WELCOME No fire alarms scheduled Please ensure that you do visit - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

WELCOME

– No fire alarms scheduled – Please ensure that you do visit the many universities that have travelled to provide information and support to you today – HE Booklet - from today through year 13! – Refreshments – donation to Immersion – Feedback form at the end of tonight!

WELCOME

– Head of Year 13

• Mrs Gilding

– Assistant Head of Year 13

• Miss Hill

– Student Mentoring and Support

• Mr Conchie

OVERVIEW - HIGHER EDUCATION WEEK

Tuesday – Thursday: 10 – 12th July 2018

• Introduction to UCAS

– The website, navigation and the overall process

• Research on University courses/ Future options
• Specialist sessions on Wednesday afternoon
• Personal statements
• Student finance overview
• Guidance on CV writing and apprenticeships

OVERVIEW - HIGHER EDUCATION WEEK

Friday, 13th July 2018

• Results Day – further details to follow
• Oxbridge talk at 9.30am

–Martina Cheadle –Former head girl –Just completed Engineering degree

UCAS – KEY MILESTONES

Early Applicants

• Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary Studies,

Oxbridge

• Individual school deadline

–28th September 2018

UCAS – KEY MILESTONES

All Other Applicants

• Individual school deadline

–2nd November 2018

Welcome

 Jonathan Niewiadomski

It’s the Keele difference.

St Joseph’s College

Higher Education Evening – Monday 18th June 2018

It’s the Keele difference.

Overview

• The UCAS Application Process
• Personal Statements
• Student Finance

It’s the Keele difference.

Who are UCAS?

• Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
• Only way to apply for Undergraduate courses
• UCAS does not accept or reject applicants
• Range of services to students,

schools/colleges, parents, universities etc.

It’s the Keele difference.

Some statistics…

• 36,000+ courses on offer
• Over 350 different institutions within UCAS
• Around 500,000 students placed in full-time UK

higher education each year

It’s the Keele difference.

UCAS Apply

• Apply online for up to 5 institutions / courses
• Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science – only four

choices plus an alternative course, different application deadlines

• Oxford/Cambridge – can only apply to one or the
• ther, different application deadlines
• No preference through the initial application – listed

in alphabetical order

It’s the Keele difference.

UCAS Apply

• The application fee for UCAS is £24 for two or

more choices and all applications after 30th June

• r £13 for a single choice
• UCAS ID number – UCAS and universities will

ask for this if you ever have to contact them

It’s the Keele difference.

UCAS Track

• Welcome screen – what is currently happening

with application (i.e. deadline to reply to offers)

• Update personal details
• View decisions from universities
• Receive interview details
• Make Firm and Insurance choices

It’s the Keele difference.

Key Dates

It’s the Keele difference.

Extra

• If you have used all 5 choices, and have not

received any offers, or have declined all of the

• ffers you have received.
• Also an opportunity to apply after the 15th

January deadline. Options may be limited.

• You can apply for one course at a time through

Extra, until you receive an offer which you accept.

It’s the Keele difference.

Clearing

• Takes place on and after A Level Results Day in

August.

• An opportunity to find a place if you are not

accepted by your Firm or Insurance choice university after receiving your results.

• Also a chance for applicants who do not hold an
• ffer to find a university place or for a late

application (all applications after 30th June are held for Clearing).

It’s the Keele difference.

Adjustment

• If you've met or exceeded the conditions for your

Firm choice, an opportunity to look for an alternative course or university.

• You still hold your Confirmed place while

looking.

It’s the Keele difference.

What do universities look at?

• Achieved GCSE grades
• Predicted A Level/BTEC grades
• Interview / admission test results – if relevant
• Teacher reference
• Personal statement…

It’s the Keele difference.

Personal Statement

• Show enthusiasm and commitment
• One statement for all 5 choices
• 47 lines or 4000 characters
• Well structured and relevant
• Analytical, not just descriptive
• Questions at interview are often based on the

personal statement

It’s the Keele difference.

Personal Statement

• Why do you want to study the chosen subject?
• What abilities / motivations / knowledge do you

have?

• Career goals / aspirations?
• Skills: work experience, positions of

responsibility, interests

• Plans for a gap year?

It’s the Keele difference.

Do!

