YOUR GUIDETO HIGHEREDUCATION

YOUNGPERSON’SGUIDE

My name is Lewis and Ihave a degree in Dramafrom the ManchesterMetropolitan University.

My pathway to highereducation was School >College > University. I foundthe transition from schoolto college the biggest jumpin terms of workload andmanaging independentstudy. This challenge made the step up to higher education slightlyeasier; staying organisedand balancingstudying/work/social life is key.

University is not foreveryone and that’s okay!If you really enjoy studyingor have a career in mindthat requires a universitydegree, I would 100%recommend it. Not only doyou get a qualification atthe end of it but you learnso much about yourself. I now work with youngpeople and am reallypassionate aboutsupporting them to seeuniversity as an optionfor them.

I chose to go to universityso I could study a subjectI really enjoyed and I hadthe opportunity to moveaway from home to a newcity which was reallyexciting to me!

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We are a partnership of universities, colleges and schools working together toprovide quality information and opportunities to young people across the WestMidlands relating to higher education (HE). We want to encourage young peopleto reach their potential and inspire them to think about their future.

This booklet is packed full of information and guidance about university andhigher education to help YOU make an informed decision about what you do next.

Hi, I’m Mickie. I studiedPsychology & Counsellingat Newman University inBirmingham.

I went to university becauseI wanted a better life for meand my Mom. We’dstruggled financially for solong and were evenhomeless at one point, I wanted a way out. I alsowanted to get a career thatI enjoyed! I didn’t have thetraditional path to highereducation, there were many obstacles: self-belief,not thinking I was‘academic’ and strugglingat secondary school.

It took me a while to figureout what I wanted to do, butonce I’d made my mind upthat I wanted to studyPsychology andCounselling I enrolled on anAccess to HE course andthe next year I was atuniversity. Three years laterI graduated with a 2:1.I can’t believe I went fromnot thinking I was goodenough to graduating withone of the top grades -you can do it too!

Hello! I’m Ray and I studiedHistory at the University ofSheffield.

I went to a normal stateschool in Stafford, stayedon for 6th Form and thenwent straight to universityafter my A Levels. My onlymajor fear about going toUni was the fear of debtand how much it wouldcost. However, by doingsome research, I found it

was not an obstacle at alland I was just simplymisinformed due to thingslike the media! With a betterunderstanding, I knewuniversity was an option for me and chose Historyas it was the subject Ienjoyed most at A Level. I went to university not only to improve my career prospects but also to experience being independent and move away.

Being a university studentwas some of the best yearsof my life and I reallyenjoyed the experience -I wish I could do it all overagain every day.

Mickie, Lewis and Ray are all recent higher education graduates so they know first-handwhat it’s like to go through the application process and then be a university student.

About us AiMhiGher Plus

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Meet your Graduate Guides!

ACCESS TOHE COURSE...

a qualification whichprepares people forstudy at university ifthey don’t yet have

the grades to gostraight on to a

universityundergraduate

degree.

STUDENTFINANCE...

uK Nationals andthose with settledstatus are able to

borrow money to payfor university tuitionfees and to help with

living costs. see page 8 for more

information.

GRADUATE...a person who has

successfullycompleted a highereducation degree.

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Higher Educationcourses are Level 4and above, which isthe next level of studyafter sixth form orcollege (e.g. A Levelsor Level 3 vocationalqualification). Youcan study a highereducation course at auniversity, college oreven as part of adegree levelapprenticeship.Higher education isthe final destinationof your academiccareer.

