1 / 60

Ilford County High School

Ilford County High School. Higher Education Evening . Wednesday 6 March 2013. ILFORD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL HIGHER EDUCATION EVENING. PROGRAMME. 1.Facts and figures about UCAS applications 2.How do students make choices ? 3.The Personal Statement & Reference 4. Finance

garron
Download Presentation

Ilford County High School

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Ilford County High School Higher Education Evening Wednesday 6 March 2013

  2. ILFORD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLHIGHER EDUCATION EVENING PROGRAMME 1.Facts and figures about UCAS applications 2.How do students make choices? 3.The Personal Statement & Reference 4. Finance 5. Break & Questions 6.Oxbridge Applications. 7. Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary applications 8. Final Questions

  3. Popular and Competitive University Courses

  4. 1. Computer Science 2. Accounting =3.Economics =3.Medicine =3.Engineering =3.Physics =3. Mathematics =4. Law =4. Veterinary Science =4. Dentistry Subjects Demanding The Highest Points Scores (UCAS Unistats 2010)

  5. Universities With the Highest Points Scores • Cambridge(589) • Oxford (572) • Imperial (553) • LSE (526) • St Andrews (518) • Durham (500) • Warwick (496) 8 UCL (495) 9 Bristol (477) 10 Edinburgh (471) Source: 2013 Guardian University Guide

  6. How Do I Get All Those Points? • Grade A* A Level 140 Grade A 120 AS Level 60 Grade B 100 50 Grade C 80 40 Grade D 60 30 Grade E 40 20

  7. What An Offer Might Look Like Computer Science, Newcastle University AAB-ABB Must achieve three A Levels in this grade range. Chemistry, Hull University 280-300 points from 3 A Levels Could be achieved by BBB/BBC, ACC/ABC EPQ is not a required qualification, but may be included in an offer.

  8. Guardian 2013 University rankings based on: • Student satisfaction • Satisfaction with teaching • Satisfaction with feedback • Student – staff ratios • Spend per student • Entry standards • Value-added score • Graduate prospects

  9. Guardian 2013 Top Universities • Cambridge100 7 Durham 78.4 • Oxford94.4Lancaster78.4 • LSE 93.9 9 Bath 75.8 • St Andrews86.1 10 Exeter 75.3 • Warwick82.1 11 Loughborough 74.6 • UCL 80.712Surrey 73.5

  10. The Russell Group Birmingham Bristol Cambridge Cardiff Durham Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow Imperial College King’s College Leeds Liverpool LSE Manchester Newcastle Nottingham Queen’s, Belfast Oxford Queen Mary Sheffield Southampton UCL Warwick York

  11. The Group of ‘94 Bath Birkbeck East Anglia Essex Goldsmiths Institute of Education Lancaster Leicester Loughborough Reading Royal Holloway St. Andrews School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) Surrey Sussex York

  12. Most Competitive Ratio of places to applications: LSE 14.7 Bristol 11.4 Buckingham 11 Edinburgh 9.1 Warwick 8.7 King’s 8.1 UCL 8 City 7.6 Bath 7 Leeds 6.9 Bolton 6.7 Aston 6.7 Durham 6.7 Birmingham 6.5

  13. Top for Satisfaction • Cambridge 94% • Oxford 93% • St Andrews 93% • Buckingham 93% • Bath 91% • Durham 90% • Exeter 90% • Glasgow 90% • Sheffield 90% • Keele 90%

  14. Dropout Rates 2011 (%) Highest North London 41 Thames Valley 33 South Bank 33 Paisley 29 Glamorgan 28 London Guildhall 28 Glasgow Caledonian 27 Derby 27 De Montfort 26 Middlesex 26 Lowest Cambridge 1 Oxford 2 Nottingham 3 St Andrews 4 School of Pharmacy 4 St George’s 4 Hull 5 Warwick 5 Durham 5 Cardiff 6

  15. Competitive Courses (2011)

  16. Critical Thinking • Demonstrates a flexible mind and good critical faculties. Now a required skill in answering A2 “stretch and challenge” questions in all subjects. • Extremely valuable in preparing candidates for the rigour of interviews and entrance examinations such as BMAT. • High correlation between good Critical Thinking grades and success in most competitive course applications.

