2. The aims of this session are:
• To introduce the UCAS application process
• To provide an idea of what information should be included in
a personal statement
• To provide real examples of good and bad things to say
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Aims
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The UCAS Application
• Online application - ‘Apply’
• 5 choices
• UCAS Track
• Application fee - £12 or £23
• UCAS Extra
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Application deadlines
15 October 2013
Dentistry, medicine, veterinary science and veterinary medicine
and Oxbridge
15 January 2014
All other courses
30 June 2014
Final deadline
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The UCAS Application
You will be asked to complete the following sections
• Personal Details
• Choices
• Education
• Employment
• Statement
• Reference
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Personal Statement
Why are personal statements important?
• Interviews are only used for certain courses
• Your chance to sell yourself to the admissions tutor
• You need to stand out amongst the other applications
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What are Admissions Selectors
looking for?
• An interest and enthusiasm for the subject area
• Evidence you have thought about what you want to do
• Correct spelling and grammar
• A logically organised statement
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Personal Statement
Three main areas to cover:
• Your current studies
• Why you have chosen this subject area/course
• The real you
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Current studies
What bearing do your current studies have on your selection?
Application for Early Primary Education degree
“My favourite module whilst studying Sociology was education.
I was intrigued to learn the theories of how factors such as class,
gender, ethnicity and religion can influence a child’s
development.”
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Why this subject area/course?
What interests you about the course/subject area?
Application for Law degree
“I would most like to study the field of International Commercial
and Corporate Law. Although the areas of Criminal Law interest
me I would prefer to study an area that will challenge me
through large projects and that will allow me to overcome some
language boundaries.”
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Why this subject area/course?
Do you have a career goal?
Application for Business Studies degree
“My goal for the future is to succeed and help others succeed in
a constantly changing, dynamic business environment. A
business degree would give me knowledge and experience in
order to pursue this ambition.”
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The Real You
What skills and attributes do you have?
Application for Business Studies degree
“Competing in sporting events has helped my team building
skills and also my leaderships skills as I have been nominated to
the role of team captain. I feel that I motivate others to succeed
and have been able to listen and give instructions and advice.”
Reliability
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The Real You
What do you do in your spare time?
Application for Architectural Design degree
“One of my main interests outside of school has always been
gardening. I find gardening very rewarding as it allows me to
create 3 dimensional ‘art’ which I find more rewarding than
outcomes which are 2-D.”
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The Real You
Do you have any relevant work/volunteer experience?
Application for Business Management degree
“My employment history has been solely in the catering industry
where I have worked as a waiter. As well as developing strong
communication skills this experience has also given me a useful
understanding of the running of a small business.”
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The Real You
Do you have any other achievements?
Application for Physiotherapy degree
“I have attended a 3 day “Exploring Physiotherapy” workshop
where I sampled university life by attending presentations and
workshops. I was particularly interested in paediatric
physiotherapy and the experience has assured me that this is
the right choice for me.”
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The Real You
Are you planning a year out?
Application for Law degree
“I have decided to take a gap year as I want to obtain more legal
experience before beginning my degree and am sure these
experiences will help me during my studies.”
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Don’t provide a long list of
everything!
IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Guitar lessons; Member of Charity Group – helped organise fund raising
events; Cashier – School Bank; Romania Link – helped organise fund raising
events; Badminton Club; Causeway Coast Ramble Stage 2; Ski Trips; Form
Charity Representative; Mini Bus Representative; Form Captain.
OUT OF SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Bronze Award, Silver Award, currently
working for Gold Award; Elocution Lessons; Piano Exam grade 4 (Trinity);
British Red Cross Practical First Aid Exam; Member of Badminton Club; Youth
Fellowship – Treasurer; Church Choir; Girls Brigade – currently training to be a
Sub Officer; Junior Leader of Holiday Bible Club ; Creche Helper in Church;
Children’s Church Helper; Sunday School Teacher; Member of a Presbyterian
Church in Ireland: team went to Wembley to run holiday Bible Clubs for Hindu
children.
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Avoid being repetitive…
For many years now I have aspired towards a career in Business
and Business Management and I have decided I want to pursue
a career in the Business area. I would like to study Business
Management and Business because the level I can study
Business at, at the minute is really enjoyable and I want to
continue my studies with this.
