Advice for School Leavers
UCAS is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It acts as a central clearing house for all undergraduate higher education applications for the UK.
The UCAS form may well be the first major application form you have completed, but do not be intimidated as plenty of help is at hand. The following guidance should give you an overview of what is important, as well as some helpful tips.
So what is the UCAS form all about? Well, think of it like a job application - You are trying to persuade the admissions tutor that you are the right person for their course. You need to get across the facts about yourself, your prior qualifications, your experience and all the factors which support your ability to learn from, and contribute to, their course.
The form contains four pages which are roughly as follows:
PAGE 1 - Factual information about yourself and your course choices
PAGE 2 - Factual listings of your qualifications (taken and to be taken)
PAGE 3 - The Personal Statement, where you get to express yourself, your personality, experience, strengths, motivation etc
PAGE 4 - The academic reference, completed by a member of staff from your school or college
The key word is ‘preparation’
Read the instructions!
The UCAS form comes with detailed instructions. Take the time to read and follow these. It will save you time in the long run, since mistakes and omissions may hold your form up during processing.
Before you start
Ensure that you have the correct information. Course codes and other important information can vary from year to year, so check the UCAS handbook and that any prospectuses you are using refer to your particular year of entry.
Practice makes perfect
Print a copy of the form before you begin, so that you can have a trial run at completing it. Draft your Personal Statement and refine it before seeing how it fits on your printed form.
Pay attention to detail
If you omit some of the details requested this can lead to delays. Be honest. Don’t try and hide information from the admissions tutors. It will probably come to light at some stage and won’t reflect very well on you. Don’t exaggerate your level of interest or skill in a particular area. Produce a well laid out statement and write clearly or word process. Allow sufficient time to produce a draft copy and check thoroughly for spelling and grammatical errors.
If you are planning a Gap year, explain your reasons for this and what you hope to gain from the experience.
Writing your Personal Statement
This is your opportunity to demonstrate the thought and consideration that has gone into your choices and to give a flavour of who you are - personality, strengths, skills, hobbies and interests.
In order to make sure that you cover all aspects, construct your Personal Statement through key paragraphs, keeping each short and succinct. It will probably take several attempts to condense all that you’d like to say. It is a good idea to plan out your Personal Statement in note form before you start to write it. Admissions tutors particularly want to know:
- Who you are (interests/skills/what you have already studied etc.)
- Why you are interested in the courses you have chosen (relevant experience/ ambitions/career etc.)
- What you consider to be your strengths (academic/achievements/work experience/social etc.)
- How you prefer to work (independent/group work/presentations etc.)
Content of the Personal Statement
Admissions tutors prefer to see well laid out Personal Statements which have a key message per paragraph. Give your reasoning behind your choice of course(s). This might include your interest in the subject, the structure and options of the course, availability of industrial placement etc.
Consider the following:
- Have the subjects you are currently studying sparked an interest?
- Have you had relevant work experience?
- Is the course a stepping stone to a career/profession?
- Do you know people in that profession?
Are you interested simply in the joy of learning more about the subjects? Use a paragraph to demonstrate the thought and consideration that has gone into your choice of University/ies.
In the final paragraph give the admissions tutors a flavour of who you are. Outline your achievements, personality, skills and strengths.
Your completed form will be passed over to a referee for their statement before being sent to UCAS. Take a photocopy of your form before you pass it to your referee. It may be useful to set up a folder containing your working notes as well as your photocopied form. If you are invited to any interviews refer to the form and your notes beforehand. This will remind you of the key points you made and will give you an idea of the areas that the interviewer may want to pursue with you.
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