Applying to Colleges in the UK – Start the process early!

Hundreds of Irish students apply to attend university as an undergraduate in the UK each year. While students and parents have queries about what Brexit will mean for Irish students studying in the UK, interest in applying for colleges in Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland remains high. Students make the choice for various reasons including the limited places here in Ireland for courses in the health professions resulting in very high points. But there are other reasons – the chance to live abroad in an English speaking country while completing 3rd level education, the chance to specialise in a particular subject from the beginning of the degree or to pursue postgraduate study having completed an undergraduate degree here in Ireland. There are also excellent links from QQI courses (PLCs) here in Ireland for follow-on studies to degree programmes in the UK.

Although there are some courses and colleges that have an early deadline of October 15th the vast majority of courses are open for applications up until the January 15th deadline but the advice is to apply early! Students must apply through in the UCAS system (University and College Admissions Service) which is the equivalent of CAO for colleges in Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. The application process for UCAS is different to CAO so it is important to familiarize yourself with the process and start the application in plenty of time by checking out the undergraduate section of www.ucas.com

The key things are as follows –

·         Start by registering on ‘Apply’ at www.ucas.com/apply . You may apply as an individual or through a centre, school or college.  If it is the latter you will need a ‘buzzword’.

·         Students can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (a lot less than CAO) so due consideration must be given to the ones you are going to choose. Each choice is considered separately so there is no order of preference as you have in CAO and your chosen colleges/universities won’t see where else you have applied for.

·         You must enter your full education history even if you are awaiting exams and results. For example if you have results ‘pending’, you will still need to send on results to UCAS when you get them.

·         If you have had paid full or part-time employment, include the details. Voluntary or unpaid work can be mentioned in your personal statement.

·         You will need to write a personal statement showing colleges why you want to study the course.

·         Provide a reference from a teacher, advisor or professional who knows you are academically or professionally.

·         Pay the fee of £26 for applying for multiple courses.

There are lots of helpful resources available for applicants on the UCAS website and on their social platforms so consult them before applying.

Present the best version of yourself in your personal statement

The personal statement a central (and usually the most challenging) part of student applications to UCAS. It gives you a chance to show the university or college you are applying for what kind of person you are and how suitable you are for the course. It is advisable to work on applications well in advance of the application deadline to ensure that you allow plenty of time to complete your personal statement and acquire your reference.

The UCAS personal statement is limited to 4,000 characters (not words!) or 47 lines of text so you need to write concisely and clearly to ensure that what you say stands out from the crowd. There are excellent guides and resources on https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/writing-personal-statement to help and the following tips will help:

·         Be enthusiastic and positive from the beginning and make sure your opening paragraph gets their attention.

·         Make it personal – show them your qualities, skills, interests and strengths. Talk about your achievements and mention experiences you have that are linked to the areas of study. Mention any relevant work experience and/or volunteering you have taken part in and what you learned from it.

·         With restrictions since March it has been hard to get work experience so try some virtual alternatives – register for virtual open days on online lectures, read articles or books on the topic, listen to a podcast or take an online tutorial. Reflect on the experience and link it to the statement by explaining what you learned and found interesting.

·         Show your genuine interest and passion for this area of study by displaying some knowledge of the content of the course and career area. Look at the course descriptors and link our interest to them,

·         Use language that is clear, avoid jargon and clichés and avoid being overly sentimental.

·         Remember the same statement is submitted to each of the 5 colleges/courses you are applying for so avoid being too specific to the college and focus on the areas of study.

·         Draft a statement that contains everything you would want to say, then highlight what is essential for them to know. Edit carefully and then check your final draft several times. Have someone else look over it, the last thing you want is to present a glowing statement with spelling or grammar mistakes. Proper proof-reading is essential.

Giving due care and attention to the personal statement will greatly enhance your chances of getting called for further assessment, interview or indeed getting an offer of a place in your chosen course.