You don’t have to goonto higher education/ university straightfrom sixth form orcollege; it’s importantto go when the time isright for you.

f To study something you really enjoy

f Opportunity to meet new people andexpand your horizons

f Get out of your comfort zone

f Increased career prospects andpotential earnings

f Some professions have a minimumrequirement of a degree levelqualification (e.g. nursing, law andeducation)

Why hiGher educAtioN? YO

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I think of higher educationas a key that unlocks thenext level. It builds youup, gives you theskills and the knowledgeso that you are able toaccess better opportunitiesin the future.Mickie

FreedoM! You are in charge of yourschedule and HE is oftenless formal than school.This means that you decidewhen you want to do thingsbut to be successful; itmeans that you have to useyour time responsibly andstudy independently. If youmove away from home,you’ll also need to manageyour money, buy your ownfood and get your ownlaundry done.

oNe subjectOne of the main differencesis you can choose to studyone subject that you’rereally interested in ratherthan juggling 8 subjects likeyou do in your GCSEs. Yourlecturers will be experts intheir field.

clAssrooM sizeUniversities come indifferent shapes and sizesbut if you’re at a largeuniversity you might havelectures with hundreds ofpeople in them. Some lovethat but if you’re nervousabout large groups, look atsmaller universities.

FAcilities ANdsuPPortUniversity facilities areusually bigger and better:more food outlets, betterlabs, bigger leisure facilities,huge libraries, andcomprehensive supportservices. For example thereare 39 food outlets atUniversity of Birmingham!Universities will offer arange of free andconfidential servicesincluding counselling,disability, academic supportand financial services.

The biggest differencebetween secondary schooland university is that you'retreated as an adult. Thatmeans you get to takegreater control of how youspend your time and whatyou study. It also meansthat your education is yourresponsibility.

levels of education

Why should you go to university?

UNIVERSITY...university is a placewhere people study

for a degree or otherhigher education

qualification.

I would recommend othersgo to university for thepersonal development andexperience. I built a lot ofresilience at uni as well asskills like time managementand organisation.Ray

school vs higher education - what’s the difference?

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Some people will have had a dream job fromchildhood so know what they want to study butmost young people (and adults) aren’t sure yet!There are over 50,000 undergraduate courses atmore than 395 providers in the UK, so with so muchchoice it’s important you do your research!

The variety of courses and institutions can seemoverwhelming but selecting the best possibleoption for you is a key decision for any student.

WhAt ANd Where to study?

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My main advice to everyone is thatOpen Days are the most importantthing when picking a university.You wouldn’t buy a car withoutseeing it in person first so whywould you pick a city or universityif you haven’t had a proper look!Ray

You don’t need to have ALLthe answers right now butit’s never too early to startexploring your options.Think about what you enjoy,what you’re good at andthen research whichcareers involve acombination of the two.

You should also considerwhat is important to you:

Motivated by money andwant a career with highearning potential?Law or Finance.

Are you an adventurer thatwants a future career withtravel and variety?International BusinessManagement or Journalism

Passionate about savingthe planet or supportingothers? EnvironmentalScience or Social Work.

UNIVERSITYENTRY

REQUIREMENTS...outline what

qualifications orexperience you’ll

likely need to get aplace on the course.

A university will oftenask for a set amount

of ucAs points.

things to consider

f Course content - does that History coursecover the area you’re interested in?

f Qualification title…BA/BSc/BEng/MEng

f Does the course include a work placement?

f Can you do a year abroad?

f Entry requirements - will you have enoughUCAS points?

UCAS TARIFFPOINTS...

translate yourqualifications and

grades into anumerical value, e.g.a c grade A level is

worth 30 points.

Open Days = a day where you can visit the universityand experience it first-hand. You’ll get to meetcurrent students, staff, tour the campus and look ataccommodation. Attending open days and physicallyvisiting an institution is often the best way to findout about courses and if you like the location! There are also lots of virtual open days on offerwhich can be a great place to start.

I always knew I wanted tomove away from home justpurely to get the most outof university and beingindependent. I visited theuniversity through an openday and I really liked thecampus and how close itwas to the city centre. I encourage people totake advantage of opendays so you can see whatit would be like to study atdifferent universities aseach one is different!Lewis

choosing a university / higher education institution

f Industry / Employer links

f Facilities: love to play piano or swimcompetitively - can you do this at theuniversity?

f Environment: City or Rural?

f Distance: close to home or moveaway? How direct is the train and busroute to your hometown?

f Book onto an Open Day!

