Transcript Where Next? Summer / Autumn 2014

Farmor’s School Sixth Form
WHERE NEXT?
SUMMER / AUTUMN
2016
POST A-LEVEL OPTIONS
Employment
Gap year
Voluntary
work
HE / FE
study
Apprenticeship
Support for Tough Decisions
• 8th May Study Leave Starts
• 8th June lessons resume
• 17th June Post A Level Careers Day
• 25th June UCAS Convention &
Careers Workshop
• 30th June Careers Fair & Careers Activities
• 10th July Oxbridge Trip
•10th July Summer Holidays Start
1 7 t h J u n e C a r e e r s D a y:
UCAS group - UCAS account set up,
writing a first draft personal statement,
visiting admissions tutor speaking
about choosing a course and student
life
Non-UCAS Group – writing a personal
s t a t e m e n t a n d C V, c o o k i n g o n a b u d g e t
2 5 t h J u n e C a r e e r s D a y:
U C A S C o n v e n t i o n Tr i p t o U n i v e r s i t y o f
Bristol
Non-UCAS Group – compulsory day in
school. Applications and Interviews
Wo r k s h o p ( s c h o o l f u n d e d d a y )
30th June Careers Day:
Careers Fair for all students during
the morning – diverse and wide
spread of industries represented
An afternoon of money
management workshops and
cooking on a budget
• Specific Support for Specific Routes:
• Work experience and Medical Society
for medicine, nursing, midwifery and
experience for teaching
• Alumni mentors for different careers,
such as engineering, apprenticeships...
• Open day and seminar information
Starting Point:
What are you interested in?
‘Nothing works unless you do’
Common Threads to all routes:
•Finance advice
•How to sell Yourself: personal statements and letter of
introduction
•References
•Personal advice and guidance from tutors
•Personalised pathways
•Personal Development sessions on Selection Criteria,
Applications, Interviews and CVs/Personal Statements
WHAT THE UCAS FORM
ENTAILS
Personal details
Education history and results
Employment history
Choices (up to 5 for all courses except medicine
which have 4)
Personal statement (4000 characters or 47 lines)
Tutors then add predicted grades and a reference.
INTRODUCTION – WHY
APPLY ?
University provides students with 3 or more
years to think about what career they want to go
into.
Students can develop a range of skills that
provide a strong foundation for employment
A university degree is flexible and provides
access to a range of careers; apprenticeships only
focus on one particular profession.
WHY NOT TO APPLY NOW
Really no idea of course / career
University is not for you.
School leaver programmes offer routes into professions
like accountancy, law, retail, IT, banking.
You will not have debt to deal with.
First hand experience through working with professionals.
You can gain professional qualifications and get paid for it.
OVERVIEW
A massive choice: 50,000+ possible courses
at over 325 institutions reduced to a
maximum of five
Oxbridge Deadline: 15/10/15
Medical deadline: 15/10/15
UCAS deadline: 15/1/15
W H AT I F I WA N T A G A P Y E A R ?
Generally well received by universities
Usually best to apply now and defer – where
will you be in October/November next year ?
Odd courses do not defer entry – watch out
What if I apply for 2015 and then decide I
want a gap year?
THE UCAS TARIFF
AS level
A level
A*
A
B
C
Points
140
120
100
80
A
D
60
B
C
D
E
E
50
40
30
20
OFFERS
OFFERS
a points offer: eg. 280 points and
• a grades offer eg. BBC
Some offers include AS grade, others do not - BEWARE
AN OFFER EXAMPLE:
Psychology: This offer is subject to you
obtaining grades AAA at A-Level in 3 subjects
excluding General Studies. Obtain Grade B or
above in GCSE Mathematics.
Business Management: This offer is subject
to you obtaining A minimum total of 280
points, consisting of at least 220 points at A
Level or equivalent; including a grade C or
above in A-level Business Studies or Applied
Business. COPE can be counted towards the
overall score, but not towards the A level
requirements.
CHOOSING COURSES & INSTITUTIONS
A vast amount of information available:
Tutors / Sixth Form Management Team
Teachers, friends, parents
HE/Careers days / Open Days
Websites:
Literature from institutions, careers guides.
Prospects Careers Advisor
WEBSITES
www.ucas.co.uk
www.fasttomato.com
www.apprenticeships.org.uk
www.gapyear.com
www.thetimes100.co.uk
www.notgoingtouni.co.uk
www.yini.org.uk
www.unistats.com
HOW TO CHOOSE A UNIVERSITY
Student Lifestyle
Social Life / Clubs & Societies / Cost / Sporting facilities
Distance from home
What is the optimum
Make the
Campus or City University
What’s the difference?
The University
Open
Teaching facilities & Study facilities etc.
