Careers Portal

The UCAS website has masses of information on it about the application process, course information, university information, events, student finance, careers and more. It’s a really good place to start with your decision making.

Make sure you familiarise yourself with the UCAS timeline so you know what timescales you’re working to https://www.ucas.com/ucas/events/find/type/key-date?keywords=. This is important as different courses and universities have different timescales.

Confirmation and changes to key dates

Update 13 January 2021

UCAS have confirmed the following key dates following a review with schools and universities. These revised dates are to provide further support to applicants applying to university in 2021.    

• The equal consideration date has now been moved to 29 January. This is essentially the main UCAS deadline by which applications must be in. If an application is in by this date then a university has to consider it. 

• Extra opens on 25 February: students who are eligible to use Extra can add another choice. You can use extra if you didn't receive any offers or if you decline all offers. Find out more about  Extra here 

• 20 May is the date that universities need to have made a decision by, if you submitted your application by 29 January. 

• Student replies: students who receive all their decisions from their chosen universities by 20 May, will have until 10 June to reply.

 Top bits of the UCAS website to check out:

·         How to choose and course and university https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-where-study

 ·         Open days and events https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/events-and-open-days

 ·         Subject information https://www.ucas.com/explore

 ·         The application process https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-to-university

 ·         What to expect after you’ve applied https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply

 ·         Student Finance https://www.ucas.com/money

The UCAS Bootham handbook can be found here  

University information

There are lots of independent guides and resources to help you make your decisions. Some of these can be found below:

·         Information to help make informed choices about higher education decisions www.theuniguide.co.uk

 ·         Independent UK university rankings and course information and advice https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/

 ·         Help to decide which is the right place for you www.Whatuni.com

Resources

 There’s a wealth of resources available to help students navigate their career choices and pursue subject areas of interest. Below is a list of some which you might find useful.

 ·         The University of Oxford’s “Home of the Big Question”. This site tackles complex ideas on a range of subjects and aims to realise aspirations, promote broader thinking and stimulate intellectual curiosity https://oxplore.org/

 ·         Resources and Information for students thinking about applying to top universities Staircase 12 https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/applying-to-univ/staircase12/

 ·         A huge choice of online learning programmes https://www.mooc-list.com/

 ·         A huge range of online talks www.ted.com

 ·         Here you’ll find podcasts and videos on a wide range of subjects www.bbc.co.uk/sounds

 ·         On line short courses https://www.futurelearn.com/

 ·         Explore your subject area beyond the curriculum https://www.myheplus.com/

 ·         A wide range of programmes to download for free BBC Podcasts https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts

Unifrog

At Bootham we use Unifrog as a tool to help students explore their career options and to gather and record all the information needed to make applications to University or employment. If you apply to university you will also use it to write your UCAS personal statement, and to get feedback from your tutors. You will have your Unifrog log in details to access your account. Once logged in to Unifrog you will find subject information, career information and a know-how library with lots of advice and information. These are all accessed from https://www.unifrog.org/student/home but you’ll need to sign in first.  

You can also find lots of MOOCs (massive open online courses) which are a great way of trying out a subject area, or doing further learning about your chosen subject. You can take personality tests or quizzes too, if you’re unsure of where to start with narrowing down your options. There’s information about apprenticeships, universities in Europe or further afield.

Open days

University open days are currently being held on line. Check individual university websites for details, or visit opendays.com https://www.opendays.com/

Below is a small list of open days for some of the universities often popular with Bootham students.

University of Birmingham www.birmingham.ac.uk/opendays

University of Bristol www.bristol.ac.uk/opendays/ 

University of Cambridge https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events/cambridge-open-days

University of Durham https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/ug/visit/

University of Edinburgh www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/open-days-events-visits

University of Essex www.essex.ac.uk/study/ug/open-days.aspx

University of Exeter www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/visiting/opendays/

University of Glasgow www.glasgow.ac.uk/openday

University of Hull http://www.hull.ac.uk/opendays

Imperial College London www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/visit/open-days/

University of Lancaster www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/open-days/

Leeds Beckett www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/undergraduate/open-days

University of Leeds www.leeds.ac.uk/opendays

University of the Arts London www.arts.ac.uk/open-days

University of Manchester www.manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/opendays/

Manchester Metropolitan University www.mmu.ac.uk/openday

Newcastle University www.ncl.ac.uk/openday/

Northumbria University https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/openday

University of Oxford https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/virtual-open-day

Oxford Brooks University www.brookes.ac.uk/open-day

University of Sheffield www.shef.ac.uk/opendays/

Campus tours

Many universities offer campus tours which are much briefer than an open day but are still a good way to find out more about a particular university you might be interested in. Most of these are online now. Check individual university websites for more details. 