No idea what to study?

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studeNt FiNANce

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rePAyMeNtsStudying at highereducation is an investmentin your future. Even with astudent loan, there’s nodenying it, it is a lot ofmoney. Student debt andrepayments are oftenmisunderstood though.Here’s what you need toknow:

Student loan repaymentamounts are based on whatsomeone is earning.

f In 2018, the averagegraduate starting salarywas £22,399 (AGCAS)which equals norepayments.

f The starting salary forteachers starts at£24,373 to £30,480(Prospects.) If earning£30,480, you wouldrepay roughly £33 permonth.

f Starting salaries forsolicitors range from£25,000 to £40,000 (andhigher for largercommercial firms)(Prospects). Earning£40,000 you wouldrepay £100 per month.

ANd

f Any outstanding loan iswritten off after 30years.

f Repayments arededucted directly froma salary each monthbefore it arrives insomeone’s bankaccount.

tuitioN Fees

Most universities andcolleges charge around£9,250 per year for tuitionfees (this includes all of astudent’s lectures,seminars, tutorials, exams,assessments and marking).Any student in the UK cantake out a tuition loan fortheir first degree so fees donot need to be paid upfront.This money is paid directlyto the university anddoesn’t need to be repaiduntil you’ve completed yourdegree and are in a jobearning over the salarythreshold*.

liviNG costs

You can apply for amaintenance loan to helptowards living expenses,such as accommodation,food, and course materials.The amount you canborrow depends on severalfactors, including whereyou will be studying andyour household income.Those from low incomehouseholds will usuallyreceive the maximumamount of funding. Like thetuition fee loan, this doesn’tneed to be repaid until youare earning over the salarythreshold*.

scholArshiPs ANdbursAries

These are non-repayablesums of money awarded tostudents who fulfil specificcriteria. This could be foracademic or sportingachievements or based onfactors such as householdincome.

You may be worried about the cost of university; however the facts may not be asscary as you think. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about fees, livingexpenses, and repayment:

Additional help isavailable for studentswith dependents, careleavers and students

with disabilities

Many universities

offer additionalsupport to studentsin need such as fee waivers andhardship funds.

Discover more aboutstudent finance here:

www.gov.uk/studentfinance

GrAduAtesoN A sAlAry oF

£27,000PAy bAcK less thAN

£10 A MoNth!(Money Saving Expert) *At time of writing (2020/21), the student loan repayment threshold is £26,575. Graduates who studied after

Sept 2012 won’t start making repayments until they are earning this amount or more (Student Finance England).

Before I did my research Ididn’t even know studentloans were a thing!I thought you had to payfor it all yourself. I’m froma low income family andStudent Finance meant itwas possible for me to geta degree and the jobthat I’m in now.Mickie

I had various part time jobs whilst at university;it helped me financially and boosted my CVfor when I came to apply for jobs after. Lewis

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studeNt liFe

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cAre exPerieNcedyouNG PeoPleIf you’re a looked after childor care leaver, you will beentitled to extra supportfrom your Local Authorityand the University. It’sreally important that whenyou apply to university youtick the box on your UCASapplication so theuniversity knows. This isconfidential and will only beshared with those whoneed to know in order tooffer additional support. Forexample, some universitiesoffer year roundaccommodation andreduced tuition fees.

Propel.org.uk has a wealthof information onsupporting care leavers toaccess HE.

GrouPs ANdsocieties

Joining a student leduniversity society (orstudent club / group) is agreat opportunity to take abreak from academia andto do something interestingin your spare time. Everyuniversity will havefacilities, clubs andsocieties to suit allinterests, whether it besporting, cultural, religiousor political. Joining a sportteam or society will allowyou to meet new friends,gain new experiences andalso following an interestthat you might have hadprior to university…ordevelop a new one!

sociAlisiNG ANdMAKiNG FrieNds

If you choose to go touniversity straight fromcollege or sixth form youwill be surrounded bythousands of people yourown age from all over theworld, all of whom want toenjoy themselves and makefriends. Student life is whatyou make it and your sociallife will be as active orrestful as you’d like! Many students enjoy amixture of nights in cookingor watching films, nightsout dancing and randomday trips in the local areaand beyond.

