UCAS Support for Parents
Michael Brett UCAS Coordinator
What is UCAS?
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Who we are
We are the organisation responsible for managing applications to higher education courses in the UK.
Our services date back to 1961. To meet increasing demand, UCCA (Universities Central Council on
Admissions) was formed, providing a centralised application service for prospective undergraduates –
effectively streamlining the process.
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UCCA formally merged with its partner organisations PCAS (Polytechnics Central Admissions System) and
SCUE (Standing Conference on University Entrance) in 1993 to create one independent service.
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What we do
UCAS stands for the 'Universities and Colleges Admission Service'.
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Our aim is to help students make informed choices that are right for them, guiding them, as well as their
parents and advisers, through the entire higher education application process.
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Today, UCAS processes over 2.5 million applications every year, for some 650,000 prospective students
across the UK and beyond: helping them gain access to more than 340 UK universities and colleges.
We also run several specialist application services – GTTR (Graduate Teacher Training Registry), UKPASS
(UK Postgraduate Application and Statistical Service) and CUKAS (Conservatoires UK Admissions
Service).
Another important area is carrying out research, consultancy and advisory work for schools, colleges,
careers services, professional bodies and commercial businesses. Data collation is an important part of our
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work, allowing us to provide advice, insights and statistics to our partners and stakeholders.
Helping DLD students through the UCAS Application
Presentation Outline: What students are told
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Why go on to higher education?
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The applicant journey
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Research
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Personal statements
HOW CAN DLD PARENTS HELP?
Why go on to higher education?
 Increase your earning potential
 Better career prospects
 It is beneficial for the wider community
 Social and cultural reasons (25%, 44%)
 It can be immense fun
 Independence, self confidence and
responsibility
 Broaden or deepen interests and
knowledge
 Better health
 Help you develop your future
 Transferable skills
 Personal challenge
 Stop gap
Choosing
courses
Applying
Offers
Results
Next steps
Starting
Uni / College
1
2
3
4
5
6
Online research
 UCAS.com
 Institutions
 Subject specific
 Unistats
 National press?
 Journals
 Social media websites
 Government sites e.g.
GOV.uk, Student
Finance England
How do I know if I have got what they are looking for?
Make full use of open days
Open day Tips:
•Book
•Take PS
•Go on campus tour
•Know what Quals you are taking
•Ask Questions!
Work experience
 Don’t forget about
Professional bodies/Charities
 Attend/organising events
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Coordinator
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Admin support
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Secretary
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Treasurer
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Researcher
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Web editors
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Design and publications
Key features of the UCAS scheme
 Only 1 x application each year/cycle
 Maximum of 5 choices for most applicants:
 Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry – max 4
 Oxford or Cambridge
 Online application and management at ucas.com
 Apply and Track
 2014 fee - £23/12
 Once the form is in you can’t make any changes
 Simultaneous consideration & ‘Invisibility’
 There are opportunities for other choices:
Extra and Clearing
Key dates and deadlines
 Late June: applicants can register and start
to complete their application
 Mid September: School can start to submit
completed applications to UCAS
 15 October: deadline for
Medicine, Veterinary Science , Dentistry
Admissions test
Oxford or Cambridge
may need to be
completed prior
 15 January: main deadline
to applying
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 24 March: deadline for some Art & Design
Making the application
Every applicant has five sections to complete, 1 is optional:
 Personal details
 Additional information (UK students only)*
 Student finance
 Choices
 Education
 Employment
 Personal statement
Forward to Personal Tutor to check ( D.O.S.  Principal)
 DLD Reference ALLOW TWO WEEKS
 UCAS
 Universities / colleges
DLD 2013 - This year’s lessons:
 Ensure you have documentation of ALL previously
attained qualifications (e.g. GCSE)
 Due to tightening immigration policies universities are
increasingly obliged to request proof of English proficiency
qualifications during the year, once applications are
received
 Random checks
 This is the same for UK students!
