The university application process

Student finance

Liam DowsonUniversity of Bristol

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What is university?• Higher Education – study for a degree• Normally after you are 18• You have to pay to attend• Choose what you study• Many people move away from home

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Who is it for?

• People like you!• If you want it you can go• Something you choose to do• Not the best option for everybody• You shouldn’t be put off by the debt, there’s lots of help to cover

the costs

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What can you study?• Over 50,000 courses available at over 150 universities in the

UK• Subjects you have studied before

e.g. Sciences, English, History, Geography

• Subjects you haven’t studied beforee.g. Engineering, Geology, Law, Medicine

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What are the benefits of going to university?

• Chance to study a subject you’re passionate about

• Learn from the experts!

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• Develop a range of new skillse.g. teamwork, communication, time management, leadership

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What are the benefits of going to university?

• Better chance of getting a jobe.g. In 2011 86% of all graduates were in work compared with 72.3% of non-graduates

• Likely to earn a higher salarye.g. In 2011 the median hourly rate of pay for all graduates aged 21 to 64 was £15.18, 70% more than the non-graduate rate of £8.92

6Source: The Graduates in the Labour Market 2012 report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

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What are the benefits of going to university?

• Some careers demand an HE qualification

• More employers are expecting it

• 60% of graduate jobs don’t favour a particular subject

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What are the benefits of going to university?

• Meet a wide range of new people• Live somewhere else, with friends• Become independent• Experience a whole new social life• Sports and societies• Opportunity for travel

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How is university different to school?

• Study just one or two subjects that you are interested in

• Taught in lectures and seminars, learn independently

• Much bigger – more than 3,500 students in the first year alone at University of Bristol

• No uniform and longer holidays!9

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Sounds great....

what happens next?

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RESEARCH!

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You need to make decisions on:

- What course you want to study

- Where you want to study it

This is a huge part of theapplication process!

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Doing your research

• UCAS website• UCAS conventions• University websites and prospectuses• Open days• League tables• Key Information Sets – unistats.com• Post-offer visit days

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How to apply

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• Online through UCAS (www.ucas.com)

• Write 1 application

• Send to up to 5 choices

• Apply during first term of year 13

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Application timeline

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• From now onwards – research and visit open days• School deadlines• September 2015 – UCAS application opens• 15 October 2015 – deadline for applications to Oxbridge,

Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science/Medicine• 15 January 2015 – deadline for receipt of applications• 24 March 2015 – deadline for some art and design courses• May 2016 – all decisions made, decide firm and insurance• Mid August – most results known, Confirmation and Clearing

• September/October – start at university!

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The importance of applying early

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• Universities will start considering applications as soon as they receive them

• It may take some universities a long time to get back to you (it’s important that you wait until you have all your offers before you make any decisions)

• You can get all of the application angst out of the way early – you can concentrate on your studies!

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The application

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Personal details

Education and qualifications

Employment history

Personal statement

Teacher’s reference

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What are universities looking for?

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• Relevant academic ability

• Motivation to study

• Passion for the subject

• Relevant experience

• Study skills

• The whole person

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The personal statement

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• Your one chance to sell yourself

• Tell the Admissions Tutor:- Why you want to study the course at university- Where your passion for the subject came from- What aspects of the course you are interested in- What have you done or seen outside the syllabus- If you have any work experience or have attended

masterclasses, summer schools etc

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The personal statement

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• Only 4,000 characters or 47 lines• Same one for each choice• Spelling, punctuation and grammar• Give yourself plenty of time• Show everyone• Check, check and check again• Draft, redraft, and redraft again• Must be your own work• Check the UCAS guides

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The personal statement

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• About two thirds should be subject-based- Passion and enthusiasm for the course- Skills, knowledge and experience

• About one third should be about you as a person- Hobbies and interests- Jobs- Any future plans

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SHOW not TELL

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You’ve applied – what next?

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• Applications are read by admissions tutors

• Possibility of interviews

• Invitation to visit day

• Decisions will come through at different times

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Types of offer

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• Two types of offer:

- Unconditional(offer based on qualifications you already have)

- Conditional(offer conditional upon you gaining certain grades/points/marks, maybe in particular subjects)

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You’ve been accepted – what next?

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• Need to properly research the universities and courses you have been accepted onto

• Departmental open days/post-offer visit days

• Make two choices (all others you decline):- Conditional firm (CF)- Conditional insurance (CI)

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What if things go wrong?

