If you’re still reading my UCAS blog, well done for making it this far!
My guess is if you’re reading this then you’re already up to date so well done you. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am so impressed with how well you have risen to the challenge of embarking on this UCAS journey working remotely with only online support. That said, please do remember that we are here to support you and should you have any worries you must contact a member of staff so we can set your mind at ease! It will all be OK!
I really look forward to supporting you with your applications in September. To ensure you are in the best possible position with your applications, here is a reminder of what stage you should be at.
By the summer holidays you …
· MUST Register for UCAS at UCAS.com – this is just creating an account at this stage (follow the guidance in week 10 of the blog)
· MUST have completed your Personal statement and put this on Unifrog. This was due on 14th June! If you did this, following all guidance given and on time (or soon after) you will also have received feedback from your tutor by now which means you can continue to work on it over the summer. (Week 5, week 6, week 7 and week 9 of blog)
· MUST have selected your classes/teachers on Unifrog. This means there will be a place for teachers to place your references when they write them over the summer, and this is equally important for World of Workers as we will use these references if/when we are asked to be a referee in future apprenticeship/internship/job applications (Week 10 of blog).
· SHOULD have used the Unifrog section on “notes for reference and recommendation writers” to tell your teachers and tutor about achievements, interests, plans for the future etc and anything you’d like included on your reference. Tutors will write references for all students but students who complete this section of Unifrog can help inform the reference and make it more personalised (Week 10 of blog). Please note this was originally asked for in June…. staff have begun writing references now so anything you add late may not be seen by them, you should ask them if there is something you would particularly like included.
Over summer you…
· SHOULD continue to edit personal statement using the tutor feedback given, and add improvements based on extra experiences you accumulate over the summer. You also need to ensure that you are close to the character limit of 4000 characters including spaces. You need to be ready to upload a new draft in September. This is essential for Early Applicants.
· COULD complete some sections of the UCAS application form including personal details, education and employment sections. This is essential for Early Applicants (Week 11 of blog).
· COULD use the wide range of resources on Unifrog to research careers, explore subjects, find MOOCs, take personality quizzes and much more!
Useful Resources
New resources
· Medics: Live Q&A University of Leicester this Thursday and also lots of resources including masterclasses from Churchill College Cambridge.
· Oxbridge: Cambridge applicants (although some useful to Oxford applicants too) Use this link for lots of resources including Q&A videos, tasters of subjects and colleges at Cambridge, lots of medic resources and much more.
· Personal statement springboard – if you are struggling for things to out in your personal statement have a look at the resources here.
· Subject tasters from Reading University which could be useful to find out about subjects even if you don’t apply to Reading!
· Chat to students studying a wide range of subjects at Reading University to find out more about it.
Resources from previous blog posts:
· Oxbridge:
· Cambridge Applicant Support programme. Applications close 17th July, I strongly encourage anyone applying to Cambridge to apply to this. You will meet the initial criteria, and they’ll only use the additional eligibility criteria if they need to so it’s definitely worth a go.
· Super curricular resources – this takes you to a page by Cambridge University but the links would be relevant and useful for any university applicant.
· Digital subject taster days. I
· Course search info:
· UCAS website – the best place to start. When I go on this site it says “I’m considering undergraduate courses” at the top, and there is an option to change this – make sure you do have undergraduate courses selected. The site then offers you to explore courses
· By subject. Clicking on a subject area gives you specific info on things such as why study it, graduate destinations, courses, entry requirements, admissions procedure, personal statement advice, apprenticeships, careers areas, other websites, even links to chat to students studying this subject at a range of universities!
· By region of the UK. This actually wouldn’t let me click the regions this morning as I write this, but hopefully that’s a blip, and you will find you can search if the geographical location of your place of study is important.
· TheUniGuide – Enter you’re a-level subjects and explore ways you can continue any of these into Higher Education, either “best matches”, “close matches”, or “unexpected matches”. You are then given information about entry requirements, application checklists, personal statement guides, career prospects and much more.
· Unibuddy – Chat to university students, could be useful as you begin to narrow down your searches. You can sort by subjects and universities. This kind of online resources hasn’t been around for long, and in the absence of being able to speak to people face to face at open days it could be a great way to get insight into a university from someone of a similar age to you!
· Webinar – This is a future event so I have no way of verifying its usefulness, but if you are someone who likes the live experience of someone talking you through things, this could be something worth signing up to?
· Studying BTECs? – This website contains information specifically for students currently studying BTECs and wishing to enter higher education.
· Not going to uni? – This website contains information on apprenticeships, employment, gap years and more.
· Law Masterclass. Interested in studying Law? This is advertised as free online application masterclasses! Register online for course on 20th June. I haven’t got experience of this website but it sounds like it would be worth investigation.
· Medics
o Medical Masterclass. This is advertised as free online application masterclasses! Register online for course on 20th June. I haven’t got experience of this website but it sounds like it would be worth investigation.
· Essay competition – chance to win £300 and might appeal to those applying for English, Media Studies, Art, Music, Law, Computing and Design and Technology.
· Virtual Open Days – listed in one place on the UCAS website. You can also watch this 90second video about how to get the most out of the virtual open days and what to look out for.
· Online, free talks, no sign-up necessary – scroll through for upcoming talk dates and topics. Looks like a fantastic way to gather some super-curricular experiences to add to your personal statements.
· University of Leicester – Subject taster days for Law, Engineering, History, Politics and International Relations, American Studies, Biological and Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Business, Economics and Accounting.
· Medics:
o Medical School Council Webinar on Admissions – Monday 8th June 11am, you need to register in advance.
o Virtual work experience – see file shared to Teams
· Super Curricuilar ideas – VERY useful links for ideas to explore your subject in your own time to give you plenty to discuss in your personal statement, including podcasts, masterclasses and lots of subject specific resources.
· Uni Taster Tuesdays – Each week on Tuesdays at 12pm. This looks like a great resource with online events which combine different topics and with contributions from different universities.
· Royal Holloway – Book your place for Online Taster Days, various subjects, dates in June and July.
· University of Brighton – Subject specific Q&A events: Health / Social Science / Art and Design / Business, Law or Events / Computing, Maths or Engineering / Geography, Construction or Environment / Science.
· Pathways to university – if you are really confused about your options this document outlines them all. The links on page 3 look particularly useful and I’ll be referring to these in a future blog.
· Oxbridge Applicants
o Oxbridge – A mega document with links to super-curricular academic material
· Medics. Please can you let me know if you are provisionally interested in the following (no commitment at this stage).
o UCAT course – Medics, I am trying to get a discount code for this course so you would pay £60 for 4 weeks membership (instead of £100) I will let you know if I do. I would suggest trying out the free demo first to see if this is something you would like to do.
o TMP MedSoc – This programme of modules costs £25 per student, but again I have applied for a school discount and will let you know when they get back to me.
· BMAT – This is a reminder of the courses requiring BMAT (Some medicine, biomed and dentistry). If you think you are going to be taking this please email me and I will forward you a presentation on the BMAT.
· University of Portsmouth “Getting Started at Uni” webinars. Upcoming sessions include “Understanding the UCAS process”.
· University of Leicester “Wednesday Wisdom” webinars. You are asked to register in advance, upcoming sessions include “Choosing a Course and Choosing a Uni” and “Personal Statements”.
· Early Apps
o OSCS website for Oxbridge applicants – online sessions on “The Student Experience and Applying to Oxford and Cambridge”, “Making a Competitive Application”, and “Student Q&A panel with current University students”
Admission test info Here I’ve linked my own blog (!) but only because I provided lots of links in the section on admissions test, here you’ll be able to find the sections relevant to you
