Higher Education

YEAR 13 UCAS

UCAS DEADLINES

• Initial Personal statement to tutor by Monday 25^th September.
• Redrafted Personal statement to tutor by Monday 2^nd October.
• Oxbridge, Dentistry and Medicine: School internal deadline – Friday 6^th October.
• Oxbridge, Dentistry and Medicine deadline – Sunday 15 October.
• School internal UCAS deadline – Friday 20^th October.
• Final UCAS deadline – Monday 15 January.

COMPLETING UCAS

1. Complete UCAS application form online.

2. Tutor/teacher checks and agrees personal statement.

3. Student informs Mr Lane that form is complete and ready.  Student sends form online and pays.  It does not get sent to UCAS but to your referee (Mr Lane).

4. Mr Lane checks form.  If there are errors it is sent back for you to correct.  You must then resend the form (you don’t have to pay again).  This process will continue until the form is accurate.

5. Mr Lane organises reference.

6. Mr Lane emails reference to student who must confirm by email that they want form sent.  No form is sent without explicit confirmation from the student that they are happy for it to be sent.

7. Mr Lane sends form to UCAS.  You will receive a confirmation email.

8. Wait for the offers!

ADVICE FOR UCAS

• Choose the right course!
• Use personal statement help sheet.
• Get your personal statement checked by your teachers.  Get different opinions.
• Complete the form and check carefully.  Use the right finance code (02).  Put the right nationality.
• Check your reference.  It is your right.
• Find out your predicted grades (deadline for staff is Mon 19 Sept).
• Be sensible in your choices.  Adopt the 3/2 principle – 3 aspirational and 2 safe choices (or the other way round).
• Ensure you have an ‘insurance’ choice.
• Ensure you want to go to all of your choices.
• Consider the range of universities and courses.  Avoid snobbery – you may need to consider foundation courses and ‘recruiting’ universities.

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The majority of Sixth Form leavers at Southgate School go on to university. Please click on the links below to see the destinations of our students who have left.

In 2017 over 25% of our students went to a Russell Group University.  One has gone to Cambridge to study History, two have gone to Kings to study Medicine and one to Nottingham to study Veterinary Science.  Students have also gone on to top universities, including LSE, Durham, Leeds and Warwick.

This year 100% of our Year 13 students will to apply to University.

We have a very clear plan to ensure all students following this path will reach their goal. The process starts before Christmas in Year 12 with assemblies and talks from universities. After the AS exams we begin the process of completing the UCAS application form. We have a Higher Education week focused on preparing students for university and assisting with course choice, university choice and completing the personal statement.

We have an admissions tutor from LSE coming to talk to students about applying to university. We also have a representative from King’s College London to come and talk to students about course choices.

Last year we arranged for every student to visit a university. Students went to Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, QMUL, Hertfordshire and Middlesex.

In Year 13 students are able to make final decisions based on end of year exams. We strive to get our students into the university of their choice but have a specific programme aimed at getting students into ‘selecting’ universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

Oxbridge Programme

The Oxbridge group is made up of the 20 students who gained the highest GCSE grades by APS and who have also gained a range of A* and A grades. The group meets regularly to receive and share information and to also discuss next steps. The group aims to raise aspirations sufficiently so that students will have the experiences and skills to apply to any of the country’s top universities.

This year members of the group have taken part in a seminar on Oxbridge applications.  We will be visited Oxford and Cambridge universities and attending an Oxbridge conference. We are planning to have a guest speaker coming in to talk to students about their applications.