Days
Accommodation
Cost and availability
most of
Entry Requirements : Be realistic
Course Content / Structure
Methods of Teaching and Assessment
Career Opportunities / Intentions
Tuition Fees, Scholarships, Bursaries & Grants
Interest
Type of Degree: Foundation / Honours
How to
Single / Joint
Opportunities to Specialise
Choose
Duration of Course
a
Sandwich / Industrial Placements
Course
Subject Specific Open Days
OTHER PLACES
Books
The Times Good University Guide
The Guardian University Guide
The Heap Guides – Course Offers / Details
The Virgin Alternative Guide
The UCAS Directories
Open Days
www.opendays.com
The Guardian
The
Complete
University
Guide
STUDENT FINANCE
4 prongs
 Maintenance Grant
 Student Loans to cover Maintenance / Living Costs
 Loans to cover Variable Tuition Fees
 Sponsorships / Bursaries / Discounts / Offers in Kind
RE-PAYABLE LOANS
A fee loan to cover all fees up to £9000
Maintenance Loan between £3610-£5555
Repayable when earning reach £21K p.a.
Written off after 30 years.
Interest is charged.
STUDENT LOAN FOR
MAINTENANCE
65% available to everyone regardless of parental
income
35% dependant on parental income
Annual Amount but allocated termly
Higher figures if attending London universities
STUDENT LOANS
Despite a large (38%) and increasing
proportion of the UK workforce holding a
higher education qualification, university
graduates still enjoy a large earnings
advantage over non-graduates (estimated
by previous studies as 28% for men and
53% for women).
http://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Earnings-byDegrees-REPORT.pdf
On average the top earning courses in terms of starting
salary were medicine and dentistry; engineering and
technology; economics; computer science; and education.
The lowest earning courses were psychology; English;
design and creative arts; biological sciences; and history
and philosophy.
This pattern was also largely repeated for earnings 3.5
years after graduation, and for the likelihood of entering
professional employment (both at six months and 3.5
years), with graduates from medical courses and from
science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)
courses having substantially better average outcomes than
those from the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
FREE MONEY
Maintenance Grant for households
earning less than £42600 up to £3387
DISCOUNTS /
SCHOLARSHIPS / BURSARIES
You may find some offers:
Discounts – likely for shortage subjects (Cash Sum)
Scholarships – to encourage able students
Bursaries – for low-income / disadvantaged students.
Students receiving full maintenance grant and paying full tuition fee will
receive a bursary of at least £300
Offers in Kind – free laptops / rent rebates / sports memberships etc
Disability Allowance – specific support like a laptop for dyslexic
students.
University of Bath…
SCHOLARSHIP EXAMPLE
An applicant applies for a place on a degree scheme at
Lancaster and receives a conditional offer (via UCAS) of
a place provided that they achieve BBB at A-level. The
applicant may be told that if they achieve grades of AAB
or higher, and make Lancaster their firm choice, they will
receive an Academic Scholarship of £1,000 per year.
C H O O S I NG T H E W RO N G
COURSE / UNI …
Many people do it
Can be a very costly mistake
Do everything you can do make sure you choose
the right uni / course
If you’re not sure: DON’T GO! University will
still be there in years to come.
THE APPLY SYSTEM
Students will be applying online
This enables UCAS applications to be done at home
Training to be given in school
• They will receive a guidebook and full support
• Lunchtime drop-ins available throughout the
autumn term
ENTRY TESTS
 BMAT: for Medicine, Veterinary & Pharmacology at Cambridge,
Oxford, Royal Veterinary College, UCL, Imperial - £42.50 (2013)
 Test is 5th November. Apply by the 15th October.
 UKCAT: Medicine – testing £65
 Booking opens 1st May– testing begins on 1st July – 3rd October
 LNAT: for Law at Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham,
Glasgow, Kings, Leeds, Nottingham, Oxford, UCL - £50
 Other Entry tests – for example: Maths @ Cambridge, History
@ Oxford, Natural Sciences @ Cambridge
Role of the Student
Carry out research – and get going NOW
Work Hard – it’s a competitive world
Ask for help
Role of the tutor
Provide support and guidance with applications
Check forms / personal statements
Write the reference
Monitor offers / rejections
Primary source of advice
Head and Deputy Head of Sixth Form
Check all Personal Statements & References
Guidance & Support
Parents’ Role
Open days / applications / career choices
‘Gentle’ encouragement to follow an interest
in a subject or area and explore it.
WHO GOES?
 62% of Y13 in 2014 applied & 81% gained their first choice university
place
 8% continued study; 15% took gap years; 3% apprenticeships, 6%
employment, 6% art foundation courses.
 78.6% offer rate to Russell Group (national average 57.9%)
 This year 3 Oxford offers; 110 UCAS applications (23 of these are
from returning students). 77% of current Y13 have applied. 9 have
unconditional offers.
Every year group is different.
THANK YOU
… ANY QUESTIONS?