Applying to university is a massive step. The decisions you make now are going to determine your future and shape the direction that your life takes for the next three to four years.
I've been guiding students through the UCAS application process for years now, and with this comprehensive guide I intend to share with you as much information as I can.
Click HERE for.. the full Stepping Further. A comprehensive guide to applying to university in the UK
Universities here in the U.K. are different from those in America, in Europe, and in the rest of the world.
Unlike in the U.S. and mainland Europe, U.K.Since they've been introduced, tuition fees in the UK have been controversial. Working out how much you'll pay in tuition fees in the UK is a complicated mix of where you come from, where you go, what year you're in, what type of course. Read more...
The UCAS application process is tricky, and you need to make sure you get it right because this decision determines what you do with the next three or four years of your life.
The first that you need to do, and this is not a small thing in any way, is to pick five courses you want to apply for. This is complicated; you need to think about what you're going to enjoy; you need to think about entry requirements, you need to think about where you want to live. Read more...There is a diverse and dizzying range of courses that you can study at UK universities.
I'm going to take you through what they all mean. Before you pick the course you apply for, the university that you apply for, you need to select the type of course you're going to apply for. The most common type is going to be a bachelor's. This can be a BA, a Bachelor's of Art, or a BSc, Bachelors of Science. If it is a three-year course, it's going to be Bachelor's if it's a four-year course, it's going to be a Bachelor's with honors. This is an undergraduate course, generally three or four years and it can be straight after high school. Read more...
Deciding to apply to University in a different country can be a really daunting prospect, but there are some fantastic opportunities out there if you're willing to strive for them, and if you're willing to take up that challenge, as nearly 15% of students studying at UK universities are international. Read more...
In many ways, mature students have lots of advantages over younger 18-year-olds, but you're also going to face some extra challenges.
When you are 18, you don't have a lot of lifeIf you have a child or children when you apply to university, you are going to raise some extra challenges. But along with these extra challenges, there is a massive level of extra support and you have your awesome parenting skills to go with it. Read more....
For the majority of medical schools, in fact,
all of them, chemistry is the core requirement. Some of them require biology as well, which I know most of you think that biology's the most crucial A-level for doing medicine, but it's not. When you're thinking about some of your other A-Levels, you need to make sensible choices, so when you're going for your medical degree interview, chances are they're going to ask you about your A-Level
choices. Read more...
How to pick university is potentially one of the most important decisions you have made in your life so far. It is a big decision, and you need to be getting it right. When you're picking a university, there are a large number of things to consider... Read more...
What is so different about Oxford?
Oxford and Cambridge are two of the UK's, oldest Universities and they consistently rank at the top, of the world's University League tables. But they are a little different, to other Universities in the U.K.
The biggest difference is going to be the College
system, you apply to a College within the University. This is where you're going to be living, this is where you're going to be socializing, where you're going to be eating, where most of your time is going to be spent. Read more...Starting to write your personal statement is sometimes the hardest thing in the world because so much depends on what you write in your personal statement and what other people think of what you write in your personal statement. This is going to determine what university you get into; your course and potentially your future career. Read more...
As well as A-Levels some universities have specified additional entry requirements. Specifics for medicine, oxford and Cambridge are listed in those sections of the book. This is mainly due to the decrease in student sitting AS-Level exams, meaning the only formal exam results on your UCAS application form are your GCSE results, which may not be in the subject you are applying for and not all universities think these are representative of how you will do at university. Read more...
Some universities are going to send out offers without interviews, some universities are just going to expect you to turn up for an open day, but some universities are going to want to interview you, and there are two different types of interview. Read more...
When you get all of your offers in, you need to make some decisions. You need to pick a firm choice, and you need to pick an insurance choice. But, how do you make the right decision? You should wait until you have all of your offers in. I know this can be really, really hard, because my dream university didn't send me an offer until the end of March when my first offers were coming
in before Christmas and some of your friends may be getting offers at different times to you.On A-level results day, you're going to need to have two plans in place, one where things don't go as expected and you need to apply through clearing, the second one for things go better than you're expecting, and you need to apply for an adjustment place. Read more...
If after years in the school system, you are feeling burnt out and want to take a break in-between the end of school and starting university, then you can take a gap year. If you're going to go down this route and take a gap year, I'm afraid it can't just be sitting around playing computer games, hanging out with your friends, and working in the local supermarket. You have to have a plan, otherwise this gap is going to look weird on your CV, and it's going to be hard to explain to universities, when you come to apply or if you defer entry, what you were actually doing with this time that was useful. This time can be put to such fantastic use.
If you think you've picked the wrong university, then it is not all over, this happens. This happens a lot. You have made a really big decision. Potentially the first big decision you've ever had to make by yourself. You've potentially moved really far away from home to study a subject that you've not studied before. You may have made the wrong the decision and you need to know that it's going to be ok! Read more...