BHASVIC HE & PROGRESSION EVENING 2013

Higher Education Evening

• Choosing a Course• Choosing a University• How universities choose• What happens after the application

is sent in• How BHASVIC helps• Common mistakes• Recent changes• BHASVIC Students

Higher Education

CHOOSING A COURSEWhere do you get information from…

Lots of websites but some key ones are:

Complete University Guide (general information about individual universities):

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/

Unistats (comparing Universities):www.unistats.direct.gov.uk/

UCAS (excellent information about the application process itself):

www.ucas.com

COURSE

Interest and enjoyment Professional; academic Employment Single or joint Content and Structure Assessment

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Required subjects Grades in specific subjects

or overall points score Entrance test Non academic requirements,

e.g. work experience

“ACCEPTABLE” A LEVELS

Generally speaking all A levels are acceptable for University entry but it can depend on the course or individual university.

A ‘spread’ of courses is fine e.g. Biology, Maths, Drama would be fine as 2 courses are regarded as being strong academically.

But Drama, Music and Film Studies would be excellent for any performance related degree

Also a pass in Drama will be worth more than a fail in Maths!

POINTS OR GRADES?

Some universities ask for grades, including ‘*’ e.g. Chemistry at Cambridge requires A*AA

Most do not ask for A* grades e.g. Brighton requires BBC

Some ask for points e.g. Chemistry at Nottingham Trent requires 260 points

Points are calculated using the UCAS Tarrif The UCAS Tariff also gives details of the

points allocated to L3 BTEC qualifications.

GradeA2 (A Level)

A/S Level

A 120 60

B 100 50

C 80 40

D 60 30

E 40 20

BTEC QUALIFICATIONS

BTEC qualifications have their own UCAS points attached to them.

For example, the Sports Science course at BHASVIC is a double course and so a double Distinction would be 240 points (2 A equivalent), a double Merit would be 160 points (2 C equivalent).

CHOOSING A UNIVERSITY

The right course, quality of facilities, provision

Type and size, quality of accommodation

Distance from home

• Reputation league tables, employer links, word of mouth

• Scholarships and bursaries

• Learning Support

• Student mix state school/private/mature students/ international students/diversity

STUDYING ABROAD

Some degrees at UK universities will offer a year abroad, typically languages or American (or other cultural) Studies.

A student could think about studying their entire degree abroad and this now has greater relevance given the recent rise in tuition fees.

This year BHASVIC students have applied to U.S, Holland and Australia and we are building up a comprehensive guide for students thinking of this route, as well as offering direct support.

Using UCAS Apply

Once student has decided on potential courses and universities, they apply to them using ucas.apply

UCAS: universities central admissions system, not a decision making body.

Handles applications for all full time first degree higher education courses.

AFTER APPLICATION

Sep – Dec 2013: nearly all applications will be in (final deadline Jan 15th)

Oct 2013 – March 31st 2014: Students get Offers

8th May – students make their choice of two offers to be their ‘firm’ and ‘insurance’ choice

Results – 15th August Clearing

HOW BHASVIC CAN HELP

March Tutors begin discussing next year’s options with their Tutor Groups.

March 14th Parents Information Eveningand 19th

March 25th – 26th Higher Education Information Day at Brighton University

April 30th Gap Year Fair

June 10th Progression EventWriting Personal StatementsPersonal FinanceUsing ucas apply

June onwards: BHASVIC gives students support in using ucas apply and writing personal statements

Students can apply for five courses (unless applying for medicine/veterinary science)

Applications begin in September Deadline for Oxbridge, Medicine, Veterinary

Science and Dentistry - 15 OCTOBER Students who have not made 5 choices can, if

they wish, add a further choice before the January 15th deadline.

Deadline for all other students - 15 JANUARY Internal deadlines are earlier

HOW DO UNIVERSITIES CHOOSE1. A student will have to have the grades – AS

Grades are crucial as these will be what an Admissions officer will regard as an accurate prediction of A level grades or BTEC levels of achievement.

2. The student’s personal statement

Student’s enthusiasm and motivation for course. Why they want to do it?

Student’s understanding of the course What students have gained from their current

courses (specific interests, skills)? Additional reading Evidence of special commitment, work

experience, attendance at lectures, organising clubs

3. Reference – written in collaboration between all teachers and Tutor

4. Tests (BMAT, LNAT, HAT) where appropriate

5. Interview (where invited)

6. Widening Participation and the Office for Fair Access

COMMON MISTAKES

Lack of research - Applying for courses without the right qualifications/subjects

Applying to courses whose entry requirements are higher than AS grades

Applying for extremely diverse courses Leaving writing a Personal

Statement/applying until the last minute Applying to universities or courses they do

not want to go to Not having a proper insurance offer

SOME RECENT CHANGES

Numbers down – in 2011 there was a national drop of around 9% in applications (BHASVIC had an almost identical drop), in 2012 there was a further national drop of 6.5% although BHASVIC’s numbers did not drop this year.

Some universities have been affected worse than others (London Met -43%, Liverpool Hope – 16%) which is serious for their future

WHERE DO BHASVIC STUDENTS GO?

Top ten universities BHASVIC students end up at (2012): University of Brighton

University of Sussex

Bournemouth University

University of Cambridge

University of East Anglia

University of Portsmouth

University of Exeter

The University of Warwick University of the West of England, Bristol

The University of Kent King's College London (University of London) Royal Holloway, University of London University College London (University of London)

WHAT AREAS OF STUDY TO BHASVIC STUDENTS APPLY FOR?

Top ten broad areas by BHASVIC students (2012):

Biological SciencesSocial StudiesBusiness & Admin studiesCreative Arts & DesignHistory & Philosophical studiesPhysical SciencesLawMathematical SciencesMass Comms and DocumentationEngineeringCombined arts

WHAT DO THEY STUDY?

Top ten individual subjects studied by BHASVIC students (2012): :

PsychologyLaw EconomicsHistory PoliticsMathematicsMedia studiesEnglish PhysicsMedicine

WHY NOT FOLLOW US ON TWITTER?

BHASVICHE@Ed.Higher is the HE Twitter Feed which gets up-to-date information regarding: University Open Days and other events UCAS tips, advice and deadlines BHASVIC support, internal deadlines and

other information