East Durham College Going to Uni Guide Applying for Higher Education – What you need to know
Applying for Higher Education – What you need to know A big welcome to East Durham College to all those new to EDC or students returning from last year. Thinking of applying to study for higher education? Then please read on for some valuable information to guide you through the process.
September It’s time to consider your options – would you like to progress to HE? Think of the personal benefits to you. Higher education (HE) is an investment in your future and can enable you to access the job of your dreams. There are other options available though: Higher Degree Apprenticeships, employment or a Gap year. This link explains what your options are - https://www.ucas.com/whatare-my-options but please arrange a chat with Gillian, the Careers Co-ordinator, if you would like to discuss what to do next. There is a lot of choice with roughly 37,000 Degree courses and 370 HE providers in the UK therefore its’ essential to do some research to narrow down your options to find what’s right for you. You get a maximum of 5 choices or 4 if you apply for any course at Oxford or Cambridge University or for most courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science. It’s really important to choose a subject that you will enjoy and help you to reach your goals. Don’t worry there are tools to help! Have a look on the UCAS website in the course finder section at www.ucas.com and use the College’s Unifrog system to help you. Unifrog is a tool to enable you to compare courses and universities and create shortlists online. You will need to register for a Unifrog account. It is highly advisable to not just apply for one choice as the most you could receive is one offer! There are different types of course for instance Foundation Degrees, Degrees, Combined Degrees, Major/Minor Degrees and Degrees with time spent in industry or overseas. Higher Education is also offered through many Further Education Colleges in the North East and nationally. For instance we offer a Foundation Degree Sports Coaching in conjunction with the University of Sunderland. Things to consider about the course include: course content and structure, assessment methods, employability rates after graduation, if you have a career in mind is it going to lead to or support your end goal, opportunities on the course i.e. placements, field trips etc.
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Things to consider about the university include: home/away, travel, type of university, teaching excellence rating, learning support, facilities, accommodation, distance from campus to the town/city and accommodation, fees and financial support available such as bursaries, excellence scholarships etc. Speak to your Lecturer or Progression Coach about your predicted grades, check your L3 year 1 certificate if you have one for your results for your UCAS application. Check if you have the English and Maths requirement for the course (GCSE Science also for some). Some courses have additional requirements for instance a DBS check, additional reference, occupational health assessment or audition. Familiarise yourself with the UCAS tariff points for different grade outcomes for your course i.e. Extended Diploma, A Levels, Access to HE and be mindful of the tariff points required for the courses you are interested in. You need to register for a UCAS account in the Undergraduate 2018 section. https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/login (Remember to keep your account safe by not sharing your user name and password with anyone). You need to register through the College so that we can assist you and check the progress of your application. It will prompt you to enter a buzzword to link your application to the College. The buzzword is Aimhigh2018. Your Progression Coach will give you time in tutorial to work on your UCAS application but it will require additional time – in the College library or at home if you have computer access. Please don’t leave it to the last minute and be respectful of deadlines set. There is a lot for the College to do to send your application off as well including offering feedback on your personal statement, checking your application and writing your reference. Your Lecturer and Progression Coach complete the reference. There are various ways to get the information you need to help you in your decision making before you apply: browse the prospectuses in the Careers library in the LRC at Peterlee, Houghall Library and student area at Technical Academy, use the Unifrog site, look on individual uni websites, UCAS, follow the College Careers Facebook page for relevant posts and messages on Higher Education https://www.facebook.com/Careersedc, have a look on the Careers Moodle page in the Student Services section, talk to any family or friends who are students at the institution at the moment and attend open days and taster sessions if possible.
