#6 Receiving and Responding to UCAS offers

As a UCAS student, be prepared to spend many a free period constantly refreshing track or your emails...
When a university replies to your offer you will get an email notification saying that 'your status has changed' with a link to your track, when you have your offer, click on it and it will give you your conditions. These will outline what it is you need to achieve for the university to grant you a place (Unless you are lucky enough to be granted an Unconditional offer!), and range from UCAS points to grades, to extra qualifications. Make sure you read these offers very carefully and consider them. Also have a look to see how above or below the standard offer for your course they are, this can give an indication of either a) how much they like and want you or b) how over/under subscribed your course is!

If you are unfortunate enough to receive any rejections, it is worth emailing them to find out why, in case there is a mistake, or you can learn from an error in your application.

Once you have heard back from all of your universities, you have a certain amount of time to respond to these offers (this will be displayed in your track). Think very carefully about which university offer to select as your Firm and your Insurance, and make sure, unless you really badly want that firm, that your insurance choice has a lower requirement than your firm!
You have to select from a menu either 'Firm' , 'Insurance' or 'Decline' for each course that you have applied for, and (last year at least) you had to select the options all at once.

Best of luck to all. I hope this was clear as I feel I rambled a tad!

#5 The UCAS Application

I'm afraid I can't offer specific advice with screen shots and the such like because UCAS has undergone a bit of a shiny update... so I don't know how similar things are to how they were when I applied a year ago!

But my advice is as follows:

1. Apply early - this doesn't always guarentee quick answers, but it puts you at the front of the queue and takes the pressure off of you.
2. Have your first draft of your personal statement by the time you're back after the summer, and have an idea of your top unis first
3. If in any doubt about any part of the application, first ask your form tutor or head of year, if they can't help, give UCAS a call or check their FAQs
4. In general  the process is really quite straight forward, just check everything you write for typos, and make sure you have the correct email etc (though personal details can be changed after application)
5.  As an aside to '4', I was quite daunted by the fact that my school never gave us any hints about what the application process is like. Watch videos to help such as this one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZGb7nQEQ8M
6. If you didn't do as well as expected on an AS exam you still enter the grade on UCAS. For example I unfortunately got an E in AQA History at AS, so i resat. You enter the subject twice into your qualifications, once with your current grade (E for me) and once with grad 'Pending', which indicates that you are resitting one or more modules in order to change your overall grade.
7. Remember to enter other qualifications (I did the AQABacc Extended project but forgot to declare it... whoops! Thankfully my head of Sixth Form said that UCAS will pick up on this and the unis will get my result anyway!)
• add anything which gives you UCAS points! For example some music and dance examinations do... for a full list see here ... http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables 

GOOD LUCK! I hope I've covered everything useful, but if you have any questions please 

#4 Open Days

Most of my other posts have been quite planned, this one however I'm starting because I can't sleep and I haven't posted in a while! - I may just publish this however it ends up then come back to it after my holiday ( just over a week) and refine it!

So here are my tips:

• Take parents for a number of reasons. Firstly, they ask good and sensible questions, Secondly, they care about your life choices! Thirdly - THEY MIGHT BUY YOU LUNCH ;) - I took my parents to all but one of my open days, its nice to have independence, but I realy wouldn't advise going to your first one alone!
• Take a prospectus and any info you already have - it can be easier to annotate these in course/accommodation/finance meetings than to write a whole new set of notes
• Despite the above point... TAKE A NOTEBOOK. In the front or back have a plan of what you want to do when, ad alternative times in case you don't make it! Know the rooms and roughly where they are (when you register for an OD, they normally send you a map). Great for making notes in - Not so much in the course talks as most of this is in the prospectus, but with lots of the unis I visited I found the accommodation pages were a bit skimpy in the prospectus, so most of my notes on accommodation were in my little notebook!
• MAP- Circle all of the relevant buildings and tick them off as you do them
• Ask every question that pops into your head (or make your parents do it) Consider what is important to you
• Accommodation
• On or off campus?
• shared/en suite availability
• catered/ self catered
• layout ('traditional' corridor halls, flats, blocks etc) - how do you want to live
• how many people will you share what with (would you consider sharing ONE bathroom with more than about 5 people - I could maybe stretch to 6...)
• How big is your kitchen - You want to be able to move, and you ideally want 2 or more cupboards (more is ideal but mostly I found you get 2, and maybe a drawer)
• Cleaning - which areas get cleaned, how often
• how far away is it from campus? how far away is it from town? how EASILY can you get there? Is there a shuttle bus or do you have to walk?
• RENT (Very important!) - consider how much student loan you might get if you will have to pay for accommodation out of it. The basic, for people whose parents earn over £62,000 pa is something along the lines of £3757 (I think, don't quote me) , but if you go to the Student Finance England page there is a calculator there so you can see how much you are entitled to. Also see if you are eligible for a scholarship - this alone might be enough for accommodation if you're lucky! 
• Your course
• how is it assessed? are you better at coursework/practicals/exams?
• does the first year count towards your final grade?
• What modules are there, and how much is choice?!

#3 Personal Statements!

Here are 10 top tips for writing your personal statement! They aren't in any particular order, but I hope they help! Let me know if you want to ask any other questions :)



1- Start with a unique statement about yourself or your course – DON’T start with “from a young age I have always been passionate about _____” it sounds dull and robotic!


2- Bear in mind the word/character count. It is not your choice weather they count characters or words, it’s whichever it reaches first! So be prepared to reword and cut!


3- Put in extra-curricular but not too much – otherwise it will seem like you have too many interests, no focus and no time to study! Brain storm them and decide what qualities they give you and include the most relevant ones, say what you have gained from them and how this has changed you and may contribute to your future e.g. if you help out with young children at a club, it may have made you decide you want to be a teacher or a children’s nurse!


4- Re-draft like hell, make use of your head of year, form teachers, subject teachers, family and friends as all are valuable! (I did 7 drafts – I think my head of year got rather sick of them!But it’s their job to help you!)


5- Don't listen to people who tell you the universities don't read them - make it as good as possible, just in case! Most universities probably do read them!


6- Include things which make you seem like you will be a valuable member of university society - e.g I added that I contribute to a local magazine in articles, design and photography, as well as organising events through the same company – this suggests I may become a member of relevant societies and bring skills to the university.


7- Yep, embellish a bit to stand out, but don't lie. – If you are going for interview, you need to know your PS inside out!


8- Show interest in particular areas of your subject. Don’t align it to just one course if you can help it, so make sure what you’re talking about is covered in all of the courses you’re applying to, otherwise they will wonder why you are applying to them when they don’t offer it!


9- Say what you look forward to/ where you hope to do, this shows passion (no! Not the P word! Try interest, intrigued by and various alternatives! PASSION is a last resort!) and commitment to your subject, studying and future – they want successful alumni!


10- Show how you have already expanded your interest in the subject you are going to study e.g. magazines, TV, Books, clubs, work experience.

#2 Choices at the end of Year 12

So, all of your AS exams are done - its time to celebrate and put your feet up! - for about a week. Then you need to get into gear for choosing your uni or college (or neither, but if so, why are you reading a blog about going from Sixth Form to University?!)
So, when you pick your uni, before you order any prospectuses, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself. This is the order I asked them in, but it will vary from person to person:

1. How far away from home do I want to be? Do you want to be close by so you can pop home every weekend? If so, don't even bother looking at anywhere more than and hour and a half's train journey away just in case you fall in love with it but then don't want to go because its too far away (also check the open uni! They have so many courses on offer, you can go at your own pace and you can have a regular job at the same time!). Do you want to get as far away as possible? How far? Abroad (also take into account that almost every uni has a year abroad option for your 2nd year) or just in the same country. Or do you really not care where your uni is at all (like me).
2. What course do you want to do? For me I always knew; Geography. Obviously some people have no clue - In this case I would write a list of things you are interested in that you have or haven't studied before - if there are lots consider a joint degree - and type these into the UCAS course finder http://search.ucas.com/ . Also make sure you are looking for the right kind of course. If you have no prior degree you look for Undergraduate! Remember if there are two different courses you like, you might be able to do them as a joint course!
3. Just how easily can I get home from the different unis? Very important. Who wants to lug a suitcase across 3 rail changes when you go back for Christmas! Check out http://www.thetrainline.com/?href=ppcg_trainline&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_ev=click&gclid=COT16JLE6bcCFVMetAode0sAmQ for how many changes you might face! Remember, some unis even have their own train station! Also, if you drive and will take a car to uni, even if not until year 2 or 3, see how easy it is to drive there!
4. What are the entry requirements? Check this before you look at a course. If you are predicted BBC you don't want to fall in love with a course wanting AAB (believe me, I've been there). Look at a good range of universities within realistic reach and a few above what you expect to get, and a few below just to safety net yourself - or you'll end up like me on AS results day, realising I had only really looked at universities which wanted A-- when I wasn't at all likely to get an A in anything.

And when you've answered those, here are some more questions, to help you sift through the prospectuses! 

• Is the course accredited? Many courses are officially accredited by national organisations, making them look much better qualifications, and may mean you can get a shortcut to becoming a member of these national institutes or societies. e.g. Psychology or Geology. If there is a society in your field you already know about, their website may list accredited degrees.
• How long do I want to be there for?  A standard Bachelors degree is 3 years and a Masters is 4. for some qualifications (namely medicine, among others) some courses may be up to 5 years long - full time! There's also the opportunity to study part time if you want to!
• What modules are covered in the course? Is there one area you are interested in? For example one of my friends hoping to study English realised that one of her top universities only studied work from the Renaissance and after, whereas she was also interested in middle English, Chaucer and Beowulf! 
• What facilities are there? If you're an avid sportsperson, you don't want to end up somewhere with no gym/pool/pitch/stables!

Some Dos and Donn'ts:

• Don't discard somewhere just because you've heard something bad about the area. For example, I'm hoping to go to the University of Hull, and everyone seems to think the university is going to be horrible and I'm going to get burgled and raped just because there's a rough bit of town! Everywhere has a rough area, and campuses and student accommodation most likely have regular, if not 24/7 security!
• Do look at places just because your friends are! Don't choose them as a Firm choice just because your friends are, but its worth checking out places you might have missed!
• Do go to your local university fair! Even if you already think you've made up your mind, get more prospectuses! And there are ALWAYS free pens!
• Do try to narrow your universities down to about 6 or 7 before you book open days. Remember you have 5 choices on UCAS, so give yourself some leeway in case you just don't get the right feeling at the place which has the best course. You will get a feel when you visit the right place for you - you will know it!

For now, that it all I can think of. Happy Prospectus ordering and I hope I've helped :)

#1 Mid A2 Exams

Bonjour?

Obviously, while procrastinating from doing my A2 exams, I've been beginning to get rather excited about uni and ,naturally, have been googling, you-tubing etc to find out what I can about what to expect at uni...

So I thought - wouldn't it be swell if someone put ALL of their uni experiences all in one place? From applying to graduating and finding a job, and that's what I hope to do!
Obviously, I'm starting a bit late now, to write about my UCAS application and Uni offers as it all happens, but hopefully I will be able to give you (if there is a 'you' reading this) an idea of what it was like and some top tips (especially for CV and Personal Statement Building and writing).

Obviously at the moment it's not really the right time to start blogging and the idea is still in it's infancy, but if you bare with me, once my exams are over (aka next week), I will start from where I was this time last year.
If this helps just one person, I'll be happy :)

Chow xx