• Think about the starting sentence and finish

positively

• Make words work for you – a positive vocabulary

e.g. ‘achieved’, ‘committed’

• Style – keep it simple
• Try to inject some individuality
• Demonstrate skills, evidence your claims – link

to the course/subject applied to

It’s the Keele difference.

Don’t!

• Start with ‘I have always been fascinated by…’
• r ‘I have always wanted to be…’
• Start every sentence with ‘I’
• Repeat information that is elsewhere
• Refer to any university by name
• Produce lists and include unnecessary waffle
• Be careful of using quotations

It’s the Keele difference.

Common mistakes

• ‘Dodgy’ unsuitable email addresses
• Using a school email address
• Assuming software has checks for spelling and

grammar

It’s the Keele difference.

What to do in Year 12

• Start researching course choices
• Attend a UCAS Exhibition or HE Fair
• Order prospectuses
• Open Days
• Register for admissions tests
• Work experience / volunteering
• Wider reading in support of application

It’s the Keele difference.

What to do in Year 13

• Submit applications to UCAS and Student

Finance England

• Prepare for interviews
• Visit Days / Offer Holder Days
• Make Firm and Insurance choices
• Work hard and revise! - take exams
• Check UCAS Track on Results Day
• Confirm place at your chosen university

It’s the Keele difference.

It’s the Keele difference.

Student Finance – Very Important!

• Please note that the following information

applies to 2018 entry and is very much subject to change!

• The Government has announced a review of

Post-18 Education and Funding, to include university fees and student financial support.

• The review is expected to report in early 2019

and may have a bearing on 2019 entry (at the very earliest).

It’s the Keele difference.

Why do people need student finance?

• There are two main costs associated with going

to university – tuition fees and living costs

• Don’t have to take out a loan to go to university

– tuition fees can be paid upfront

• Fees need to be paid in order to go to university

It’s the Keele difference.

Support available – Tuition Fees

• Don’t have to pay anything upfront – a Tuition Fee

Loan is available to cover the fees charged by a university

• Tuition Fee Loans are not dependent on household

income

• The money is paid directly to the university by

Student Finance England

It’s the Keele difference.

Support available – Maintenance Loans

• Maintenance Loans are available to eligible students

to help towards living costs while in higher education

• Your Maintenance Loan is paid directly into your

bank account each term

• The amount of Maintenance Loan you can get

depends on where you live and study and also on parental household income – you may not be entitled to apply for the maximum Maintenance Loan available

It’s the Keele difference.

Support available – Maintenance Loans

• Maintenance Loans are intended to contribute

towards your living costs but may not cover everything

• Students may also receive financial support from

their parents or get a part-time job

It’s the Keele difference.

Maximum Maintenance Loans – 2018/19

It’s the Keele difference.

Repayments

• Do not need to start making repayments until the April

after leaving university and earning over £25,000 per year

• Repay 9% of income above £25,000 threshold a year,

deductions will be made directly from pay through the HMRC tax system

• If income falls below the threshold, payments will stop
• Any outstanding balance will be written off after 30 years

It’s the Keele difference.

Repayments

It’s the Keele difference.

Interest

• The interest rate for September is currently set based on

the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation in March each year

• The maximum interest rate is RPI+3% - which is

expected to be 6.3% from September 2018

• While studying and until the April after leaving the

course, interest is at the maximum rate of RPI+3%

• From 6th April until the loan is repaid in full (or 30 years

have passed), the interest rate is variable and dependent

• n income – between RPI and RPI+3%

It’s the Keele difference.

Support available – Extra Support

Students who start at Keele in 2018 could be eligible for the following Bursaries and Scholarships: The Keele Excellence Scholarship – £1,000 in Year 1 (pre-entry grade specific) The Keele University Bursary – £1,000 per year (household income dependent) The Care Leavers' and Estranged Students' Bursary – £1,000 per year (for students who are currently or have been in care) *Bursaries and Scholarships change every year – check online for the latest details and Ts&Cs*

It’s the Keele difference.

Useful Resource

• Martin Lewis – Student Loans Mythbusting - The truth

about uni fees, loans and grants

• Google ‘Martin Lewis Student Loans’
• Impartial information on the current system

Open Days 2018

Sat 16th June Sun 19th August Sat 13th October Sun 14th October Sat 1st December

keele.ac.uk/opendays