PersoNAldeveloPMeNt

You can also get involved ina wider range ofopportunities that will beoffered by universities suchas volunteering for a localcharity or working for theuniversity as a StudentAmbassador (often helpingout at Open Days andevents). This will look great for your CV, whilstalso allowing you to gainnew skills.

Student life is often talked about as the mostenjoyable part of university and the greatthing about it as that it can be whatever youwant it to be!

More independence is a huge part of the universityexperience and for some students this will involveleaving home and learning to look after themselves.This can be daunting and there may be challengesbut you’ll never have to face them alone!

youNG PeoPle WithsPeciAl educAtioNNeeds ANddisAbilities (seNd)Over 45,000 disabledstudents enter highereducation each year,meaning there’s alreadylots of on-campus supportavailable. If you have adisability or support needs,it’s a good idea to contact auniversity directly to talkabout support available -even before submitting aUCAS application. You mayeven be entitled to DisabledStudents Allowance, afinancial grant.

Accessable.co.uk providesaccessibility information on1000s of locationsincluding many universities

I was diagnosed withdyslexia while at university,which was great because itfinally gave me anexplanation as to why Ifound spelling and grammardifficult! I had so muchsupport from Newman, mygrades got better and I learnedso much about myself andmanaging my dyslexia. WhenI struggled with my mentalhealth in my third year, theacademic support advisorswere understanding andhelped me get an extensionon my dissertation.Mickie

suPPort At uNiversity

At the beginning, I foundstudent life a struggle andit was difficult being so faraway from my family andfriends. However, when Isettled in I really enjoyedstudent life. It was theperfect mix betweenfreedom and responsibilities.I joined the AmericanFootball team which was acompletely new experienceand helped me meet newpeople. Varsity seasonwas without a doubt thebest part of university!Ray

Additional support is alsooften also available tocarers, parents, low incomefamilies, asylum seekersand military families.

It is the student'sresponsibility to seek outmost of these services so ifyou think you’ll need toaccess any of the supportabove it’s a good idea tocontact the University inadvance to introduceyourself.

stArt yourreseArch! liNKs We liKe: As well as handlingapplications, UCAS(ucas.com) has lots of infoon higher education and thewide range of coursesavailable.

Buzz Quiz(icould.com/buzz-quiz)have a careers quiz thattells you what careersmatch your personality.

Prospects(prospects.ac.uk) hashundreds of job profiles. Ifyou have a job you want toresearch, this is the place togo for guidance on whatqualifications you’ll needand earning potential.

What Uni (whatuni.com)allows you to comparecourses and read reviewsfrom current universitystudents.

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Whether you’re planningon going to university,applying for anapprenticeship or startinga job search, there’s avariety of things that youcan start NOW to standout from the crowd:

f Work experience

f Part-time job

f Volunteering

f Clubs and hobbies

f University summerschools

stArt thiNKiNG About

What did ourGraduateGuides doto stand out in their ucAsforms?

as a school mentor!

I knew I wanted to do acounselling degree so Igot some voluntaryexperience in a relevantfield with Samaritans. Mickie

I took a gap year betweencollege and university andapplied for jobs as I wantedsave money and get someemployment experience formy CV and uni application.I was lucky enough to find amentoring role at my oldsecondary school. My friendsaround me went straight touni from college, but takinga gap year made me excitedto start my course and I feltI was fully prepared by takingthat extra time… plus I had ayear’s worth of experience

Lewis

University Summer Schools are a great opportunityto meet new people and get a real taster of universitylife! You’ll stay in student accommodation, attendtaster lecturers and experience student life.Aimhigher West Midlands offer ‘UniFest’ for year 10and there are lots of other summer schools acrossthe UK; see aimhigherwm.ac.uk andunitasterdays.com for more info.

