save and add another to submit another A level – but be careful! The form resets butthequalification date andexam board remain unchanged. You will have to manually change these if they need to be changed.

If you are a PAA applicant, you can enter your actual grades instead of Pending. You can also enter the information about individual modules if you so wish – it is up to you.

EPQ and Other qualifications

● Search for Extended Project (Level 3) and enter a short summary of the topic of your project. For the qualification date, you should enter is AUGUST 2024. The exam board is AQA. Your grade should be entered as Pending. We will give you predicted grades in September.

● You may wish to include music, dance and drama results (Grade 5 and above, or the equivalent). You can check on the UCAS website to see if they are worth UCAS points.

● If you have music qualifications, such as ABRSM or equivalents; dance qualifications, such as RAD or equivalents; drama or speech qualifications, such as LAMDA – only enter each subject once with the highest grade you achieved (so do not enter Grade 6, Grade 7 and Grade 8 – only Grade 8).

● You can enter D of E Awards and Sports Leaders Awards here too.

● If you are due to take a music, dance, LAMDA, etc. exam, you can enter a date in the future and put your grade as Pending. We will only predict you a Pass in that exam – we are not in a position to predict Merits or Distinctions.

● For qualifications which do not appear in the list click on Other and add the relevant qualification.

● Where you are asked to state the highest level of qualification you expect to have before you start your course, select Below honours degree level qualifications.

● If you have completed a qualification (music award; a GCSE level; an A level etc) outside of Channing (you sat the exam somewhere else), you will need to add another institution (where you did the qualification) and then add the qualification.

● Once finished click Save this section and move on.

The Employment section:

● Enter in this section details of any work for which you have been paid (part-time or full-time). This does not include work-shadowing or work experience, only paid employment. You will need to click Mark this Section as complete even if you do not fill in any employment details. Click Save this section and move on.

Nationality details:

● Enter your country of birth, nationality as it appears on your passport and log any Dual nationality you have.

● Click Mark this section as complete.

● Once finished click Save this section and move on.

Supporting information:

● Complete the sections about your EU status and that of your parents.

Disability/Special Needs

● On the disability/special needs section – if you have a permanent condition (including a learning difficulty such as dyslexia, or any physical or mental health condition) state it. It will be to your advantage. Universities are totally geared up to support, and they want to: they have to prove that they do so. If you are dyslexic, you could be offered a free laptop; if you are diabetic, you could be given a room with a phone or emergency button; if you are physically disabled, you may be given a room with easy access. If you need extra time in university examinations, then filling this in now may help to obtain that later on when you really need it. It could also alert universities that you need extra time in admissions tests or interviews. Completing this section will not disadvantage your application in any way

Once you have completed this section, remember to tick Mark this section as complete and Save this section. This applies for all sections subsequently.

English language skills

● Once you have completed this section, remember to tick Mark this section as complete and Save this section. This applies for all sections subsequently.

The Finance and Funding section:

Student support

Check this section on your student finance arrangements with your parents.

● The fee code indicates who will be paying your fees. Nearly all British citizens who have been resident in the UK as their permanent residence for the past 3 years will be eligible for an LEA award, even if you do not think you will be awarded one. Your fee code will be UK, ChI, IoM or EU student finance services. Please note that for British citizens, even if your parents will be paying for all your maintenance and your tuition fees, you should still register with code UK, ChI, IoM or EU student finance services, rather than Private Finance. Your student support arrangements will normally be your local authority for your home address. Please check this section carefully.

● Overseas girls may have to pay fees and their code will be Private Finance.

● Once you have completed this section, remember to tick Mark this section as complete and Save this section. This applies for all sections subsequently.

The Your Choices section:

● Select up to five institutions, unless you are applying for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, or Dentistry, in which case you are allowed to choose only four (plus one other science course).

● You may not apply to both Oxford and Cambridge.

● Check the details of the courses you are applying for carefully – there can be similar courses at the same university and it is important that you choose the correct ones!

● You do not have to complete all five slots. You can always add a course later, after discussion with the Director of Sixth Form, but once you have filled in all five slots and sent off your application, you cannot change them. Be very sure that you would be pleased to go to all your chosen universities/courses.

● Click add a choice to add a choice.

● Under University/college name type the name of your chosen institution.

● Then select the Course in the same way, checking carefully it’s the right one

● Then choose the Location from the drop down choices offered.

● Under Start Date choose your year of entry to university (this is the place to state that you want a deferred place, if that is your intention).

