HE Application Process What have we done so far? HE process started - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

HE Application Process

UCAS – Applying to University

What have we done so far?

• HE process started in February this year

with a general introductory talk on Higher Education & applying to University with Gordon Collins

• This month – we launched ‘BridgeU’ – a

digital platform for pupils & tutors. Pupils have started to build their profiles – looking at suggested courses

aks School

hayley@bridge-u.com www.bridge-u.com (+44) 7580 425 886

Smarter University Preparation

A Guide to BridgeU for parents

“BridgeU is, amongst other things, an excellent way to help students see what alternative, similar degree courses are available that they might not have thought

• about. The system is extremely easy to

use with the added bonus that tutors can see the development of their tutees university research.“ “BridgeU provides a one-stop-shop allowing students and families to make better informed decisions about where to apply."

Your BridgeU Home Page

BridgeU’s range of applications to help guide pupils through the University preparation process. University Matches <> Shortlist <> Applications Strategy Advisor <> Writing Builder

Home Page - Tasks

Advisor (LHS) will set tasks for pupils to complete and ‘Send for Review’ before the given deadlines that will be built in to the BridgeU platform

Profile Builder

Pupils complete the Profile Builder to get their BridgeU recommended University Matches

Basic Info: Fill out the basic details and choose which destinations you want to study in Education: Enter your progress report or predicted A-level/IB Grades Subject Interests: Explore and choose subject areas that interest you Personal Preferences: Answer the questions to personalise your University matches to fit your favoured learning style. Get your University Matches Click here to start seeing the recommended Universities and courses matches from BridgeU

Shortlist

Shortlisted Universities are bookmarked here so pupils can do further research and determine which Universities they will apply to.

Click on the Begin button to go to the scrapbook page to see more information and to make notes about the University/course. Click apply here to confirm that this one of your final University choices Use the Add button to shortlist universities/courses that weren’t recommended to you on the University Matches page

Strategy Advisor

In this section pupils collate their academic and extra-curricular experiences and BridgeU will tell them when to use these experiences to bolster their University Application

Collect Your Experiences: Answer our questions about your experiences Identify Your Strategy Factors: Tag your experiences Improve Your Strategy: See how many experiences you have in each area and learn from the examples given how to gain further relevant experiences Strategy Report: Use this section to select which experiences to use for each University application

Writing Builder

Get feedback from their tutors by inputting and editing the most up to date version of their Personal Statement, Common App Essay or University Application essays here

Annotated Essay’s: Read through the highlighted example application essays from previously students Advisor Comments: After your advisor has reviewed your essay, you’ll see highlighted sections of your essay, which will have comments and suggested changes.

What Additional Resources Are Available to Students & Parents?

• HE Guide – hard copy that the students get,

available also on Firefly & Website to download www.millhill.org.uk under ‘Information for Parents’ – copy will go out via Parent Mail

• Oxbridge Guidance Booklet – as above
• Personal Statement Writing Guide & Template –

as above

• UCAS Parent Guide & Finance Guide available

to download from UCAS.com

• https://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/parents-

and-guardians/parent-guide

• Open Day link to all UK Universities to

book www.opendays.com

• Student Halls Comparison Site

www.hallbookers.co.uk

• Find UK Scholarships

www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk

• Visit a UCAS Higher Ed Exhibition 27th

March at Excel, 22-23rd June University of East London – book via UCAS.com

Research & Organisation

Key to Success…and making the process less stressful!

• The more organised pupils are, the easier

they make life for themselves

• Pupils have to take responsibility for this

process – this is their application & even with all guidance and support available, how successful they will be, will be determined by the effort they expend now

• Be proactive!

Getting Started

• Register on Apply 18 from Late May/June –

LHS will provide the ‘Buzzword’ to allow pupils to register as a pupil at Mill Hill School – this will be available on the Higher Education section on Firefly

• Find out when the Open Days are on & book a

place (easy to do online) & go and visit

• Download the information for each university

you are interested in & look at the course structure & average offers made – do you need to email the admissions tutors to ask questions?

• The application process is time consuming even

after you have finished your bit….

• LHS has to check the student application &

approve all qualifications, fee codes etc. & often, applications will be sent back to be corrected…several times. Notification is sent by email – so pupils need to check their email!

• Only when the student application is complete,

can the staff reference be looked at. This process goes through the Tutor, HM, LHS & the Head before LHS can send the completed application off to UCAS electronically

Key Dates

• Deadlines MUST be adhered to
• Oxbridge, Medics, Dentists & Vets – October

15th with UCAS (Half Term is 20th October this year)

• All applications to guarantee being sent off by

October Half Term – submitted for approval to LHS week before

• General Applications to guarantee being sent off

by end of Christmas term – December 15th 2017 need to be ready 1 week before this date

• Final UCAS deadline January 15th 2018 6pm

Additional/Admissions Tests

• These are becoming more common
• BMAT – Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL & Royal

Veterinary College

• UKCAT (see full list in the HE/UCAS Booklet on the web

site & VLE)

• LNAT – Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Glasgow,

Nottingham, Oxford, UCL & Kings London

• Cambridge Assessments – for Oxbridge Applications
• Imperial/UCL & LSE
• Pupils must research what requirements there are for

their course, as specific deadlines exist & they have to register for these tests often outside of school

• This is an additional demand on students

and often, these tests are testing skills that are endemic at A Level study – analysis, evaluation, synthesis and cannot be ‘revised’ or ‘crammed’ for – we work with an external company called ‘Uni Admissions’ to prepare students for all the admissions tests listed, including those not applying to Oxbridge.

