St Bartholomews School

Sixth Form

Options at 18 Evening

THIS EVENING

1. July & August 2014

2. Research & Choices

3. Applying through UCAS



The remaining few weeks for
students
-Get Tutors and Teachers on your
side. Think about your reference.
-Start A2 work in earnest.
-Opt in for EPQs and Early Entry
courses
-Explore how you can get more
involved and make a difference
(both at school in the community at
large).
-How can you make yourself more
attractive to employers and
admissions officers?
-Research careers and course
options


Key Dates
Wednesday 17
th
& 18th July
-Curriculum Days
-Submission of first draft of Personal Statements


Tuesday 22
nd
July Last Day of Term

August 14
th
Results
Advice available on
August 14
th
and 15
th


arobbins@stbarts.co.uk

Decisions for the
Summer
Remember, no re-sits until
May/June 2015.

- EPQ Extended Project
Qualification?
- Good enough to continue?
Re-sitting the year.
- Continue with 3 or 4 A2
courses.
- Pick up an additional AS
course?
- 2 A2 courses; 2 AS courses?
A 3yr 6
th
Form?

Time to explore alternatives
Dont stay at school just because you are too scared to leave.
Options for the Future
The Main Options are:

Higher Education
Further Education
Apprenticeships / Employment with Training
Employment
Voluntary Work / Gap Year

Higher Education
For ...
Still the only route into many professions
Opportunity to study a subject you enjoy in
great depth
Range of courses available, UK and abroad
Social opportunities
Long-term prospects
Against ...
Not the only route into many careers
Need to be passionate about a subject area
Debt



Median Salary of 25 year olds with no degree: 17000
Median Salary of 25 year olds with a degree: 22900

Median Salary of 40 year olds with no degree: 19000
Median Salary of 40 year olds with a degree: 32500


Degree holders earned an average of 12,000 a year
more than non-graduates Labour force survey 2010
More about money
Is this true?
Based on the data available, a graduate
does on average earn 100,000 more over
their working lifetime than a non-graduate.

2010
What does it all cost?
Tuition Fee Loan
Students wont have to pay for their tuition fees up
front

The non-means tested Tuition Fee Loan (doesnt
depend on household income) is available to cover
the tuition fee of up up to 9,000 max for full-time
courses
Scholarships & Bursaries
Tuition Fee Loan
Maintenance (living cost) Support
Additional Support
Additional Financial Support

STUDENT FINANCE Jan-May 2015

Maintenance Loan - full-time students only
Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant - full-time
students only
You might get extra help on top of this.
Tuition fee loans pay for your course. Maintenance loans and
grants help with living costs (eg accommodation, books, bills).
You have to pay back loans but you dont need to pay back
grants.
You could also qualify for help with the costs of studying
abroad.

Research
Open days
Phone calls
Unifrog: https://www.unifrog.org/
Links via http://stb6th.edublogs.org/
Be aware of Entry Requirements

Basic Principles
-All online

-Students have their own log-in but Tutors and supervisors can monitor their
progress and check their application

-Students make 5 choices no option to specify order of preference

-Only 4 choices for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Medicine

-Students can apply to more than one course at the same institution

-As soon as universities receive applications, they can start making offers. It
pays to be prompt!

-Students dont need to make final decisions until the spring. Students select
one firm and one insurance offer.


The UCAS Application process
October March/April
Students receive offers

December
Student Finance application website goes live for 2013
www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance. Applications by May 31st
to ensure money is ready for Autumn term.

Start of May
Students must make a choice about which offer(s) to accept

March August
Ucasextra available
Our Timeline
Now
Discussions with subject staff and tutors
Research courses and institutions
From June 25th
- Begin to complete application form online
- Start drafting and re-drafting a Personal Statement

August/September

Review initial choices in the light of AS results and
forecast A2 grades
Form completion by half-term, October 24th
Whats in the Application?
Personal Details
UCAS choices
Education
Employment
UCAS Personal Statement
Reference
Personal Statement:
Selling the story of you
You have around 600 words to sell yourself
Dont listen to those people who say that universities
dont read them this simply isnt true
Focus on your academic achievements and interests
and RELEVANT skills and experience
Draft. Redraft. Draft again. It needs to be perfect
You are telling the reader a story what makes a good
story?


What to include?
Why are you are applying for this course?
Why are YOU right for this subject, course,
university?
Tell me something about yourself.

70% Academic; 30% Personal
What does an offer look like?
Always on 3 A Levels
Most typically grades but sometimes
points. If points, can be supplemented by
dropped AS subjects, music qualifications
Tariff
GCE A2 (and equivalents)

A* 140 points C 80 points
A 120 points D 60 points
B 100 points E 40 points

AS levels and equivalents are worth half these points. This includes the Level 3
Extended Project. NB: A* is available in the Extended Project but not in AS levels.
You cannot count points from AS and A2 in the same subject basically A2
points supersede those from AS.

Other sources of points relevant to many of our students are:

BTEC Level 3 Full Award 140 Distinction*, 120 for Distinction, 80 for Merit,
40 for Pass
Music/Dance (Grade 6 or above) Maximum 75 points for distinction at Grade 8

Gap Years

www.gapyear.com, www.findagapyear.com,
www.gapwork.com

Support for deferred entry to UCAS or
application next year as appropriate.
How you can help
Discuss options and intentions
Read personal statements
Be aware of deadlines
Accompany on visits / open days where appropriate
Be around on results day, August 15
th
2013
Help students to make realistic choices.
Get students to take responsibility!
Encourage!
Communicate with the Tutor
Support students in securing work experience/vountary work etc
Check out www.ucas.com/parents for more information, or to
download the UCAS Parent Guide
How selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go- Cecil Day Lewis
Thank you.