  17. Should I Take A Gap Year? • This is entirely up to you. • Some people benefit from this, others do not.

  18. Where Do I Start?

  19. Make The Right Choice • 20% of students drop out of university. • 10% do so in their first year. • 30% wish they had studied something else.

  20. The Main Reasons Students Drop Out • Wrong choice of course. • Wrong choice of university. • Poor advice or did not listen to advice.

  21. Which Subject Should I Take? Consider: • Aptitude • Enjoyment • Careers There is a much wider range of degree subjects than A level courses – there are 90 courses beginning with the letter A alone!

  22. Degrees And Career Choice • Fewer than 5% of jobs in the commercial and business sector require specific degrees. • The key factors for employers are: • A good degree from a good university • Personal qualities (eg. adaptability, creativity, self-management, teamwork) • Work experience.

  23. Common Misconceptions • If I wish to become a solicitor or barrister I must do a Law degree. • 40-50% of the Top 20 Law Firms’ intake is from non-Law graduates • If I wish to become an Accountant/Actuary etc I must do an Accountancy/Finance degree. • 5% of Engineering students and 5% of History graduates typically enter these professions.

  24. Which type of course should I apply for? • Single, or combined honours • Sandwich • International component • Assessment • Entry requirements • Topics being studied

  25. Which Institution? • Location (home or away? campus or city?) • Distance from home. • Transport costs. • Size and facilities • Entry standards • Accommodation • Cost of Living • Drop-out rate • Employability (Cambridge, London, Manchester, Oxford and Warwick are the most popular on the “Milk Round”)

  26. What You Need To Do • Consult the UCAS website. The “Entry Profiles” section is especially useful for this. • Consult the institution website. • Look at HE Guides (Heap, Times etc) • Visit the institutions you are interested in. • E-mail or ring admissions tutors. • Discuss options with your UCAS Tutor. • Visit HE careers-related websites: Prospects.ac.uk; icould.com; Careers.lon.ac.uk

  27. The Process

  28. The Application Process • The absolutely final deadline for UCAS forms is 15th January of year of entry. • The absolutely final deadline for Oxbridge/medical/dentistry is 15th October before the year of entry. • It is extremely unwise to leave it this late, and we insist on earlier deadlines.

  29. Your timetable Now • Begin to look into possible courses and universities. • Begin to plan your Personal Statement. • Arrange careers interview if you have not had one. May • Sit exams. These results will largely determine which courses and institutions you can apply to. You may not resit any modules until June 2014 June • Attend the school’s HE Day and then go on open days during the blocked out time in the summer term. • Meet your UCAS referee. • Register on UCAS Apply. • Write the bulk of your Personal statement. • Attend UCAS PSHE sessions.

  30. Your Timetable (cont.) September • Predicted grades are issued. These will be based upon AS results and are likely to be the same grade. • Finish PS and application form. October • Applications submitted to UCAS. • Those who fail to meet these deadlines will be severely disadvantaged.

  31. The Application Process • Increasingly, universities use paper selection but you may well be called for interview. • Choose up to 5 universities. • Complete the form and personal statement and pay online. • Your Referee completes reference section online. • The Form is checked by Mr Pearson, then by Mr. Jenkins. • The Form is sent to UCAS. A copy of your form is sent to each institution applied to. • You may be interviewed or made an offer. • You may be contacted by the university within days or maybe not until March or April.

  32. Acceptance And Rejection

  33. Offers There are two types • Unconditional (U) - already qualified for entry • Conditional (C) - when further examinations are still to be taken, offer is conditional upon passing at a specified standard. The vast majority will be conditional, although Birmingham is widening its unconditional offer criteria in some subjects. • All offer details will be sent to you by UCAS • It is highly unlikely you will not be made an offer if you have listened to the advice of the UCAS team.