● Only complete the Further Details section if it is requested within Course Search or in the university or college prospectus. If you are applying for a combined degree, you will need to list the subjects that you intend to study. e.g. for Modern Foreign Languages, you are likely to have to indicate the choice of language in this section (e.g. French and Spanish).

● Only complete Point of Entry if you are applying to start your course at a point which is not the first year of the course and if you have agreed this already with the university. This will not apply to the vast majority of you.

● For Live at Home you should choose No unless you are planning to live at home during your university course in term time.

● Click Save.

The Personal Statement section:

● For full detail and for guidance on writing a personal statement, please read Section 4 as well as your ‘Springboard to the Future Personal Statement’ booklet. There is also a link to guidance in the webpage.

● Write your personal statement draft in Unifrog and then after the editing process, it can then be transferred/copied to UCAS.

● Bear in mind that UCAS removes all formatting, so spacing may sometimes change and special characters/fonts (like italics and bold) won’t show.

● Click on save after every change you make thereafter.

● You must click on preview in this section before you save your work.

Almost there!

When you have completed all the sections on the form, and checked them, please go to ‘View all details’ in the left hand section selection which will show you a complete copy of your application form. Please make an appointment with the Director of Sixth Form to go through the form and then you can Pay/Send. Your application will then have your reference and predicted grades added to the form. It is your responsibility to complete the UCAS form correctly, so please take this seriously!

After you have applied

If you want to view your form after it has been sent to the referee, you can do so by visiting UCAS Apply. Once your form has been sent to UCAS and you have received confirmation of this from UCAS, you will be able to see details of the progress of your application throughout by logging on to UCAS Track – this will show you messages from universities, any offers received, etc.

Section 4 Guidance on Personal Statements

Many universities do not interview applicants, so the only information they have about you is your UCAS form. The personal statement is a key part of this and it is your chance to demonstrate to admissions tutors why they should give you an offer. Although not all universities use the personal statement as the key element in their decision making, for many others it is absolutely the most important part of the UCAS form as it demonstrates your academic and other interests, not to mention your ability to write effectively.

The maximum number of characters available for you to use is 4,000, and you are also limited to 47 lines when you copy your final statement into the box on your UCAS application (which will not be the same as 47 lines in a Word document). Start by drafting a statement in Word which is about a side of typed A4 long. You will need to take this to discuss with your tutor to see if you are on the right track before you try to refine your statement. Your tutor must see a first draft before the end of the Summer term. Many girls find that they do five or six (or more) drafts before they are completely happy so don’t rush this process and start early!

It is essential to look at the admissions entry requirements listed by universities (use UCAS or individual university websites) to check what the departments are looking for in successful applicants. Look on the UCAS website to find entry profiles for the courses you are applying for. Many courses now have detailed entry profiles which tell you both what the department is expecting from its applicants and also what you can expect from their course. Read these carefully so that your statement is relevant and focused.

The principal aim is to convey your enthusiasm and passion for studying your chosen subject(s). Specific examples are more convincing than general statements. There is no definitively good or bad way of writing a personal statement, but our advice can be found in the Springboard to the Future Personal Statement booklet that you were sent.

You should bear in mind that individual universities do not know where else you have applied or what other courses you have selected. If you are applying for slightly different courses at a number of universities, this can make writing your personal statement difficult as you wish to appear committed to the course. You should discuss this with your tutor and the Director of Sixth Form if this is an issue with your application. In some cases, a particular course may not be available elsewhere. For example, PPE is available at Oxford but your other choices may well be straight Politics or Economics courses In this situation we recommend that you focus your personal statement on Politics or Economics (i.e. the course for the majority of your choices) but you might wish to include a sustained comment on Philosophy too. Another approach is to write about a topic where your interests overlap – e.g. for French and History of Art, comment on a particular French artist and any associated literary or cultural context, or mention galleries you have visited during trips to France. The universities are aware of the problems that this presents you and they read your applications with this in mind.

Roughly 80-85% of your personal statement should be about your academic interests. Although extra-curricular activities are important, admissions tutors in the UK are primarily focused on wanting to know how enthusiastic you are about their subject and how well you will be able to study it independently at university level.

Word of Warning

You will find that there are many useful websites (from which some of this advice is taken) with information about how to write a good Personal Statement, such as www.studential.com/guide/write personal statement.htm

Many of these websites allow you to look at personal statements written by others. Whilst this can help you to get started and give you some ideas, it is essential that the personal statement is all your own work and really reflects YOU! All personal statements are put through anti-plagiarism software by UCAS who will inform your universities if there is evidence that you have lifted phrases or paragraphs from others. For further details of this, please see www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/apply-and-track/filling-your-application/fraud -and-similarity