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The College internal deadline of Thursday 30 November is for guidance only, please submit your application as soon as it is complete and has been checked so that we can get it sent off for you. Many courses are competitive to get onto, application needs to be completed accurately with an excellent personal statement. Your Progression Coach, the Careers Co-ordinator or your Access to HE Lecturer can help you. Please make a note of their contact details. The Careers Co-ordinator is Gillian Hales, tel: 0191 518 82 82 or e-mail gillian.hales@eastdurham.ac.uk
October 15 October 2018 is the UCAS deadline for any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science and dentistry. If you plan to apply for one of these options please let your Progression Coach and the Careers Co ordinator know as soon as possible so that we can work with you to ensure you meet this deadline. We are holding two Higher Higher Education fayres – one at the Peterlee campus and one at Houghall – dates TBC, please check Moodle and the College website for details. Your personal statement is your chance to shine! Universities use this in conjunction with predicted grades to decide whether to give you an offer for their course or invite you in for the next stage such as interview, audition etc. You can use the Unifrog site to help you effectively write your statement. You need to include why you wish to study the course, what interests you about it, do your current studies relate to it, skills and experience to help you succeed on the course, details of work experience or volunteering, any achievements that you are proud of, any attributes that make you interesting and unique and any career ambitions/plans for the future, relevant work experience and hobbies and interests. It should also have a good opening paragraph and finish. You get 47 lines, 4000 characters inc spaces. It does take several drafts to get right and check the spelling and grammar before you show someone. Please don’t be tempted to copy anyone else’s or adapt one from the internet – UCAS have extensive plagiarism software in place to detect such things. Before you get to the point of finalising your choices it’s necessary to compare courses and universities. There are several ways to do this – through the likes of the Unistats website, QAA, prospectuses, uni websites and your own feelings and impressions gained from visiting the universities themselves.
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Some words of wisdom - don’t let anyone pressure you into choosing something that’s not right for you, don’t choose something because a close friend is applying for it and don’t choose something you don’t enjoy because you ‘think it could be a good career’ i.e. Accountancy if you don’t like Maths!
November It’s now time to send your application in for approval. Please don't wait until now if it's ready though. The deadline is Thursday 30 November. Your Progression Coach needs to look through your application first. Remember to check your spelling and grammar once again for the whole application. If there is one mistake it will be returned for correction! Check your UCAS account for comments about why it has been returned and your e-mail account too. You will receive an e-mail from the Careers Co-ordinator to notify you when your application has been sent off to UCAS. The following things were frequently missed off the UCAS application this year: ULN (Unique Learner Number) – ask your Progression Coach or Student Services for this, BTEC Registration number – check your certificate for this, GCSE grades (yes we need these too!), Nominated access – this is someone who can speak to UCAS on your behalf (usually a parent, guardian or relative), data monitoring information (parental education, have you been in care etc – this is essential for UCAS to monitor trends nationwide). You will need to pay the correct fee of either £13 for one choice or £24 for two to five choices. You can either pay online directly to UCAS or pay in Student Services and UCAS will invoice the College for your application.
December Happy Christmas! Stay up to date over the holidays. The UCAS News app would be great to download. It’s free and contains a mix of news and feature articles that’s updated weekly. Written by both professional journalists and student contributors, content covers everything from applying through UCAS, student life, work and careers, to gap years, city guides, recipes, life hacks, revision tips, and much more. https://www.ucas.com/advisers/guides-and-resources/adviser-news/news/tell-your-studentsabout-ucas-news-app
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January Happy New Year! 15 January 2018 is the UCAS deadline for the majority of undergraduate applications. It’s still possible to apply after this date but UCAS would consider it a ‘late ‘application. After your application has been sent off it’s important to then monitor your UCAS Track account on a frequent basis. You log in and it gives you key information on the status of your choices and whether you have been given an offer, invited for interview or been unsuccessful. It’s important to also check the e-mail account stated in your UCAS application regularly for e-mails from the universities and updates from UCAS. Please don’t miss out because you haven’t checked your account! A conditional offer means that you still need to meet the requirements, usually grades. An unconditional offer means that you’ve got a place although there might still be a few things to arrange. You still need to work hard to achieve the best results possible.
February Depending on when your application was sent off you may now be receiving invitations to interview. It’s not just the likes of Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work and Primary Education that invite people in it can be other courses too. You need to confirm your attendance for the interview/assessment and then thoroughly prepare as if you were getting ready for a job interview. Consider what to wear, how to get there, what you need to take and questions you may wish to ask. Read through the course profile and think about the questions you may be asked. Practice what you may say. You need to be professional, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It’s possible to book a mock uni interview with the Careers Co-ordinator.