  34. Accepting offers After the final decision has been received, applicant has to decide for each offer • Firm Acceptance - F • Insurance acceptance - I • Decline - D • Only ONE firm acceptance and ONE insurance may be selected. • Insurance offers should always require lower grades. • All other offers must be declined

  35. Main Reasons For Rejections • Inadequate qualifications. • Unrealistic applications. • Poor Personal Statements, including lack of specific subject information. • Poor predicted grades or GCSE grades. • Not enough relevant recent work experience. • Poor interview performance.

  36. Finally • Take examinations • DO NOT BE AWAY ON HOLIDAY WHEN EXAM RESULTS ARE PUBLISHED • UCAS confirmation begins • Your first choice place is confirmed - UCAS will ask you to confirm acceptance. • Your first place is NOT confirmed but your insurance place is - UCAS will ask you to confirm acceptance. • Neither place confirmed - enter clearing

  37. Finance

  38. Finances Most universities now charge £9,000 pa tuition fees, but they are not payable in advance. Repayment begins once you are earning £21,000 pa. Other sources of finance available: 1.Maintenance grant. This is non-repayable, but not available to everyone. 2.Maintenance loan. This is repayable and available to everyone, although the amount varies depending on parental income. Most universities also offer bursaries. You will be advised if you are eligible for these during the finance application process.

  39. Highly Competitive Universities You should be considering a highly competitive university if: • You have 5 or more A* grades at GCSE. • You expect to achieve at least 3 high A grades in AS this summer. • You are prepared to go through a rigorous interview process. • You are prepared to sit additional examinations or tests.

  40. Break & Questions

  41. Oxbridge Applications

  42. Why Oxbridge? • Quality of students • Quality of academic staff • Tutorial system • Facilities • Employability • Architecture Useful Fact You cannot apply to Oxford and Cambridge. BUT not necessarily the best!

  43. Profile of a successful Oxbridge candidate. • Reads a lot. • Intellectually curious – doesn’t just learn the syllabus. • Potential for further intellectual development. • Enthusiastic and open-minded. • An excellent academic profile. • 2A and 1A* predicted grades. • Capacity to cope with a busy life • Good interview skills • Well prepared for submitted work/tests

  44. Applications Per Place Cambridge: Overall : 4.7 Computer Science 3.5 Economics 7.9 Engineering 5.4 History 3.6 Law 5.4 Mathematics 5.2 Medicine 6.2 Natural Science 3.7 Oxford: Overall: 5.3 Biology 3.6 Chemistry 3.0 Computer Science 5.6 Economics & Management 11.8 Engineering 4.3 History 4.5 Law 6.6 Mathematics 5.5 Medicine 9.7 Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE) 6.6 Physics 5.5 Theology 2.6

  45. The Interview • Both universities interview everyone who meets their entry criteria. • This is a vital part of the process. • Candidates need to be interested in the subject, and have a breadth of knowledge beyond their A Level syllabus and set texts – begin this now! • Research the college and its staff before the interview. • You must be enthusiastic, knowledgeable and able to think on your feet.

  46. Choosing A College • Do not get too hung up on this – if in doubt, submit an open application. • Interviews are carried out at the college, except in medicine and law at Oxford. • However, you could be offered a place by a college other than the one to which you applied.

  47. Oxford • Carries out more than 24,000 interviews. • On average 60% of applicants are interviewed. • Varies greatly between subjects – Economics & Management, PEE, Law 30%; Chemistry 93%. • Pre-interview tests sat in school in most subjects.

  48. Supporting Oxford Applications • We are unlikely to support a candidate with fewer than 5A* grades at GCSE. • We must believe they have a strong likelihood of passing the entrance examination. • They must have achieved three good A grades at AS and be predicted A*AA at A Level.

  49. Oxford Employment Destinations

  50. Cambridge • Carries out 14,000 interviews. • On average 85% of applicants are interviewed, with the exception of Medicine. • No pre-interview tests sat in school (with the exception of BMAT), but may be asked to do one on interview day. • Some subjects (e.g. History) require a marked A Level essay or other piece of work to be submitted.

More Related