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ExtraIf you don’t get any offers or you reject all your offers, this scheme allows you to have another choice before clearing. You can only apply to courses that still have places.

ClearingIf you don’t get the grades and your offer is not confirmed you can go through Clearing. This scheme helps students find places that are still available.

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Adjustment

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• Scheme to provide a bit of leeway for students who do much better than anticipated

• For students who meet and exceed the terms of their firm choice offer

• Applicants may make multiple enquiries but only one formal adjustment transaction

• Opens on A-level results day, until end of August

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Useful resources

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• www.ucas.com• www.bristol.ac.uk• www.unistats.com• www.opendays.com• www.studentfinanceengland.co.uk• www.thestudentroom.co.uk

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Student finance

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The costs of university

Tuition fees

•Universities are able to charge up to £9,000 per year•Can charge less•Sounds scary but…

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Living costs

•Everything it costs to live as a student•E.g. food, travel, accommodation, bills & social activities

There is lots of support available tohelp you meet these costs!

Most support comes from the government,but also some from many other places

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Tuition fees

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• Covers full cost of tuition fees

• Loan isn’t compulsory (students can pay all or part of tuition fee upfront themselves)

• Paid directly to your university/college

Tuition fee loan available to all;

no ‘up front’ fees

The costs of university

Tuition fees

•Universities are able to charge up to £9,000 per year•Can charge less•Sounds scary but…

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Living costs

•Everything it costs to live as a student•E.g. food, travel, accommodation, bills & social activities

Living costs

Government support comes in two forms:

- Maintenance loan

- Maintenance grant

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Maintenance loan

• Maintenance loan available to all• Paid directly to student• Not everybody gets same amount, depends on:

- where you study and live- your parents’ (or household) income- full time or part time study

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Maintenance grant

• A grant is money you don’t have to pay back

• For 2014 you can get up to £3,387 per year as a grant

• This is dependent on household income:- full grant if under £25,000- partial grant if between £25,001 and £42,620- no grant if over £42,620

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Maintenance support

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The amount of maintenance grant a student receives affects the amount of maintenance loan they can borrow.

Household Income

Maintenance Grant

Maintenance Loan

Total

£25,000 & under £3,387 £3,862 £7,249

£30,000 £2,441 £4,335 £6,776

£35,000 £1,494 £4,808 £6,302

£40,000 £547 £5,282 £5,829

£42,620 £50 £5,530 £5,580

£42,875 £0 £5,555 £5,555

£50,000 £0 £4,836 £4,836

£62,132 & over £0 £3,610 £3,610

Maintenance support

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example demonstrates 2013 figures

Repaying the loans

• Your tuition fee and maintenance loans are added together

• You only repay after you graduate

• You only repay if you have a job with a salary over £21,000 per year

• You pay 9% of any income over £21,000

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Repaying the loans

• If your salary drops below £21,000 a year you stop paying

• Not everybody pays it all back (you are not expected to!)

• Any remaining loan is wiped off after 30 years

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Repaying the loans

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Income each year before tax

Income from which 9% is deducted

Monthly Repayment (Approx)

£21,000 £0 £0

£25,000 £4,000 £30

£30,000 £9,000 £67

£35,000 £14,000 £105

£40,000 £19,000 £142

£45,000 £24,000 £180

£50,000 £29,000 £217

£60,000 £39,000 £292

Bursaries/scholarships

• All fee-charging universities must offer bursaries

• Like a grant, bursaries are yours to keep

• Universities also offer various scholarships, e.g. for excelling in a certain area

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www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk

Other sources of funding• The Access to Learning Fund

- if you can demonstrate you are experiencing real financial hardship

• Specific grants- Disable Students’ Allowance, Adult Dependants’ Grant, Care Leavers

Grant, Childcare Grant, Parents’ Learning Allowance

• NHS bursaries- Medical, dentistry or healthcare students

• Extra help for teacher training students• Charities or employers• Part-time work

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Summary

• University is expensive, but everybody is entitled to loans to cover these costs

• The expensive £9,000 per year is the easy bit

• The amount students repay depends on their salary; they only pay back their loans when they can afford to

• The debt doesn’t count against you in any way44

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Any questions?

www.bristol.ac.uk

schools-colleges-liaison@bristol.ac.uk

@ChooseBristolUG

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