Additional Tests Continued..

• At a recent ‘Cambridge Admissions Conference’
• ne of the Admissions Tutors explained that

each year the bar has to be moved/altered slightly with tests such as the BMAT/TSA, as schools are so good at coaching students for these (!)

• He was keen to stress that these additional tests

are to test for potential & aptitude & NOT subject knowledge that can be revised for

Useful Links

• http://www.lnat.ac.uk
• http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessme

nt.org.uk/adt/ (Cambridge Admissions Tests)

• http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/
• http://www.fulbright.co.uk/ (American University

Information)

• http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearni

ng/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinan ce/index.htm (Student Finance)

Useful Links Continued…

• www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus

(European study/work programmes)

• www.offa.org.uk/students (Information

regarding accessing bursaries)

• https://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-

works/parents-and-guardians/parent-guide (Parent/Guardian Guide 2017/2018)

Competitive Admissions

Mr Sam Baldock Assistant Head (Academic)

Which UK institutions may be considered ‘generally’ competitive?

• University of Bath
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University College London

(UCL)

• The Courtauld Institute of

Art

• Durham University
• Imperial College of Science,

Technology and Medicine

• University of Exeter
• London School of

Economics (LSE)

• University of Oxford
• University of St Andrews
• University of Warwick

What makes an application stand

• ut?
• Almost all applicants will be predicted A*/A grades

across their A level subjects

• Evidence for individual engagement in the

relevant discipline and ‘course readiness’: – informed opinions on reading beyond the syllabus – extended writing on an area of particular interest – active participation in subject societies – external lectures/seminars/memberships – work experience/specific skills developed in co- curricular activities may be relevant

Applying to Oxford or Cambridge

Two myths debunked:

• “Applicants from

independent schools are at a disadvantage”

• “Oxford and

Cambridge are the most competitive universities to get into”

Applying to Oxford or Cambridge

• Choose the course before the institution,

and listen to honest advice from your teachers on suitability

• Early deadline for application (15

October)

• You apply to a college, rather than to a

department

• Oxford have historically filtered by GCSE

grades, Cambridge with AS scores – new A levels mean both are relying more

• n pre-interview testing
• Don’t over-invest your emotions in one

application

Applying to Medical School

• All medical schools give

an excellent training in becoming a doctor, so the choice of where to apply should not be dictated by the academic reputation that an institution has in other subjects

• “I am good at science

and want to help people” – Medicine is not the

• nly route

Applying to Medical School

• Most medical schools require a good

performance in an aptitude test (most UKCAT, some BMAT) before being called to interview

• ‘Spreading the risk’ is essential, as is

tailoring the personal statement/reference to particular medical schools

• Candidates need work experience that

informs them about the life of a healthcare professional - not “medical tourism”

• Beware of the “application help”

Applying to Law School

Law degree Non-law degree + Graduate Diploma in Law 3 years At least 3 + 1 years Wide variety of legal subjects Any subject at university then 7 core legal subjects Developing understanding of legal research and academic law Intense burst of study relevant to practising law

Applying to Law School

• LNAT aptitude test required by

many institutions

• Evidence of engagement in

academic law and discussion

• f legal problems (debating,

Politics Society, MUN)

• Developing precision in essay

writing

• Candidates need work

experience (use OM Office)

Gordon Collins CES London

NOW

• This is the start of the HE process i.e. looking at

the options available.

• You need to take into account your interests,

likely grade requirements and if you are taking the appropriate subjects.

• You also need to take into account the many

different ways that courses can be run and their

• utcomes.

• Going to university is the most expensive thing

you will do apart from buying a property.

• A recent survey found that 25% of students at

the end of their 1st year wished they had done another course.

TYPES OF DEGREES

• Training
• Vocational
• Sciences
• Non vocational academic
• Mock Vocational

Structures

• Single honours (generalist or specific)
• Joint honours
• Mixed
• Sandwich
• Straight
• Masters or BA/Bsc

Types of University

• Campus/City
• Science/Technology
• Arts
• Generalist
• Specialist
• Private

Sandwich

• Sandwich degrees can be very beneficial
• BUT, the level of support in getting a sandwich

placement varies and in some areas, such as psychology, may be more voluntary work than paid employment.

• You need to do research and ask questions.

TO CONSIDER

• The quota system has been dropped and

universities can expand as much as they want.

