UCAS Parents’
Information Evening
2017
Life Beyond St Margaret’s
• University
• College
• Apprenticeships
• Employment
• Gap year
What is UCAS?
Universities and
Colleges
Admissions
Service
The Application Process is done
online at www.ucas.com/apply
• The UCAS website is ‘live’ now but applications
cannot be sent electronically until 6th September.
• Your daughter can apply for up to 5 courses.
• For medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry,
they can only make 4 applications to these subjects,
plus one other.
• Your daughter can apply for more than one course
at any university, but it is unusual for anyone to
apply to the same Uni for more than two different
courses. However, they can make only one Oxford
OR Cambridge application.
How do Universities decide to
whom they will make an offer?
• They look at:
– Grades already gained
– Predicted grades for next year
– Personal Statement
– School Reference
What are UCAS points?
• These are mostly used for English Universities.
• UCAS awards points for all exams passed.
• Points are also awarded for some dancing and
music exams at grade 6 level or above.
• See online, or your daughters UCAS folder, for
the points tariff, but as a guide an A at Higher is
worth 33 points, a B 27 points and a C 21 points.
An A at AH is 56 points.
• If you pass AH after a Higher, you only get the
points for the AH and the same applies for Nat 5
and Higher.
St Margaret’s Timescale
“Early Bird” applications
• Oxford, Cambridge (Oxbridge), medicine,
veterinary medicine and dentistry - First drafts
of PS to be with Ms Brown by the end of
August. This should be worked on in the
summer holidays. Final applications will then be
sent by Ms Brown to UCAS by 15th October.
All other applications
• First drafts of all other PS to Ms Brown by
end of September. Once complete these will
be sent to UCAS by 15th December.
What happens then?
• UCAS will acknowledge their application.
• Your daughter can then follow her application
through TRACK on the UCAS website. Each
university also sends out a paper copy of their
decision.
• Once they have heard about all their
applications, they will be given a date by which
they have to have made up their mind which
offer they want to accept.
What could the offers be?
• Unconditional
• Conditional – they will specify
what they want your daughter
to get in VIS
• Unsuccessful
Will your daughter have an
Interview?
• Maybe!
• Cambridge and Oxford interview having made an initial
selection through their rigorous assessments.
• Most medical schools interview, but not Edinburgh for
example, although this is set to change.
• Interviews are usually held for primary teaching,
architecture, veterinary medicine and sometimes
engineering.
• All girls will receive at least 1 mock interview and more
than this if they wish.
How do they accept an
offer?
• Once UCAS has been notified of their decision
they cannot normally change their mind.
• They can accept an unconditional offer.
• They can accept a conditional offer (CF) as their
first choice with an unconditional insurance offer
(CI) if they don’t get the grades.
• They can accept a conditional offer as their first
choice with a second conditional offer which
needs lower grades as their insurance offer.
What happens if they don’t get
any offers?
• If they find themselves without an offer for
whatever reason and they have used all 5
choices, they can then use UCAS Extra as of
25th Feb 2018.
• They get another chance to apply to more
courses, but one at a time.
• If their first Extra choice does not make them an
offer, they can then apply for another course.
What happens if they don’t get the
grades for my Firm or Insurance Offer?
• They then enter CLEARING and find out which
universities still have places available for the
course in which they are interested.
• Full Clearing opens Thursday 5th July 2018.
Adjustment Period
• Only for applicants with a firmly accepted
conditional offer.
• If an applicants exceeds the conditions of their offer,
they have 5 days to research places more
appropriate to their performance whilst still holding
on to their original offer.
• Adjustment starts on 18th August until 31st Aug.
When they register they only have 5 days to
research other courses. They will get a countdown
in track.
• Applicants must consider accommodation and
student finance before considering this option.
Personal Statements
47 lines, 4000 characters
• This is your daughter’s chance to sell herself
• They want to convince the universities to make
them an offer rather than someone else
• They must show passion for the subject they are
applying for
• ‘Academic extra-curricular’ interests
• Positions of responsibility
• Extra-curricular activities
• Work experience
What could be included on a
Personal Statement?
• Head Girl/Senior
Prefect/Prefect/Library
Prefect/Department Prefect
• House Captain/Vice Captain
• Sports Captains
• Colours – music, sport, debating
• Duke of Edinburgh Award
• Hockey/netball/basketball teams
etc
• Hockey Youth Umpire
• Grades for music, dancing etc
• Debating and Public Speaking
• Buddy
• Paired Reading
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Budapest/Geneva/Tanzania trip etc
Maths Challenge
Food Hygiene certificate
Prefects’ Leadership course
Young Enterprise
Exchange student
Summer Orchestras
Theatre companies
Volunteering
Work experience
Deadline reminder
“Early Bird” applications
• First drafts of PS to be with Ms Brown
by the end of August.
All other applications
• First drafts of all other PS to Ms Brown
by the end of September.