March Student finance time! You will need to register online for your student finance account at https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-register-login Through this account you can apply for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan. A tuition fee loan gets paid directly to your university and the maintenance loan gets paid to you, usually in 3 instalments in September, January and April although dates may vary depending on your course start date.
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The amount of maintenance loan will vary according to the household income for who you live with, if you plan to live at home or away from home or if you will be studying in London. There is a student finance calculator to help you to plan your finances https://www.gov.uk/studentfinance-calculator. There may be additional support available in the form of a childcare grant, DSA (disabled students’ allowance) and adult dependant’s grant depending on your individual circumstances. Check the student finance website for further details. UCAS Extra is for students who have used all five choices and been unsuccessful with them. It allows you to add an extra choice, one at a time until you receive an offer. Further research is needed to select the extra choice. If you only applied for three or four choices initially you would use the remaining choices up to the maximum five choices first of all before you go into UCAS Extra.
April It’s now time to complete your student finance application as it can take a few months to be processed. Your parents or partner also need to support your application for you to be fully financially assessed and they also need to register for an account. Don't forget to send your declaration form off - Student Finance England need these so they have your signature on file that you agree to the terms and conditions of the student loans. If you are having any problems or difficulties with your student finance application please contact Gillian, the Careers Co-ordinator. Talk to universities about any additional financial support they can offer you – bursaries, scholarships, etc. and support available for any learning difficulties, disabilities or health conditions you may have. Find out what accommodation is available in the town or city where you will be studying – halls of residence, student flats or private accommodation. It’s important to get this sorted out. Check your UCAS Track account for your replying to offers deadline (this varies according to when you received your last offer) and make sure you reply in time. A firm choice is your first choice, where you want to go if you achieve the grades. The insurance choice is your second choice, a back-up if you are not successful in getting into your first choice.
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It’s highly advisable to have an insurance choice. If you fail to reply to your offers by the deadline set UCAS will ‘decline your offers by default.’ Keep checking e-mails for information from the uni, including details about applying for accommodation. It’s worth following them on social media to find out more before you enrol.
May The Student finance deadline is usually towards the end of May but please submit your application before then if possible. Devote some extra time to your studies for those final assignments to get the results you need for uni. Please ensure that you are complete any additional paperwork needed for your course such as a DBS check etc.
June Any UCAS applications received after 30 June 2018 are entered into Clearing. It’s not too late to apply though, have a chat with Gillian the Careers Co-ordinator. Create a budget for when your student finance is confirmed, including: rent, food, mobile bill, travel pass, clothes, nights out, etc. There is a budgeting spreadsheet on the Careers Moodle page you can use for this which also gives you tips on how to increase your income and decrease your expenditure.
July Clearing opens on 5 July. Clearing is for anyone who is not holding any offers (firm or insurance) from your initial applications including UCAS Extra, who does not have a confirmed place from your firm or insurance choice, has declined all of their choices or been declined by default, who has not yet applied and wishes to start in September 2018. https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/apply-and-track/results/no-offers-learn-howclearing-works
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August It’s results time! Many certificates are usually ready to collect before 16 August. 16 August 2018 is A Level Results day. Exam boards will have confirmed students’ results to UCAS who will update your account to show ‘Final place accepted’ if you met the tariff points. 23 August 2018 is GCSE Results day for students waiting on GCSE Maths, English or Biology results. Your place at university may not be confirmed until this day. Please keep checking your UCAS Track account if you are waiting for your final place to be accepted. Remember - it's your responsibility to ensure that you follow any instructions from the uni or college. UCAS Adjustment is a process available to any student that has exceeded the grade requirements of their firm offer. You can use Adjustment to swap your existing uni place for one at another university. If your results didn’t meet the tariff points requirement you need please have a chat with Gillian, the Careers Co-ordinator about the Clearing process and options available. Well done on your results and good luck from EDC with your future studies! We would love you to keep in touch with us and let us know how you get on, e-mail us at: alumni@eastdurham.ac.uk
September Congratulations, it’s now time to enrol at your chosen university or HE College. They will get in touch with you with details of their enrolment and start of term information. Please keep all your key documents safe – certificates and ID documents. Best wishes and we hope you enjoy the experience of being a HE student!
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