 Most live events need to be booked in advance on line

Fairs

How to choose a course and university (when you can’t attend open days)

There are over 50,000 courses on offer in the UK at nearly 400 different providers including universities, colleges, private providers etc. There are also options available elsewhere in Europe and further afield. You can study one subject (single honours) or two (joint honours).  You can study full time or part time. Many courses have the chance to study abroad, complete work placements or do a whole year in industry or in the workplace (known as a sandwich courses).

 With so many choices available it can be hard to know how to narrow down your options. Normally we’d strongly suggest visiting some universities towards the end of College 1, over the summer and at the start of College 2. Whilst, these aren’t taking place at the moment, all universities will be having virtual open days. Details will be on their websites or visit www.opendays.com where you can search by university. If you miss an open day then lots of universities are recording sessions and you can watch sessions in your own time.

Universities are also coming up with lots of other ways for prospective students to find out more about them. This includes:

·         On line webinars, tasters and masterclasses

·         Q and A sessions

·         On line chat with current students

·         On line videos

·         Online short courses

·         Virtual accommodation and campus tours

·         Online personal statement workshops and interview skills sessions

·         Student vlogs

·         Parent phone calls

·         Online summer schools

There are also careers fairs organised by UCAS https://www.ucas.com/ucas/events/find/type/exhibition?layout=list. They are planning in person fairs from May 2021, although this may change.  UCAS also plan on holding some virtual fairs in 2021 but have yet to release details. UK University Search are holding virtual fairs https://www.ukuniversitysearch.com/  

Things to think about when making your decisions

League tables

You might want to use league table to start to narrow down your choices. There are a few different league tables and they differ as to what they take into account for rankings but it generally includes student satisfaction rates (for teaching and assessment and feedback) career prospects, research information, expenditure per student, completion rates, entry requirement and student experience. This is a useful article https://bridge-u.com/blog/university-league-tables/

Type of university

You might have heard of the Russell Group. This is a group of 24 UK research intensive universities. Some students limit their choices to universities within this group. There’s the University Alliance group which are technical and professional universities who focus heavily on practical experience. The Million+ group are a more modern group of universities focusing on economic, social and cultural change.

Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF)

This measures teaching, learning and student outcomes. Providers are awarded gold, silver or bronze ratings.

Scholarships & Bursaries

These will differ depending on what course you are looking at and which universities you are applying to. Check individual university websites for more information.

Campus investment/facilities

This might include the library, sports facilities, IT facilities, students’ union, lecture theatres, planned investment, facilities for students with additional needs and specialist facilities but think about what’s important to you. This could be particularly important if you’re studying a practical degree subject.

Graduate destination statistics

Most universities have information about this on their website or you can find it out through league tables.

Student Support Services

All universities will have a level of student support (inducing financial support advice, wellbeing, disability support, dyslexia support, care leavers support, counselling, faith support etc) but some universities will focus on this more and place it at the heart of the student experience.

Location

This includes distance to home, travel links and ease of getting around, big city or smaller town, rural or urban, location of university accommodation.

Size

This includes size of student population, number of students on your chosen course, staff to student ratio for your subject and size of campus.

Accommodation

This includes location, size, distance to university, price, facilities, contract length, en-suite or shared facilities, security, catering etc.

You might also want to consider the reputation for your subject area, module choice, whether the course is accredited by any professional bodies, size of your student cohort, application methods and interview methods, graduate destinations, number of applications per place, contact hours, industry links, work placements etc. There’s an enormous amount of choice so key to making the right decision is starting your research early and allowing yourself enough time.

Student Finance

Student finance can be divided up into two parts: tuition fees and living costs. Tuition fees are currently a maximum of £9,250 for UK and non-UK EU full-time students. Normally these increase in line with inflation and are set by the government. Fees for international students vary and can be found on university course pages. Tuition fee loans, to cover the full cost of your course, are available and are paid directly to the course provider. You won’t have to pay it back until after you finish your course, when you’re earning above a certain level.

The other costs you’ll need to cover are living costs. This includes accommodation, food, travel and other general living expenses. Maintenance loans to cover these costs can be applied for at the same time as a tuition fee loan, lending you money at the start of each term (or monthly in Scotland). How much you get depends on a range of factors including:

household income Students from lower income backgrounds are eligible for more – this is often referred to as ‘means-tested’ finance, and requires parents/guardians to provide evidence of their income

where you study Students moving away from home to study in London receive more

The current maintenance loan, if you’re not studying in London and you don’t live with your parents, is a maximum of £9,203.

Students can also apply for grants if they’re eligible for certain benefits, disabled, or need help with childcare costs. Grants do not have to be repaid. It’s also worth looking into additional funding, in the form of scholarships, bursaries, and grants. These don’t have to be paid back either, and are awarded based on different criteria, from excelling in your subject area, getting top A level grades or excelling in extra- curricular activities. Details of these can be found on individual university websites.