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Be professional…
Liam_turns_me_on@
serial_killer@
murderman2003@
stalker-at-work@
thongsonawashingline@
(applicant’s name was Liam)
(applicant applied for nursing)
(applicant applied for social work)
(applicant applied for law)
(what can I say!?)
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Be careful with humour…
I would describe myself as a rather energetic person who is
always looking for something to so with his free time. Previous
failed hobbies include stamp collecting (too quiet), Rugby (too
painful) and girl chasing (too ugly). But now I believe I am
settled with my current interests, football and music. On the
football side I feel that although I possess little skill I make up for
it with enthusiasm. I am also an avid football supporter of my
favourite team Crystal Palace (they need the help). On the
music side I am a guitarist and singer in a local punk band
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Check it before you send it…
The International Business Studies degree will allow me to
expose myself internationally…
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Think about what you’re telling us!
Last year I co-wrote and produced the Junior House play. I
found it very demanding but great fun. This turned into horror
on the last night when one of the lead actors became ill and I
had to play Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies. What a
nightmare.
I can boast to be able to eat three cream crackers in less than
thirty seconds without a drop of water. This small yet laborious
feat represents my endeavour to succeed at even the pettiest of
challenges.
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You don’t have to have a career
plan…
I have pondered over this statement for some time now. At this
point in my life it would be easier for me to list the careers that
do not interest me rather than to try and focus on one that does.
What I do know is that I am confused.
Money, money is the thing that most motivates me. I have a
passion for money, spending, saving and even earning it (my
favourite is counting). The idea of managing other people’s
money gets me excited. This is why I am interested in
accountancy and would like to become a chartered accountant.
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Is this an application for
university?...
So what can I tell you about me? At Christmas time I like it quiet
but New Year I like to party and tend to party the rest of the
year away with friends and others but on the whole I’m just your
average 22 year old. I hate the colour red, love the number 12
and have never or ever will play the National Lottery.
I am medium height 1.8m, slim and fit looking with short black
hair and piercing black eyes. I am ambitious and taking life
seriously. I normally wear casual clothes, often trousers and
shirts for special occasions, however I can look elegant in a
stylish outfit.
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Use the right level of detail…
When I first started looking for degree courses that would suit me, I carried
out my research in the college learning centre (Library). My method was
effective because I discovered the “Business Information Systems” course.
This has the perfect mix of Business and computing for me.
My next step was to look in the careers centre in Kings Lynn Town, in here I
was able to access the UCAS web-site. I decided to get a list of every
university that offered Business Information Systems. I printed myself a copy
of the list and rang each university on the list to ask for a copy of the
Undergraduate prospectus. They were delivered and there must have been
about 15-20 prospectuses (my postman’s biceps have doubled in size!).
This course was definitely for me, this is because I have always had an
interest in computing and business, for as long as I can remember anyway. In
the last few years especially my brain has been awash with entrepreneurial
ideas, some I have made a reality and some stay locked in my mind for the
right opportunity. Basically this course ‘jumped out and grabbed me’, others
have been considered but this is the only one that made me want to pack my
bags and leave tomorrow (believe me it did).
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Don’t forget…
• Your personal statement is PERSONAL
• Make it interesting
• Don’t make things up
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What happens next?
• Be aware of the UCAS deadlines
• You will be sent an acknowledgement and will be
provided with a personal identification number
• DO NOT lose this number
• UCAS will send your application form to each of the
institutions you apply to
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What happens next?
• Check progress of application on the UCAS website
using ‘Track’
• Make a note of the deadlines for offers
• Reply by the deadline or your application could be
declined by default
Editor's Notes
Read through: So, what is UCAS? UCAS stands for the University and Colleges Admissions Service. They process almost all applications to universities and colleges in the UK and send on your application to your university/college choices. Application is all online, harder to make mistakes The majority of students have five choices, if you are applying for medicine, dentistry, veterinary science/medicine then you have up to four choices. It’s useful to use all your choices to give yourself more options and so you are not just banking on getting into one university/college. You can track your application online, this is the first place to check before contacting uCAS/universities. There is an application fee that is taken when your form is submitted, £12 if applying for just one course or £23 for more than one UCAS Extra – if you don’t use all course choices and wish to add a course at a later stage, this is possible (as long as the course is still accepting applications), UCAS track will tell you if you are eligible for this.
