University admissions

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(No Transcript)
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University admissions

• CHAIR
• Cynthia Hall Headmistress, School of St Helen
  St Katherine
• PANEL
• Richard Emborg Director of the Undergraduate
  AdmissionsOffice, Durham University
• Angela Milln Director of Student Recruitment,
  Access and Admissions, University of Bristol
• Mike Nicholson Director of Undergraduate
  Admissions, University of Oxford

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Admissions at Durham
Richard Emborg Director of the Undergraduate
Admissions Office
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The Durham difference

• A collegiate university, but where teaching takes
  places in academic departments
• Option to state a preference of college at
  application
• A two-stage admissions decisions process,
  resulting in later decisions for some of our
  applicants
• Department makes academic decision whether to
  admit to the University
• College decides on membership of a college
• A later UCAS closing date than Oxbridge (3 months
  later)

Together well create your future
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Competitive Entry

• Competition at Durham so far in 2006/7
• Almost 30,000 applications for 3,595 places or
  8.4 applicants per place
• Competition between departments ranges from 3
  applications per available place for our
  Foundation programme to 19 applications per
  available place for Philosophy
• We will make approximately 14,000 offers or 3.9
  offers per place

Together well create your future
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Competitive Entry

• Competition at Durham so far in 2006/7
• Therefore we will disappoint 16,000 applicants
• Many of these applicants will have excellent
  grades, a rounded set of experiences expressed
  clearly in a well-written personal statement and
  a glowing reference full of examples of personal
  and academic achievements beyond normal
  expectations
• In addition we will take very few near miss
  students at confirmation

Together well create your future
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Entry requirements

• Typical offers
• Grade offers ranging mostly from BBB to AAA
• No offers at Durham are made using the UCAS
  tariff
• Four AS levels are useful despite the fact that
  they are not normally part of the offer
• Durham University students achieve on average 426
  UCAS Tariff points on entry to the University
  (the equivalent of just over 3 A grades at A
  Level and an A Grade at AS Level)

Together well create your future
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Reaching decisions

• Is there are any bias or positive
  discrimination?
• No!
• Students are issued offers in almost the same
  proportion to the rate at which they apply
• In 2004/5, 36.5 of our applicants were from
  independent schools and 38.6 of offers were
  issued to independent school students

Together well create your future
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Reaching decisions

• Admission is based on potential
• Previous academic results GCSEs, AS Levels etc
• Predicted results A Levels, IB etc
• Reference
• Personal Statement
• Interview (if held, e.g. Medicine, Education)
• Additional tests (LNAT, UKCAT)

Together well create your future
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The reference

• Integral part of the UCAS form for Admissions
  tutors
• Personal statement and reference may be the only
  pointof contact between admissions tutors and
  student
• No single correct way of producing them
• Every one is read

Together well create your future
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The reference

• Admissions Tutors look in the reference for
• Good academic performance
• Consistency is good but this must still be
  reflected upon
• If there is a substantial increase or decrease
  in predicted grades from actual GCSE/AS results
  an explanation of this would be useful

Together well create your future
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The reference

• Admissions Tutors look in the reference for
• Academic Potential
• Has the student matured?
• Are they enthusiastic and motivated?
• Coping well with studying individual subjects?
• Developed themselves?

Together well create your future
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The reference

• Admissions Tutors look in the reference for
• Inter-relation with personal statement
• Try not to duplicate what is in the statement
• Independent assessment of student - provide
  information the student can not give about
  themselves

Together well create your future
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The personal statement
Personal statement, key questions and
structure 1. Why do you want to study the
subject? 2. What have you done in the past
that makes you particularly suitable to study
the subject? 3. What else have you done that
would contribute to the course and institution
and makes you an interesting and unique
individual?
Together well create your future
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Admissions at Durham
Richard Emborg Director of the Undergraduate
Admissions Office
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University admissions

• CHAIR
• Cynthia Hall Headmistress, School of St Helen
  St Katherine
• PANEL
• Richard Emborg Director of the Undergraduate
  AdmissionsOffice, Durham University
• Angela Milln Director of Student Recruitment,
  Access and Admissions, University of Bristol
• Mike Nicholson Director of Undergraduate
  Admissions, University of Oxford

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