• The number of 18yr olds has dropped by 10%

since 2009. The number people from England applying to UCAS dropped by 6% last year

• In 2015 44% of Russell Group Universities

accepted BBB, compared to 20% in 2011

• In broad terms people are increasingly ‘trading

up’

• The very elite e.g. Imperial, LSE, UCL, have

become more competitive as people ‘trade up’

• The good, but note super elite, such as Leeds

and Manchester have become slightly easier, but it will vary by course.

• The good middle, e.g. Leicester, Aston, Royal

Holloway have become easier.

• Some others, e.g. Hull, Keele have become

much easier.

• You can be more optimistic than in the recent

past BUT do not assume the very elite have got easier.

• If you work hard and put the extra mile in you

may well be able to go to a university that 3-4 years ago you would not have got into

• Most of you are an EU citizen (Brexit)
• There is a jobs market (very important)

Choosing Universities

• University ranking
• Course ranking
• Drop out rate
• Grades Required
• Application Ratio
• Research/Vocational
• Campus/City
• The way the course is taught/examined
• Specific facilities
• Cost of living

GOLDEN RULE

• Start from the course in and not

the university out.

SPREAD YOUR RISK

• You normally have 5 choices
• Many courses at ‘top’ universities are A*AA-AAB
• Your insurance choice is important
• I suggest 3 within your grade range, 1 a bit
• ptimistic and 1 a bit pessimistic

TESTS

• An increasing number of universities and

courses are using admissions tests in addition to GCSEs and A level results.

• The most famous are LNAT and UKCAT.
• Practice makes perfect.
• Weight given

GETTING THE MOST FROM UNIVERSITY

• Use the experience to gain skills that make you
• employable. The more you get involved the

better experience you will have and the better you will do in the graduate employment market.

Soft Skills

• Verbal & written communication
• Enthusiasm
• Problem solving ability
• Numeracy
• IT skills
• Business Awareness
• Team Work
• Work Ethic

ALSO

• Have a squeaky clean digital footprint
• Try and pick up/improve on any language skills

• You must like your area of study (3-4 years is a

long time)

• Make sure your university has a ‘Good

reputation’ (it does not have to be an academic elite)

• Make sure you will be happy living there for 3-4

years.

INTERESTING NOTES

• A survey of 1,000 year 13 students found; 23%

did not attend any open days and only a quarter “felt certain they had enough advice from school

• r college to make an informed choice”.
• 24% said they wished they had chosen different

A-levels for the degree they were applying for.

• Around 19% of students fail to complete their

course, after dropping out, transferring to another university or graduating with an alternative qualification.

• You need to look at the big picture: where, what,

how much and what do I get from it

• 90% of students agreed with the statement ‘I’ve

enjoyed being at university and would recommend it to others’

• Less than 20% felt that ‘Being at university has

prepared me well for the working world’ (especially Russell Group)

To Do Now

• Look at the courses available
• Look at the grades required/experience needed
• Look at the ways the course is offered
• Look at potential universities (not just UK)
• Use UCAS.com
• Studentladder.co.uk has details on courses,

work placements, internships, apprenticeships and aptitude tests for people aged 16-24. You can register to receive updates.

Useful websites

• Ucas.com
• Bestcourse4me.com
• Push.co.uk
• TheStudentRoom.co.uk
• Prospects.sc.uk
• Unofficial-Guides.com
• Studentladder.co.uk

JOBS

• Over 50% of graduate level jobs are open to any

degree area BUT half the employers on a survey of major graduate recruiters said that students with no work experience have "little or no chance" of receiving a job offer

• Some ask for broad subject areas
• The graduate job market is now back to pre

recession levels

• However, many more people now go to

university

THERE IS A JOBS MARKET

• Most major employers recruit at A level and at

degree.

• Most major accountancy firms are keen to

increase the A level entry cohort.

• Apprenticeship levy
• A number of major employers offer a joint

study/work package (Degree Apprenticeships).

• The best resource is: Notgoingtouni.co.uk

Opportunities

Iver Make-up Academy at Pinewood Studios have courses in make-up and hair artistry, including a 30-week Advanced Certificate in Make-up and Hair

• Artistry. All graduates become members of the Iver Agency, which helps to

secure work placements. Trainee Civil Engineer (Construction Management) - ideal for people who enjoy the practical application of maths and physics. If you like working

• utdoors in a fast-paced environment with the opportunity to see the physical

results of your work, this role could be for you. Apprentice Project Manager in Consultancy - great for people who are

• rganised, enjoy interacting with different types of people and are keen to

deliver excellent customer service to key clients. Apprentice Quantity Surveyor - Ideal for people who enjoy working with

• numbers. This role is about managing costs of major construction projects.

IBM are offering level 4 Higher Apprenticeships in ICT and Business, with a starting salary of £18,000. You need 5 GCSEs A-C (including maths & English) and a minimum of 64 UCAS points.

Many apprenticeships in finance, engineering and technology

ENJOY YOURSELF

• For most people going to university is the

formative event in their life

• Get involved, get the right mix between fun and

study

• Get work experiences.
• Do new things
• I publish a fortnightly newsletter for schools on

careers & education. If you want to receive it; email me: Gordon.ceslondon@gmail.com