UCAS Updates

2015 Entry

Presentations from last year

• Admissions Tests

• Applying to Medicine

• Applying to Oxford and Cambridge

• Personal Statements

• Understanding Fee Status

• Writing References

New Presentations in 2014

• Working with Agents• Study in Scotland• Research Tools for You and Your Students• Making UCAS Apply work for you• Loans Scholarships and Bursaries• How To Apply for a Student Visa• Getting into Business• English Language Testing

Study in Scotland• www.studyinscotland.org

• Slightly different to other UK degrees

- More general in scope

- 1st & 2nd year diverse subjects

- 3rd & 4th year – specialise

- “Outside” modules available

- May leave after 3rd year with Ord degree

- Some entry into 2nd year possible with HNC

Study in ScotlandFees and Funding

• SAAS – Student Awards Agency for Scotland• It must be students first degree to be eligible• EU students not eligible for student loans in

Scotland• Living costs met through portability of funding via

SUSI• Irish students eligible for some postgraduate

course tuition fee loans to cover approx £3000 of cost of course

Research Tools

• Full list will be on Cork Branch Website• Highlights include:

– www.icould.com (esp the “Buzz” test)– www.ukcisa.org.uk – www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk – www.careers.ox.ac.uk– http://university.which.co.uk– www.thestudentroom.co.uk– www.studyinthestates.dhs.gov

Making UCAS Apply Work For You

• Website upgraded this year – more steps to go through put in place to avoid students applying for courses they weren’t eligible for

• “Browse” tool – suggests courses based on topics

• More videos to help students through Apply• Improved map view• Most mistakes are made by students when

entering qualification details – centres can now limit the amount of qual that students can select from (in the Setup: Qualifications area of Apply)

UCAS Staff Apply Recommendations

• Have 2 people set up as coordinators• Use Setup to arrange groups instead of letting it

go to default groups (enables better use of the email group facility)

• Use Setup: Permissions to organise access for other staff (can also be used to enable them to see their own groups for references etc)

• Presentation goes through all of the above step by step

Staff Apply

Adviser Track £41.67 + vat annually

Contact:

Alan Jones

a.jones@ucas.ac.uk

Loans Scholarships and Bursaries

Scholarships:

• Related to course and academic ability

• Tied to a particular institution

• Tied to fees and not other expenses

• Can often be paid directly to university instead of going through the student

• Not repayable

Loans Scholarships and Bursaries

Bursaries:

• Similar to Grants

• Usually income-dependent

• Can be dependent on academic ability

• Applicable to fees or other expenses but generally will not cover total cost (average bursary in UK is £500-£2000)

• Not repayable

Loans!

• Up to £9000 payable in three instalments• Accrue interest from date of first payment • Deferred payment (until employed or until graduation)• All parts of UK have different schemes for student loans• Some involve credit checks to ensure ability to repay• Student Finance England is not dependent on a credit

check but will check family income• Professional and Career Development Loan – for

postgraduate courses (or others up to 2 years) – bank pays the interest while student is studying but interest starts to accrue upon graduation

Eligibility for Migrant Worker Status

• Must be resident and established by the 1st September the year their course begins

• Bank account set up; fixed address (family preferably); registered with GP; etc

• Must have a part time job of min 15-20 regular hours per week throughout the year with a contract and be registered for tax payments

• Earnings must be min £7500 pa and they will then be classed as a worker and not a student

• If they change employers they must not have a gap of more than 2 weeks between jobs

What does this mean?

• Student may be classed as a “home” student instead of EU or International

• This makes them eligible for maintenance loans and grants (same as UK students)

• Status is fixed at the beginning of the course, but if employment ceases the financial service they got their loans from can claim it back

• Previous third level study count towards eligibility – this includes any type of course whether it was finished or not – students can claim nothing in the UK until their current study bypasses duration of previous study

Migrant Worker Status• : Those who are 'settled' in the UK and meet the main residence requirements• In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the

following criteria:• (a) you must be settled in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the

course; and• (b) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year

of the course; and• (c) you must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three

year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course - eg, if your course begins in October 2013, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2013; and 

• (d) the main purpose for your residence in the UK and Islands must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of that three-year period.

Note: It is not necessary to have had settled immigration status in the UK for the full three years. You only need to show that you have it on, at the latest, the first day of the first academic year of the course.

(www.ukcisa.org.uk)

Getting into Business

• Remember that particular requirements reflect competitive courses

• Traditional academic (science, business, maths) subjects are viewed more favourably than subjects like Art or Home Ec

• Many have a strong focus on Maths (BSc degrees in particular – Maths & Statistics)

• Students must take particular note of teaching approach and campus location

• Placement schemes vary between universities and could (should?) be a deciding factor

• IELTS required if students need English testing

When Applying for Business:

• Personal statement should emphasize work experience and extra curricular activities that demonstrate essential transferable skills (no information in isolation)

• Link this to their decision to study Business • Business students should show evidence of

reading around current events (and be able to discuss their possible implications in interviews) / can this be linked to university-specific modules or lecturers specialities?

English Language Testing

• Controversy this year re English Language Testing Companies

• IELTS seems to be the forerunner

• Request to have speaker for branch meeting – TBC

• http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare/road-to-ielts

Misc Notes / Reminders

• Take note of presentation by John Watkins on the Professional Training Year – excellent slide on skills for employability that could be used while planning the personal statement or CV

• Students still can’t add a new personal statement if applying through Extra or Clearing (but they may submit directly to university by prior agreement)

• Late applicants may not be eligible for Extra

Notes on Medicine

• Government cap on places for Medicine (7.5%) and Dentistry (5%) for Int Applicants

• Medicine applicants – - advised to have 5th choice of good

relevant science course- they usually don’t get offered anything through Extra- Personal Statement geared towards medicine is acceptable if applying for relevant science course (ie. Biochem)

Schools and Colleges Team

schools@ucas.ac.uk

0044 845 123 8001