Oundle School Lower Sixth Form Higher Education Conference and Parents Reception

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Oundle School Lower Sixth Form Higher Education
Conference andParents Reception

• Friday 25th February and
• Sunday 27th February 2005

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Oundle School Careers Department

• Carolyn Gent
• Head of Careers
• Joss Williams
• Higher Education Advisor, UCAS Officer

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Contents of the Conference included...

• The UCAS Process at Oundle
• Some background to applications
• Widening Participation
• Money matters
• Applicant selection
• AS and A2
• What should an applicant do?
• The UCAS process

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The UCAS Process at Oundle

• PUPILS have responsibility
• The School advises and oversees

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Pupils received hand-outs on...

• A letter to members of the Lower Sixth
• The University Application Process at Oundle
  School
• L6 pre-UCAS Research for Higher Education
• Pupils urged to look beyond trendy colleges
• Some extracts from the UCAS form 2005
• An example of an outstanding personal statement
• This presentation (will also be available online)

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Pupils were advised to consult, among others...

• UCAS The Big Guide
• The Times Good University Guide
• Trotman How to Complete Your UCAS Form
• Brian Heap Choosing Your Degree Course and
  University

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Should one go to university?

• Yes, if you believe...
• It is civilising
• You are interested in the subject
• It is fun
• It keeps you off the streets
• It is a public good
• And it is right for you
• But...no economic benefit can be demonstrated
  either to the individual or the economy as a
  whole.
• But then the world at large still values
  graduates.

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Widening participation and Fair Access. Should
we worry?

• Probably not given that,
• The 35 of the population in the upper
  socio-economic brackets provide
• 55 of the entrants to university
• 67 of history students
• 74 of medical students
• So it is clear that some sections of the
  tax-paying public pay for HE but do not go to
  university

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Proportion of pupils at independent and state
schools 2003
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Proportion of University of York undergraduates
on certain courses from independent and state
schools 2003
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Proportion of Oxbridge undergraduates from
independent and state schools 2003
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Proportion of Oxbridge undergraduates from
independent schools 1978
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Number of independent students at university

• ...is NOT declining
• More are going from other schools, so only the
  proportion of whole university population is
  going down. HEFCE and The Sutton Trust
• So it is not a question of whether you will get
  into university, it is a question of where you
  will go.

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Director of Office for Fair Access
(Off-Toff)Sir Martin Harris

• Universities remain firmly in control of their
  admissions, and will not be penalised financially
  for failing to admit specified numbers of state
  school pupils.
• He will take, no cognisance at all of new HEFCE
  benchmarks. (quotas)

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Money matters

• BA/BSc/LLB
• Grants will be available for those whose family
  income is lt 20,970
• Tuition fees 0 to 3000
• Paid back after graduation student is liable
• When income reaches 15k
• Pay no interest above inflation
• Average 13 years to pay off debt
• Note post-grad courses do not qualify for these
  fee rates or student loans
• www.studentmoney.org

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More money matters

• No other OECD country spends less on HE than the
  UK
• ( UK 1.3 GDP, Sweden 2.2, USA 2.5)
• We currently still have many well regarded
  universities, but there is some doubt that this
  imbalance can be sustained. Oxbridge funding
  lost parity with US equivalents in the 1970s.
• The real cost of a university degree is, on
  average
• 14, 500 p.a. and
• 18,600 p.a. at Oxbridge.

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The future of funding

• The US model?
• Mixed funding high government spending combined
  with very high fees to some universities, lower
  fees to local state universities
• Low completion rate 60
• Few do hard science 2.5

• The Australian model?
• As for America, but lower fees for bright
  applicants. Others can buy a place but on higher
  fees.

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And yet consider that...

• The difference in employability rates between
  graduates in non-vocational degrees from the best
  selective universities and those at the bottom of
  the table is
• 7
• So where an applicant goes matters less than one
  might think.

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Universities select applicants by...

• Exam grades
• (only 18,000 of 300,000 applicants get AAA)
• Who would best benefit from a place at
  university?
• Will this applicant get a good degree?
• Where can we find the researchers / university
  lecturers of the future?
• Potential (Oundle pupils are supposed to have
  achieved theirs) Can they prove it?

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Applicant selection by...

• School progression rates ( how many people that
  school sends to university each year)
• Family history of university attendance
• Whether the family has a mortgage
• Socio-economic groupings
• Locals first Edinburgh (yet this was Oundles
  most successful university 2003 entry)
• State / Independent
• Postcode, and now...

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Applicant selection by...

• Ability to pay higher fees (?) London School of
  Economics and Political Science takes 60 of
  students from overseas.
• All EU applications are considered equally and we
  have the best universities in Europe, so we
  attract applicants from all over Europe.

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But universities must, by law...

• Have transparent criteria so ask them
• Assess candidates against those criteria at every
  step
• Compare candidates
• Minimise barriers to access
• Keep records to show how decisions are made
• Select on merit, but take account of difference
• (but then they always have...)

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A word about all those A grades at A2

• Why is the band so wide at A grade?
• Why do so many people get A grades?
• Professor Roger Carpenter, Neurophysiologist,
  Admissions Tutor to Gonville and Caius, A- level
  is increasingly useless as a tool of
  differentiation.

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How can universities differentiate?

