In February of Year 12, we offer a UCAS Information Evening for parents and students. At this evening, we will discuss the UCAS process, Finance, and a Representative from a local University will talk about how to make an application stand out. We also invite parents and students who have been through the process to talk through their experience.
The UCAS website provides some excellent links for parental information including the Parent Guide.
UCAS Information
With over 50000 courses in 300 different institutions, the decision of which university course you choose is not one to be taken lightly. Along with the support you will receive from the tutoring team, the following information will provide advice to help you on your way.
Thinking and Researching
Subjects
There are may more subjects on offer at university than the pure academic subjects on offer at school. Try to find out all the variations of subjects that might be linked to your A2 Subjects.
Places
Consider where you would like to live – sounds obvious but are you a person who likes cities? The Countryside? To be as far away from home as possible? To be as close to home as possible?
Courses and tutors may change but the place will remain the same. Reflecting on where will help you find a way of narrowing down your field of research.
Get Talking
Talk to:-
- Friends doing the same subject
- Parents
- Teachers of the subject
- Yr13 whom have made applications
Go to the Common room
There is a selection of University Prospectuses there. Start some subject searches. Look at websites. www.ucas.com has a wealth of extremely useful information, designed precisely for someone like you.
Go on Visits
Many Universities and Colleges run Open Days during the summer. You don’t need to go to lots but choose those that you are most likely to apply to and check it out. It is surprising how strongly you may feel when you see a place. If you visit, record some comments for other Sixth Formers to read – share your knowledge.
You don’t need to have made decisions about where you want to study before you write your personal statement but you do need to be reasonably clear about what you want to study so that your personal statement reflects your interest in the subject. You also need to be aware of the differences in the ways a subject is taught at different institutions.