 Student’s responsibility – not school’s (all communication
is directly with student once application is sent – school
has limited power to intervene)
Top Tips for the Personal Statement
 Should be relevant to all your choices
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Be consistent in your course choices – this makes it easier
to write and much more convincing to an admissions tutor
 200 personal statements per tutor per week!!!!!
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Make yours stand out (for the right reasons) however
remember the SIMILARITY DETECTION TEST
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Don’t just list what you have achieved, expand and give
specific examples and detail
 Write it soon, but not before you have CHOSEN the course:
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You will need to write a few drafts
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Get input on your draft from ONE person at a time
‘Personal’ means ACADEMIC
• 4000 characters including spaces, punctuation and line
breaks.
• or 47 lines (longer words fill up the lines sooner)
• The personal statement MUST relate to your chosen
course(s) of study at all 5 universities to which you apply,
to your current A levels, and realistically to your achieved
(GCSE and AS) and predicted (A level) examination
grades.
The Personal Statement
• Paragraph 1:
• Why I am best suited to study YOUR degree course –
academic and more general interests, insight, ambitions to
learn and understand more. Awareness of world situations
relating to the field of study of the degree and how these
affect my thinking.
• Be specific.
The Personal Statement
• Paragraph 2:
• How my current AS / A2 level studies are enabling me to
deepen my knowledge of my chosen interests and how I
am able to pursue these interests beyond the scope of the
school syllabus.
• Be specific.
The Personal Statement
• Paragraph 3:
• Work experience, extra-curricular activities and interests
which enhance and develop my skills, knowledge,
personal responsibility and independence, all of which
make me a promising university degree student.
• Be specific.
The Personal Statement
• Paragraph 4:
• Ideas of how my university degree will fit into a longerterm life-plan, including post-graduate study, employment,
career, and other aspirations which link directly to the
degree course for which I am applying.
• Be specific, but this time also open-minded – the world
(and you) can change very much in three years!
• General Advice
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You have 47 lines or 4000 characters
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Do not indent paragraphs or use ‘bold’ or ‘underline’
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Leave a blank line between paragraphs
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Prepare the Personal Statement in a file then copy and
paste it into the online form
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Your personal statement should only be concerned with the
subject you wish to study and should not refer to specific
universities or course details
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Ensure you keep a copy of the final statement so that you
can look at it if and when you are called for interview
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Remember that in an interview you could be asked about
any aspect of your Personal Statement
The School Reference
 School profile and student’s academic history with some
character description
 Student’s academic profile and achievement in each
subject – explanation of grades/scores
 Any additional school contribution (extra-curricular)
 Closing endorsement
 All references will be commensurate with achieved
scores/grades
 All grade predictions based on ‘common sense’ / optimistic
probability – school must protect reputation for accuracy
The process post-application
 When applicants have received decisions from ALL of their choices,
if they have offers they will be asked to make replies (and given a
date to reply by on Track)
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If an applicant does not receive any offers they can make an
additional choice through the Extra scheme
 UCAS will send reminders – but if applicants fail to reply to offers by
their deadline date, offers will be automatically declined!
 Applicants can now hold a maximum of 2 offers (others declined)
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Firm (if you meet the conditions you will be placed)
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Insurance (only comes into play if you are not
placed with your Firm choice)
Re-cap: Universities selection tools
 Personal statement
 References
 Qualifications
 Admissions tests
 Interviews
 Additional work
 Portfolios
 Auditions
Results: Confirmation options 1. Not met conditions of firm
1. Exam results are issued
2. Admissions staff check if the
applicant has matched the
conditions of the offer
3. If met the conditions of the firm
choice, applicant will be placed
there.
4. Applicant will be able to view
this on track, and will be sent
an official confirmation of their
place
Time to celebrate!
choice, but met the conditions
of the insurance choice (which
should be lower)
2. Applicant is placed at
insurance choice
Time to celebrate!
1. Not met the conditions of the firm or
insurance choice (or no insurance)
2. Applicant is eligible for Clearing
3. Applicant will be able to view decisions
on track, and will have a clearing number
generated
Time to get working!
