APPLYING
TO HIGHER EDUCATION
SEPTEMBER 2016
Why bother going to Uni?
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The average graduate starting salary is
approx £24000 (NI)
Graduates entering law, banking and finance,
IT and engineering can expect salaries above
this
the average lifetime earnings of a graduate
are £227,000 more than those of a nongraduate with two A-levels
The UK has passed a significant milestone
towards becoming a graduate economy, with
more people now likely to have a degree
than to have only reached school-level
qualifications
How do you apply?
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Most applications will be through UCAS
(electronically)
Applications for universities in Ireland are
through CAO (electronically)
A few institutions are direct entry
Many European countries charge lower
tuition fees than the UK
(www.studyineurope.eu)
UCAS Student Guidance Interviews September 21st 2015 – 9th October 2015
Applications through CAO
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Closing date of early February (meeting in
November)
Up to 10 degree and 10 diploma choices
Listed in order of preference
No personal statement or reference
Different values for grades compared to
UCAS tariff
No conditional offers – selection by order of
preference and results in August
www.cao.ie
No tuition fees but a €3000 registration fee
(pa)
UCAS application
Timetable
Oxbridge
and Medical
/ Dentistry
/ Veterinary
Applications
Closing
All other
applications
Closing
date 15th October 2015
Forms completed and handed in by 2nd October
Sent by 13th October 2014
Date 15th January 2016
Forms completed and handed in by 16th October
Sent by 13th November 2014
The UCAS form
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Register – username and password
Personal details – name, address etc
Choices – maximum of 5 realistic courses
Education – schools attended, exams
completed and pending
Employment – not very relevant to majority
of pupils
Personal statement
Cost £23
The Personal Statement
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A personal statement is probably the single
most important piece of work that pupils
have had to do so far
Justify course choice (very important for a
vocational course)
Work experience
Activities inside & outside school
Positions of responsibility
Concluding statement
What happens next??
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After the interview, pupils are asked to make
any corrections as quickly as possible
Pupils then bring a finalised paper copy of
their form to Mrs Browne
The form is checked one more time and
pupils can now “pay and send”
The cost is £23 and paid online by
debit/credit card
The form is automatically sent electronically
to school
The school now writes the confidential
reference and attaches this to the electronic
form and sends this to UCAS
What happens then??
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UCAS then sends the form electronically to
all the universities
Admissions tutors then make a decision
based on the personal statement, predicted
A-Level grades, admissions test scores,
GCSE grades & A/S grades, evidence of
motivation and the school reference
Some pupils may have to go to interview
before a decision is made
They will reject an applicant, make a
conditional offer or (rarely), an unconditional
offer
What does an offer look
like?
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May be expressed as grades eg ABB
May be expressed as UCAS Tariff points eg
320 points
May be expressed as a combination of the
two eg 320 points to include an A in
chemistry
A detailed break down of tariff points is
available on the UCAS website
At A2, A=120, B=100,C=80, D=60, E=40
The 4th AS grade is worth half these points
What next??
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If rejected, the decision is final but pupils can
ask for feedback
Pupils must wait until all five decisions are
made before they can confirm any decision
By early May, pupils accept a Firm
Conditional offer and an Insurance
Conditional offer which should have lower
grades
These are binding but there may be some
leeway
UCAS Extra is available online from the end
of February to the end of June if a pupil has
no offers
Pupils can only apply to one course at a time
in Extra
Finance 1 – Tuition fees
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Universities in England, Scotland and Wales
have now set their own tuition fees to a
maximum of £9000
NI have set fees for NI students at £3805
All students will be eligible for a non-means
tested loan to cover their tuition fees. The
student takes the responsibility for the loan
which is repaid directly from their salary
when they earn over £17,335
But they are optional
Finance 2 – Maintenance
Loans
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Loans are also available for living expenses
Amount available depends on household
income (pre-tax income minus pension
contributions and allowances for dependents)
London £6780
Living away from home £4840
Living at home £3750
If a pupil receives a maintenance grant, the
amount of maintenance loan available will be
reduced
Also optional
Other info about loans
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Loans are repaid at 9% of earnings above
£17335
The time to repay is based on income and
amount borrowed – not on a fixed time
period
After 25 years, any remaining debt is wiped
Interest on the amount is linked to inflation
BUT, this means that you will owe the money
for longer and potentially repay more
Loans do NOT go on credit files
Annual income Monthly salary
9before tax)
/£
17335
1444
Monthly
repayment /£
0
17500
1458
4
21000
1750
30
24000
2000
53
27000
2250
75
30000
2500
98
Finance 3 - Grants
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Grants are non-repayable
Students from lower income households will
be eligible for a non-repayable grant up to
£3475
If household income is less than £19203,
student is eligible for the whole grant
If income is more than £41065, student is
eligible for none of the grant
A sliding scale works in between the upper
and lower limits
If a student is entitled to the maximum
grant, the maximum maintenance loan is
reduced
Finance 4 – Other support
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Universities have to provide additional support
to students who receive the full grant – a
minimum of £347 (non-repayable)
Scholarships are available in engineering and IT
“Access to Learning Funds” are available to
students on low incomes
Health Professional Degrees (S&LT, OT,
Radiography etc) can have fees paid if pupil is
accepted on NHS funded place
Disabled Students’ Allowance – pupils who have
a diagnosed physical disability, mental health
difficulties, or have a specific learning difficulty
such as dyslexia, may be entitled
Information available
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www.hotcourses.com
www.prospects.ac.uk (What do graduates do?
Section)
DEL – “Financial Support for Higher Education
Students” (Usually opens in February)
DEL – Student Finance Branch
Education & Library Boards
www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport
www.studentfinanceni.com
www.moneysavingexpert.com
www.unistats.com
www.mtssulby.com/dsa
How can I help?
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Talk to your son / daughter about their
choices
Check the form is completed correctly
Discuss the content of the personal statement
and ask to read it
Try to remind them of key dates
Encourage, encourage, encourage!!
What if I need help??
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www ucas.com/parents (sign up to receive
the UCAS parent guide and quarterly email
bulletins)
Contact Mrs Browne at school (90702777 or
fbrowne192@c2kni.net)
Check the school’s website – all dates,
presentations and useful websites are listed
Watch out for monthly emails
QUESTIONS????