APPLYING TO HIGHER EDUCATION

1. APPLYING TO HIGHER EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2017

3. Why bother going to Uni? • Money • The average graduate starting salary is approx £24000 (NI) • Graduates entering law, banking and finance, IT and engineering can expect salaries above this • the average lifetime earnings of a graduate are £227,000 more than those of a non-graduate with two A-levels • The top earning graduate jobs of 2017 are analyst, software engineer and consultancy • Learning • Independence

4. How do you apply? • Most applications will be through UCAS (electronically) or UCAS Conservatoires • Applications for universities in Ireland are through CAO (electronically) • A few situations require direct application to the specific institution • Many European countries charge lower tuition fees than the UK (www.studyineurope.eu)

5. Applications through CAO • Closing date of 1 February (meeting in November) • Up to 10 degree and 10 diploma choices • Listed in order of preference • No personal statement or reference • Different values for grades compared to UCAS tariff • No conditional offers – selection by order of preference and results in August • www.cao.ie • Student Contribution fee – up to €3000 a year, loan available.

6. UCAS application Timetable UCAS Student Guidance Interviews - September 25th 2017 – 13th October 2017

7. The UCAS form • www.ucas.com • Register • Undergraduate • Username and password

9. The UCAS form • Personal details – name, address etc • Choices – maximum of 5 realistic courses • Education – schools attended, exams completed and pending • Employment – not very relevant to majority of pupils • Personal statement • Cost £24

10. The Personal Statement • Justify course choice (very important for a vocational course) • Work experience • Activities inside & outside school • Positions of responsibility, skills, qualities • Concluding statement

11. UCAS Guidance interview • Pupils will be allocated to a teacher • Pupils are responsible for booking an interview in the 3 week time period • Pupils bring a printout of their whole UCAS form, including personal statement, and grades required for their courses • Teachers check their courses are realistic and check form and personal statement

12. What happens next?? • Make any corrections as quickly as possible • Pupils then bring a finalised paper copy of their form to Mrs Rea • The form is checked one more time and pupils can now “pay and send” • £24 paid online by debit/credit card • The form is automatically sent electronically to school • The school now writes the confidential reference and attaches this to the electronic form and sends this to UCAS

13. What happens then?? • UCAS sends the form electronically to all the universities • Admissions tutors then make a decision based on the personal statement, predicted A-Level grades, admissions test scores, GCSE grades & A/S grades, evidence of motivation and the school reference • Some pupils may have to go to interview • They may reject an applicant, make a conditional offer or (rarely), an unconditional offer

14. What does an offer look like? • May be expressed as grades eg ABB • May be expressed as UCAS Tariff points eg 120 points • May be expressed as a combination of the two eg 120 points to include an A in chemistry • A detailed break down of tariff points is available on the UCAS website • At A2, A*=56, A=48, B=40,C=32, D=24, E=16 • For a 4th AS, A=20, B=16, C=12, D=10, E=6

15. What next?? • Pupils must wait until all five decisions are made before they can confirm any decision • By early May, pupils accept a Firm Conditional offer and an Insurance Conditional offer which should have lower grades • These are binding but there may be some leeway • If rejected, the decision is final but pupils can ask for feedback • UCAS Extra is available online from the end of February to the end of June if a pupil has no offers • Pupils can only apply to one course at a time in Extra

17. Finance 1 – Tuition fees • Universities in England, Scotland and Wales have now set their own tuition fees to a maximum of £9250 (2017) • NI have set fees for NI students at £4030 • All students will be eligible for a non-means tested loan to cover their tuition fees. The student takes the responsibility for the loan which is repaid directly from their salary when they earn over £17,775 • Loans are optional

18. Finance 2 – Maintenance Loans • Loans are also available for living expenses • Amount available depends on household income (pre-tax income minus pension contributions and allowances for dependents) • London £11002 • Living away from home £8430 • Living at home £7097 • If a pupil receives a maintenance grant, the amount of maintenance loan available will be reduced • Also optional

19. Repayment • Loans are repaid at 9% of earnings above £17,775 • The time to repay is based on income and amount borrowed – not on a fixed time period • After 25 years, any remaining debt is wiped • Interest on the amount is linked to inflation • BUT, this means that you will owe the money for longer and potentially repay more • Loans do NOT go on credit files

21. Finance 3 - Grants • Grants are non-repayable • Students from lower income households will be eligible for a non-repayable grant up to £3475 • If household income is less than £19203, student is eligible for the whole grant • Sliding scale up to £41065 • If a student is entitled to the maximum grant, the maximum maintenance loan is reduced

22. Finance 4 - Bursaries • Universities often provide additional support to students • https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/university-tuition-fees/other-financial-support/university-bursaries-and-scholarships/ • Scholarships are available in many subjects • Hardship funds • Health Professional Degrees (S&LT, OT, Radiography etc) can have fees paid if pupil is accepted on NHS funded place • Individual university websites

23. Finance 5 - Sponsorship • Some companies offer employment and pay for university • Deloitte – software, consultancy, finance https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/careers/apprenticeships.html?icid=top_apprenticeships • Thales – engineering https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/united-kingdom/news/degree-apprenticeships-future-career-development

24. How can I help? • Talk to your son / daughter about their choices • Check the form is completed correctly • Discuss the content of the personal statement and ask to read it • Try to remind them of key dates • Encourage, encourage, encourage!!

25. Information available • www.prospects.ac.uk (Careers advice – what can I do with my degree) • DEL – “Financial Support for Higher Education Students” (Apply in February/March) • https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/higher-education/student-finance • www.studentfinanceni.com • www.moneysavingexpert.com • www.unistats.com

26. What if I need help?? • www ucas.com/parents (sign up to receive the UCAS parent guide and quarterly email bulletins) • Contact Mrs Rea at school (90702777 or grea@grosvenorgrammarschool.org.uk) • Check the school’s website – all dates, presentations and useful websites are listed

27. QUESTIONS????