WhAt NoW?your Future todAy!

What are your interests and hobbies?

Answer:

do you like any of your current subjects and want to study them in more depth?

Answer:

do you have a dream job in mind? if yes - what course would help you get that job?(take a look at prospects.ac.uk for info!)

Answer:

do you have a passion which you could pursue further at university?

Answer:

What are you really good at? (if you’re not sure ask your family and friends - they know)

Answer:

do you want to do work experience or a placement whilst at university?

Answer:

do you want to live at home or move away?

Answer:

how do you like to learn? (Practically, listening, reading etc.)

Answer:

Answered the questions? Ask your school if you can see a careers advisor and get theiradvice on what jobs and courses you could look at based on your answers.

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hiGher educAtioN tiMeliNe

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UCAS is responsible forprocessing applicationsfor courses at universitiesin the UK. When you applyto university you’ll makean application via theUCAS website and theywill notify you ofresponses fromuniversities. Yourapplication will ask for:

f Personal details andsupport needs.

f Course choices - Youcan choose up to fivecourses and yourchosenuniversities/collegeswon’t see where elseyou’ve applied.

f Education andemployment history.

f A reference from ateacher or adviser. Ifyou’re applying throughschool or school theywill arrange this.

f And a PERSONALSTATEMENT.

f AdjustMeNt If you meet or exceed

your firm choice, it ispossible to swap whereyou plan to study.

f cleAriNG How universities and

colleges fill any placesthey still have on theircourses. You findcourses with vacanciesand contact universitiesor colleges directly, tosee if they will offer youa place.

f deFerredeNtry

Applying for a coursethen taking a year outbefore going touniversity. 

Year 8-9Choose GCSEs

Year 10Start thinking about your future optionsWork Experience

Year 12Research HE

options

Year 13 September

UCAS Applications Open

Year 11Take GCSEs

Choose Further Education options

Year 12 SummerHead to Open Days

Prepare Applications

Year 13 February

UCAS EXTRA Opens

Year 13 August

Results DayAdjustment Opens

Year 13 January

UCAS Application

Deadline

Year 13 July

Clearing OpensYear 13 OctoberHead to

University!

hoW to APPly? f oFFer A conditional offer

means you still need tomeet therequirements (e.g. examresults).

An unconditional offermeans you’ve got aplace, although theremight still be a fewthings to arrange.

Some universities makecontextual offers tostudents whosepersonal circumstancesmay have restrictedachievement at schoolor college. These offersare often one gradelower than the entryrequirements

f ucAs extrA If you used all five of

your choices on youroriginal application andyou’re not holding anoffer, you’ll be able toadd another choiceusing Extra betweenFebruary and July.

PersoNAlstAteMeNtA personal statementneeds to be included inyour higher educationapplication and will be thepart that requires the mostamount of time and effort.It tells the university whyyou want to study thecourse and ultimately whyyou’re an all-round goodegg that would be an assetto their university!

A personal statement canmake you stand out fromthe crowd and is youropportunity to tell theuniversity about yourselfand show your enthusiasmfor the subject.

Have you started your ownblog? Did you take part inDuke of Edinburgh? Haveyou gone out of your way tosupport the elderly in yourcommunity? Do youvolunteer with your localjunior football team? Put itin your personal statement!

When it came to writingmy personal statement,the idea of “selling myself”was quite hard at first,because it almost felt likebragging. Once you getover that it’s pretty easy- don’t be afraid to talkabout your strengthsand skills!Mickie

USEFUL WEBSITES

CONTACT USwebsite: www.aimhigherwm.ac.uk

email us: aimhigher@contacts.bham.ac.uk

telephone: 0121 415 8176

@aimhigherWM

@aimhigherwm

Complete University Guide For information on all UK universities and advice on which university to choose visit: www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk

Student FinanceFind out more information about Student Finance by visiting:

The Uni GuideFind a subject which suits you at: www.theuniguide.co.uk

UK universities and colleges To search for courses at UK universities and colleges go to: www.ucas.com

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