Welcome to the Year 12 Higher Education Information Evening

University and Colleges Admissions Service

Options….

Your son/daughter has to choose from over

51,000 courses at over 325 universities and colleges

Preparation & SupportYear 12

• Discussions on enrolment day• PSE – speakers from local universities • April 2015 - UCAS convention• Activity week – 15-19 June 2015• Work experience programme• Newcastle & Northumbria open day – Friday 26 June 2015• Given the opportunity to attend a full programme of

activities, including summer schools, taster days and open days

Preparation & Support

Year 13• Resources include university prospectus

and internet access in library available for ALL students

• Advice and guidance from tutors, sixth form management team, learning mentor and subject teachers

• ALL UCAS forms are checked before submission to ensure accuracy

Things to consider

Locality

SizeCity or countryside

Facilities

Academic prestigeCourse availability

‘New’ or ‘Old’ university

Graduate employment rates

League tables

Accommodation

Entry requirements Costs

Course Types

Once they have decided on their subject they then need to decide whether to apply for one subject or combine the subject into one qualification. The length of time spent on each subject can often be determined by the student:

• JOINT – 50/50• MAJOR/MINOR – usually 75%/25%

Course Types…

SANDWICH COURSES – students can opt for a 4 year programme where they will spend a year in industry. It is normally the third year of the degree course and depending on the employer may be full time paid employment.

LANGUAGES – some students are given the opportunity to study abroad in their third year, learning a language whilst immersing themselves in the culture.

Offers

Offers can be based on grades or on UCAS tariff points

Some universities use grade offers i.e. ABB and may have stipulations to the A grade being in a particular subject

Others use a points based system for their offers:

Grade Tariff pointsGCE & AVCE Double Award

GCE A level and AVCE

GCE AS Double Award

GCE AS & AS VCE

A*A* 280A*A 260AA 240AB 220BB 200BC 180 170CC 160 150CD A* 140DD A AA 120 AB 110DE B BB 100 BC 90EE C CC 80 CD 70 D DD A 60 DE B 50 E EE C 40 D 30 E 20

Admissions Tests• Some universities/courses ask candidates to take a

written assessment as an extra part of their application process.

• Most common:• Medicine – BMAT, UKCAT• Dentistry – UKCAT• Law – LNAT• Teaching - QTS

• It is the student’s responsibility to find out if they need to take any tests.

• See Bev if in any doubt.

Main UCAS deadlines

15 October – deadline for applications to Oxford or Cambridge and applications for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science courses

15 January – deadline for applications to all other courses, except some art and design courses

EMS UCAS deadlines

30 September – deadline for applications to Oxford or Cambridge and applications for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science courses

31 October – deadline for applications to all other courses

Application process

• Online at www.ucas.com/apply• Tend to choose the same/or a similar subject • Can apply for more than one course at any

university• Application fee is £23 – to be paid online using

a credit/debit card• Subject teachers provide information to tutors

who complete the reference section

UCAS Track

• www.ucas.com/track • Allows your son/daughter to check if any

university has responded to their application• Conditional offer – requires certain grades or

points to be met• Decisions

o FIRM – should be the place they want to go too INSURANCE – second choice in case firm choice

conditions are not met

UCAS Extra

• If your son/daughter has used all of their 5 choices and has either declined all offers or not received any offers then Extra gives them the option to have an additional choice through UCAS

• Opens mid February until the end of June

Clearing

• If on results day your son/daughter still does not hold an offer or fails to meet the conditions of both their firm and insurance offer then they have the option to look at courses still available in clearing

• If all else fails……they can take a gap year and reapply next year

Any questions?

Deadline reminder

30 September – deadline for applications to Oxford or Cambridge and applications for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science courses

31 October – deadline for applications to all other courses