Make a note of deadlines: Read through 15 January – applications received up to and on this date have to be considered by universities, any received after this date do not – so keep this in mind and for v popular courses it may be that immediately after this date the course is already full.
Read through: Choices: In this section you add the universities and colleges where you'd like to study. For each choice, you select the course and the start date, you don’t need to list these in order of preference or alphabetically as it sorts these. Universities can’t see where else you have applied to. Education: We need to know where you have studied and which qualifications you are taking / have taken. Fill in your schools or colleges, then list your qualifications. You'll also be asked to select the highest level of qualification you will have before you start your course. Please make sure that you have included all relevant qualifications, including any that you have completed and any which you are currently taking. We have sometimes been unable to make an offer to a student as they have not told us about all the qualifications they have. Statement: will talk more about this later. Reference - We require a reference from a tutor, careers adviser or other professional who knows you well enough to write about you and your suitability for the course. If you're applying through a school or college, this section will be completed by your referee. If you're applying independently, enter the referee's name, address and email contact details into your application.
Example of what it looks like
Interviews are only used for certain courses such as architecture, fashion, teaching so this might be the only opportunity you get to ‘sell’ yourself to the admissions tutor. Remember you are trying to convince the admissions tutor that you are worth of being offered a place – they get thousands of applications so you have to persuade them that they will be missing out if they don’t get a student like you at their university.
An opportunity for you to demonstrate: (Read through) You need to demonstrate that you have done your research and you have thought about what you want to do , we want enthusiastic people who will stay on the course and we want you to enjoy it. MATURE STUDENTS: If you are an adult coming back in to study, explain why you are taking this opportunity to return to study (not why you didn’t go at 18 unless relevant) – is it a particular career in mind, now you have the time, after raising a family, don’t dwell too much on any negatives as to past experiences but explain why now you are motivated to study for a degree. Make it easy for the admissions tutor to know that it is a mature student application. It may seem obvious about spelling and grammar but these are the basics and if there are any spelling mistakes, just like in a job application, this can go against you. Always get someone to check it. It needs to be a logically organised statement, a bit like an essay, so that it makes sense and it is easy to read.
You should explain why the subject interests you, have you studied anything in the past or as part of your current course that interests you and has developed your interest in a particular area. Try and pick out some modules from your current studies that you have enjoyed/have developed skills/or are directly linked to your course of interest.
You need to explain why you have decided to apply for the degree programme you have applied for. This is more difficult if you have chosen lots of different/unrelated courses. You need to really give the Admissions Tutors a good reason to offer you a place. It will depend on the course or courses that you are applying for, but you need to show interest and enthusiasm in the subject, or the University may see you as someone who is a risk and may drop out. If you have chosen lots of different degrees you may have to be more vague and talk generally about subject areas and common interests in the programmes.
Career Plans – What career plans do you have for when you complete the course? You need to show that you have thought your options through and made a realistic and logical decision for your choice of degree. It could be that the course you choose leads naturally on to a career, for example Architecture. Or it could be that you choose a more general degree that could lead to many different careers, for example English. Admissions Tutors will be looking for people who can prove that they know why they have chosen that course, and will therefore be committed to it and likely to succeed. If you don’t have a career goal then don’t worry, you don’t have to and don’t feel that you need to make one up!
These are the type of skills admission tutors would like candidates to demonstrate, If you can give examples of how you’ve developed these skills they show a tutor you have what it takes to come to Uni (read through example): Time management Communication Organisation Responsible Team working Leadership Presentation skills Commitment
Is there anything you do in your spare time that will support your application? Such as the following example (read through), it may not be directly linked to the subject as in this example but there may be skills/experience that you have gained.