• More additiona tests such as
• BMAT (40 of applicants for medicine gain more
  than AAA at A-level)
• LNAT (8 unis in 2004, 20 in 2005)
• TSA
• MSAT
• Tests of Critical Thinking
• These are going to be more common consult
  websites for each test
• You will have to score more highly than some
  other applicants to be selected

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Some growth areas

• Business and Administration
• Creative writing
• Linguistics
• Medical technology
• Civil engineering

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And some in decline

• IT
• Communications
• Physical Sciences
• Biological Sciences

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So what does this mean for Oundelians?

• Be better able to show that you have taken every
  opportunity available to you
• Demonstrate that you would best benefit
• (i.e. better than all other equally qualified
  applicants)
• Top grades
• Excellent UCAS personal statement
• Excellent UCAS reference
• The six criteria selected by Universities UK
  Fair Enough?

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The six criteria selected by Universities UK
Fair Enough?

• Organised
• Works well independently
• Motivated to learn
• Interested in subject area
• Able to work with others
• Intellectually qualified

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What can I do..?

• Consider your options carefully (grades choices
  so far)
• Visit universities
• Discover minimum requirements
• Discover the difficulties NOW
• Do not be put off by competition

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What can I do..?

• Find out about further entry tests
• (Complete the BTEC First Diploma)
• Talk to current Upper Sixth
• www.ucas.com gt course search gt entry profiles
• as yet only 20 of courses
• Entry profiles outline the type of applicant they
  are seeking for any course. It is very useful to
  analyse your self against these criteria and see
  if you would be suitable. Then it is a case of
  presenting yourself in that light.

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What can I do..?

• Study hard.
• If you are too cool for school, the
  universities might well think you are too cool
  for them also.
• Do not rely on retakes.
• If you do not get the grades first time the
  universities now tend to
• -raise requirements second time around
• -not make an offer second time around

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ISCO Workbook session

• Thursday 1st March in Laxton Long Room
• 5pm till 6 pm L, B, C, D, F, G
• 6pm till 7 pm K, Ldr, N, S, Sc, Sn, StA, W
• (Except a few OSCAR members by arrangement)
• Compulsory. Be on time, bring a pen.

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You should research and consider...

• Type of degree joint honours, sandwich etc.
• City / rural
• Location relative to home
• Method of teaching tutorials / lectures
• Method of assessment c/wk or exams?
• Do they teach the aspect of your subject you want
  to learn about?
• Number of hours of teaching each week
• Sports and local facilities
• Cost of beer / living
• Ask about class sizes (the Quality Assurance
  Agency dont!)

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Excellent UCAS personal statement (1)

• Grows out of the CV that you have already
  prepared with the help of the Careers Department
• Course specific, but not university specific
• AS grades and marks in personal statement, if it
  would help.
• Must be equally applicable to all the courses you
  are applying for

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Excellent UCAS personal statement (2)

• The goal is...
• We were very impressed with the quality of your
  application...
• (Letter from The University of Reading to a
  member of Oundles current Upper Sixth)

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Which course?

• Grade requirements are an indication of
  popularity of course, which is not always the
  same as quality
• Note the question which course that should
  always be the first question.

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What is a good course?

• A look at The Times Good University Guide
  History courses showed that some courses are not
  highly rated, but demand high grades from
  applicants. This is not a good deal and is the
  marker of a trendy course.

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A useful distinction

• Recruiting courses
• Have more places than applicants
• NOTE THIS SAYS COURSES, NOT UNIVERSTITIES

• Selecting courses
• Have more applicants than places.
• These are the competitive universities that you
  will be trying to get in to
• They are looking for someone who will get a 1st
  or good 21

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The Russell Group

• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow
• Imperial College of Science,Technology Medicine
• King's College London
• University of Leeds
• University of Liverpool

• London School of Economics Political Science
• University of Manchester
• University of Newcastle upon Tyne
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University of Sheffield
• University of Southampton
• University of Warwick
• University College London

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The UCAS form

• You tell them about yourself
• Your GCSE grades you must
• Your AS grades and marks you may
• We tell them your predicted A2 grades
• You write a personal statement
• We write a reference
• You select six universities (four for medicine,
  vetsci) You can submit fewer and then fill in
  other choices later.

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The UCAS form

• All online now for Oundle applicants
• (We provide training in how to do it at the
  Careers Festival in June so it is vital that you
  do not miss it.)
• You can track your application online e-mail
  alerts are now available too
• The universities start making offers on September
  1st. Why wait beyond that date?

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The universities

• Do not know who else you applied to (except by
  date of application)
• Can reject you
• Can offer you an unconditional place
• Can offer you a condition place
• Will contact you via UCAS (and perhaps by letter
  as well)

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Once all your offers are in, you can hold...

• One firm (high grade requirement / first choice)
  offer and
• One insurance (lower grade requirement / second
  choice) offer
• You must decline all other offers.

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If you receive no offers at all

• Mid-March UCAS extra begins
• Vacancies in courses are published on UCAS
  website
• You ask UCAS to send your form to one university
  at a time until you get an offer

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It is a contract...

• If you get the grades, you have to go to that
  university or withdraw altogether.
• If you get the grades, the university has to take
  you.

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Changes

• Some changes are possible
• You do not have the right to make a change it is
  up to the universities and UCAS to say whether a
  change you have in mind is acceptable.