How can parents help?
How can you support the application process?
 Use the Parents section of the UCAS website where
you can sign up to the quarterly Parents’ Newsletter
 Offer to attend open days – you may have a different
perspective
 Support your son/daughter’s management of their
application
 Make sure they read everything they are sent
carefully!
 Financial assistance – railway tickets
 Try to remain impartial
How can you support the application process?
 Don’t book holidays at key times: e.g. results day
 Prepare them for living away from home:
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Cost of living – paying bills
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Independent living skills – cooking & washing
 Be there: Comforting, proof reading,
encouraging, testing, practising etc.
www.ucas.tv
 Choosing
 Applying
courses
in Welsh
 Personal
 Writing
statements
references
 Attending
Understanding
events
the application
 Using Process
Track (parents)
 Disclosing
 Using
Yougo your disability
 Preparing
for results
 International
students
 Next steps
 Using Extra
 Applying
 Making sense
of your offers
Starting university
Replying
to offers or college
 Using Clearing
 Using Adjustment
Official UCAS Support
Russell Group, Oxbridge & Medicine
 What is the Russell Group?
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The Russell Group represents 24 leading UK universities which
are committed to maintaining the very best research, an
outstanding teaching and learning experience and unrivalled
links with business and the public sector.
The Russell Group
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University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
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University of Manchester
Newcastle University
University of Nottingham
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Cardiff University
Durham University
University of Edinburgh
University of Exeter
University of Glasgow
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University of Oxford
Queen Mary, University of
London
Queen's University Belfast
University of Sheffield
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Imperial College London
King's College London
University of Leeds
University of Liverpool
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University of Southampton
University College London
University of Warwick
University of York
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London School of Economics &
Political Science
Medical Schools
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Aberdeen (University of), School of Medicine
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Leicester (University of), Leicester Medical School
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Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary,
University of London
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Liverpool (University of), Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
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Birmingham (University of), School of Medicine
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Postgraduate Medical
School)
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Brighton and Sussex Medical School
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Manchester (University of), Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences
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Bristol (University of), Faculty of Medicine
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Newcastle University Medical School
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Cambridge (University of), School of Clinical Medicine
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Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia
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Cardiff University, School of Medicine
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Nottingham (The University of), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
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Dundee (University of), Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing
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Oxford (University of), Medical Sciences Division
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Edinburgh (The University of), College of Medicine and Veterinary
Medicine
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Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry
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Queen's University Belfast, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
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Exeter (University of), Medical School
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Sheffield (The University of), School of Medicine
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Glasgow (University of), Faculty of Medicine
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Southampton (University of), School of Medicine
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Hull York Medical School
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St Andrews (University of), Faculty of Medical Sciences
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Imperial College School of Medicine, London
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St George's, University of London
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Keele University, School of Medicine
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Swansea University, School of Medicine
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King's College London School of Medicine (at Guy's, King's College and
St Thomas' Hospital)
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University College London, University College Medical School
Leeds (University of), School of Medicine
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Warwick (The University of), Warwick Medical School
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Oxford and Cambridge (also ‘top’ R.G. and
Medicine)
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Essential that students go to Oxford or Cambridge because they want to study the subject
of their choice there and not just because they are desperate be an Oxbridge student
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Subject choice must come first and interviewers will very quickly see through lack of
commitment if this is not the case
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However alluring the image of Oxbridge might be, courses elsewhere may be better suited
to the needs, interests, ability, aptitude and character of the individual applicant
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Passion for the subject is paramount as well as the necessary skills and knowledge
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Applicants should research very thoroughly courses involving the study of subjects not
taught at school to make sure they know what they are taking on in terms of grade
requirements and additional entrance tests
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Prior academic qualifications (i.e. GCSE, AS scores) are essential considerations and
must be uniformly excellent
Contact us:
Michael Brett - UCAS Coordinator
Oxbridge & Russell Group Applications
michael.brett@dld.org
Christine Reynolds - Head of Science
Medicine & Related Applications
christine.reynolds@dld.org