Any job that you may have done will have given you skills and experiences of some type that might impress an Admissions Tutor. Any job will usually demonstrate commitment, reliability and responsibility. You may have developed communication skills, team work skills or customer service skills. It shows you are mature and independent. If you are applying for a nursing/teaching course, this is where you need to tell us about your experiences and how they have helped develop your skills and knowledge of the profession and what you have observed. For example, in a classroom why do they use picture displays, what have you noticed about classroom management etc All jobs give you skills and experiences of some type – eg by being a waitress you can demonstrate commitment, reliability and responsibility. You may have developed communication skills, team work skills or customer service skills. In particular highlight skills and experience of any work experience that is relevant to the course you are applying for. Mention any voluntary work some type of work placement or work in the preparation for HE. Volunteering/paid work Midwifery – surestart/QE Gatesehead/South Tyneside/mother- child groups (about the mother)/ dealing with people – ie customer care/difficult customers/communication skills Childrens nursing – nursery nursing – extremely difficult – able to detach yourself emotionally Primary ed – school teaching Social work – care homes/youth offenders/personal experience Nursing – care homes – adult nursing Mental nursing – specifice care homes/volunteering You may have done some type of placement or some voluntary work in the school holidays or as part of your studies. This could have been a in a care home or some time spent helping with a community centre. Anything you have put time and effort into shows your commitment and suitability for University study. All the time think about what your work experience has taught you, what skills you have developed and how you found the experience valuable and rewarding. Show that you have the skills suited to university life e.g self-discipline, commitment Be imaginative but honest about how your experiences, interests and responsibilities may set you apart from many other students.
MATURE STUDENTS: it may be that you have life experience, such as raising a family, involves management, organisation, managing family finances. Tell us about them but also the skills/experience you have as a result and what this can bring to a course/university. If you have been part of any widening participation schemes such as mentoring or summer schools you could talk about these, or if you have been part of any study skills sessions you could explain what you have learnt from them and how your involvement has helped develop your studies. You may have taken part in some non-accredited achievements whilst at school which are relevant to your chosen course. These could be Duke of Edinburgh award or Young Enterprise, for example. Or Music/swimming achievements. Espeically if related to degree e.g. history award and applying for ancient history. You may be studying something that doesn’t have a formal assessment and therefore wouldn’t appear under your qualifications. You may have had responsibilities that you would want to talk about, such as being a school prefect or working on a buddy scheme. Perhaps you helped to run a sports club or volunteered in the library. Were you involved with the school drama production or have you played with the school orchestra? Try to think of anything that shows your independence and how you will succeed at University. You will be working in a very different way and need to show that you can motivate yourself and reach goals on your own. If there is anything you have missed out, it may be part of your experience outside school. Do you have any interesting and relevant hobbies? Perhaps you enjoy using the computer, which shows your understanding of technology and your numeracy skills. Maybe you enjoy travelling and have visited many foreign countries, thus showing your independence and world knowledge. Try not to be boring and unoriginal. DO NOT SAY “I enjoy socialising with my friends”. Show how your social life has made you a well rounded and happy individual. What life skills have you developed and what life experiences have you learned from? E.g. travelling and applying for archaeology say how seeing Pompeii led to your decision to study archaeology. Any other clubs and events or activities you are involved with that you haven’t mentioned could be worth talking about. Don’t forget to explain why they are relevant and what you have learned. Any responsibilities or achievements you have received could also be relevant. If you are planning on taking a year out you should mention in your Personal Statement what you are going to do with your time. You can show the admissions tutor that you are going to do something worthwhile that will develop you as a person and hopefully contribute to your success in your chosen degree programme.
If you are planning on taking a year out you should mention in your Personal Statement what you are going to do with your time. You can show the admissions tutor that you are going to do something worthwhile that will develop you as a person and hopefully contribute to your success in your chosen degree programme.
Only include details of experience that is relevant. Always say what you have learnt from the experience - it is no good just listing it all! It doesn’t matter what you have done but you must reflect on the skills and lessons you’ve learned and write about that. As you can see from this example, it is very difficult to digest!
Also don’t tell us things that we already know, such as your name/course applying to etc – wasted space!
Awareness of UCAS deadlines – your school/college will usually remind you of these and get you started early! You will need to quote your personal id number when contacting UCAS and universities – first thing they ask for. Your application will be sent on to each of the places you apply to