Most university websites will have pages dedicated to student finance and funding. On them you’ll find general information and also information specific to that particular university. The sites below have general information.

·         An overview of student finance and how to apply for funding www.gov.uk/student-finance

 ·         Managing money, scholarships, grants, bursaries and fees https://www.ucas.com/money

 ·         Scholarships and bursaries for university study https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/grants-education/

 ·         Information about fees and living costs, grants and loans and discussion boards and forums https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/student-finance/

.       Undergraduate Student Finance step by step information https://www.gov.uk/get-undergraduate-student-loan

Apprenticeships

In an apprenticeship you will get on-the-job experience whilst also getting paid. There are hundreds of different apprenticeships to choose from. You’ll spend 80% of the week working at your place of employment and 20% at your place of study.  You’ll earn a salary, and your course fees will be covered by your employer and the government. You need to be willing and able to manage your time between work and study. An apprenticeship can be a debt free route to a qualification. The rate of pay can vary according to the level of apprenticeship, your age, your sector and your employer.

There are many different apprenticeships you can apply for depending on your existing qualifications across a broad range of different industries. There are four levels of apprenticeship available:

Intermediate - Equivalent to five GCSE passes at A* to C

Advanced - Equivalent to two A level passes

Higher – Equivalent to foundation degree, Higher National Diploma, NVQ Level 4

Degree – Equivalent to bachelor’s or master’s degree. Takes 3-6 years.

For some apprenticeships you apply directly to the employer and for others apply through the National Apprenticeship Service.

More information is available at https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/# and https://www.ucas.com/understanding-apprenticeships

• Trinity College Cambridge Essay prize in English Literature, Linguistics, Philosophy, Politics, Law and History. For college students. Various deadlines https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/

Tips and advice from a Bootham student who has recently been successful in securing a place on Experimental Psychology at Oxford 

A lot of the colleges have their own prospectuses so take a look at these. They are often written by current students and give an unofficial view of life at that college. Some other useful documents can be found below. 

• Applying to Oxford and Cambridge 
• Making a competitive application 
• Student Experience 
• Student Support 

Live pre recorded Q&A sessions

• Making a competitive application 
• Student Experience 
• Student Support 

CAMBRIDGE

The University's HE+ website www.myheplus.com provides resources for sixth form students to explore their subject(s) of interest beyond their current curriculum.

Useful links:

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events/college-events

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events

www.cam.ac.uk/opendays

www.cam.ac.uk/ocsc

www.cam.ac.uk/masterclasses

This is a useful link for parents https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/find-out-more/teachers-and-parents

Cambridge Students' Union manage the alternative prospectus website www.applytocambridge.com which includes an 'Ask a Student' facility for each course and College.

Downing College

Subject based admissions webinars and live subject Q and As. Subjects include Chemical Engineering, Philosophy & Theology, History of Art, Law, Economics, Natural Sciences, Human, Social and Political Science, Engineering, History, Medicine) https://www.dow.cam.ac.uk/outreach/subject-admissions-webinars

St John's College

Focussing on areas from Choosing your University Subject through to Study Skills and Careers sessions. More information here https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/link-area-webinar-programme

Clare College

YouTube Channel Videos about studying at Cambridge and the application process https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqQCkyaJ_z8q8DwnlbykO7A/featured

Sidney Sussex YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ZhtCIF6B6D6NeL9YytXTQ

OXFORD

Sign up to the Choosing Oxford newsletter here http://newsletter.admin.ox.ac.uk/k/Ouc/undergraduate_admissions_and_outreach_news

Sign up to the Oxplore newsletter https://oxplore.org/  Oxplore is a digital resource from the University of Oxford. As the ‘Home of Big Questions’, it aims to challenge those from 11 to 18 years with debates and ideas that go beyond what is covered in the classroom. Big questions tackle complex ideas across a wide range of subjects and reflect the kind of critical thinking students undertake at university. 

University of Oxford open days and events https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/virtual-open-day

If you're considering Oxford, sign up to their prospective applicant newsletter, Choosing Oxford, so you can receive information about studying at Oxford and applying to the University. Sign up here: - http://newsletter.admin.ox.ac.uk/k/Ouc/undergraduate_admissions_and_outreach_news

Details of talks and workshops can be found here: Oxford outreach calendar: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/increasing-access/events-calendar

• Mansfield virtual open day playlist (includes subject intros):
• Oxford University Explained:
• Applying to Oxford playlist:
• Videos about student societies:
• Isolation conversation: https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/isolationconversation
• Explore your subject: https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/explore-your-subject