University Application: Post UCAS

By now you’ve probably accepted your place, and started packing your bags, but there’s a few other things you need to do first before you pack up your favourite teddy bear and your Spice Girls poster. First of all, once you’ve clicked ‘accept’ on UCAS, they’ll send you a little slip that you have to sign and send off to the university to confirm your place. Most universities will now accept a reply via email. It’s all on the slip, but do bear in mind, they want it back within 14 days of the date on the letter. I can remember my panic as I got to the 13th night and found the slip under my desk- SEND IT BACK ASAP!

After UCAS

Each university will have a different post-UCAS protocol. At St Andrews for example, to get my place in a halls of residence, I had to submit a form pretty much as soon as I accepted my place. Even if the offer is your insurance choice (ie. if you don’t get the grades for you conditional first choice) they will more than likely like be you to apply for halls anyway. It’s easier reject a space than try to get one at the last minute. If in doubt, contact the university.

Entrants Pack 

That will probably will be all you will hear until the summer, when they send you your ‘entrants pack.’ Mine for St Andrews contained information setting up my computer account, how to access my email, how to pick my modules, information on Matriculation (the fancy term for seeing your ‘Advisor of Studies’ to make sure you have picked modules related to your degree and handing in forms for doctor registration and picking up your Student ID card) and all the information they required from me before I got there. It also contained information on what was happening during ‘Freshers Week.’ Suddenly you go from being Joe-Bloggs High School-leaver to Joe-Bloggs Uni Student. Its exciting. You might require a new pair of pants by the end of it all…

So, you’ve sent all that back, all that’s left is waiting for Fresher’s Week to roll around..

Applying to University: UCAS

The big bad UCAS application

So, you’ve whittled your list down to your final 6 courses, and it’s that time to get your UCAS in. When I was going through UCAS last year, the application (all done online) had to be completed and submitted by mid January, but our school wanted to get them away before Christmas, but that still left us 3 months to decide our fate. It’s relatively simple to do, but as myths fly around, here’s a few tips about filling it in.

Personal statement

Since most universities don’t interview potential students any more, they ask that you write a personal statement, 4000 characters on why you are not a prat and why you think they should let you run riot around their university for 3-5 years. It sounds a lot more daunting that it actually is. I can remember it took me a few initial drafts and about 3-4 final drafts, before I had written my fate. Basically what they are looking for, is to see what your interests are, your ambitions, and your passion for studying your chosen subject. Most of all, you have to be honest. Admissions officers will see HUNDREDS of statements, and can tell a liar from a mile off. The statement is basically there so that should 2 candidates with the same grades come along, they can (and will) pick the one who has interests outside of school, ie. extra curricular activities, so don’t be afraid to pop those in too. If you play in a heavy metal rock band, or you’re a guy who is on your school’s gymnastic team- put it in there! If I can remember, I opened my statement with how I wanted to study physics, because I liked spinning on my computer chair as a five year old… (hey! it got me 4 unconditional places!) But, before you click ‘Send’ get someone you trust and who knows you (possibly one of your teachers) to check it over. I gave my statement to 2 physics teachers, my guidance teacher and a few others to check over. I was very glad I had at the end of the day as my guidance teacher wouldn’t have known it was ‘Max Planck’ and not Max Plank’ the famous Physicist who I was trying to describe. I think my application might have been tossed in the trash with a mistake like that!

Only 6 courses! :O

Yes. You can apply for up to 6 different courses, and contrary to popular belief, these 6 can be all at the same university, different universities- whatever you choose. I applied for Physics and Astrophysics at St Andrews (yes- 2 separate courses at the same University) Physics and Mathematical Physics at Edinburgh, Physics at Heriot Watt, and Nuclear and Astrophysics at Surrey. Applying for 6 courses costs £15 in admin fees to UCAS, which has to be paid before you can submit your application. If you want to take your chances with just the one course, it will only cost you £5. I’m not sure if this will have changed, the best thing to do, is to check with the UCAS website at www.ucas.com

Playing the waiting game

I can remember checking the website about five times a day after submitting it, waiting ‘patiently’ for replies from universities. Did I get in? Did they reject me? Generally thinking ARRRRGGGH! I think my first reply came through the end of January, and the rest through February and March, but it may take longer, unfortunately, you’ve just got to wait it out! Don’t think that if they are taking a long time, it must be bad news- some universities will have THOUSANDS of applications to sift through, and will probably take a while getting through them all. Once you get your replies, they might invite you up for another open day. When I got accepted to St Andrews, they offered all of us with potential places another chance to see the University. At the time I was still dithering between Edinburgh and St Andrews, and by the end of day I had sent my reply via UCAS- St Andrews was my choice. Once you accept, the excitement can begin.

Applying to University: Choosing your future

Right, so it’s your last year of High School, and all of you have been squeezed into a room and pestered by guidance staff to PICK YOUR FUTURE NOOOOOOOOOW! Sound familiar? I remember it well. So, you’re sitting there thinking, ‘What about Uni? get a degree, then a job, and see from there.’ But applying, finding the money, finding a subject to study, and more importantly somewhere to do it,  are a few things going through your mind, as that folder tucked away titled ‘UNIVERSITY.’ opens. Sounds like quite a daunting process. It’s really not. Take it from me, I did last year.

First off- you want to go to University, you want to get out of the nest, take flight, get as far away from your parents and their constant ‘do this! No, you’re not going out dressed like that! Have you done your homework?!’ hounding in the mornings when you come stairs in your school uniform with a hair out of place… But, how do you start going about this? First port of call- Careers Officers. These are awesome people, find out in school how to get in contact with them, get an appointment, and pour your heart out to them. Tell them what makes you tick, what you enjoyed studying at school, what you’d like to study beyond school. Even if you’ve not a clue, I’m sure they can get you sorted out. They can get you information on anything from courses and what grades you’ll need, what universities do the subject of your choice and can give you advice on what you could do with that degree. They can also give you advice on applications, open days and answer any questions you may have. I got myself a meeting with our school careers advisor/officer and she was able to give me lots of advice. At the time I was torn between studying engineering or physics, and she was able to get me endless amounts of information on each and various open days, prospectuses to read etc, to help me decide. Which brings me to the next part…

Open days.

So, you’ve decided on a subject and you’ve picked all the universities that do that course that are just far enough away that your parents won’t drop into visit and embarrass you. (just kidding) What you want to do now, is get prospectuses for these uni’s, you can usually order a copy online from them direct (for free, of course) but you might find that your school will already have a good few copies of their own, so if you find time during your ’study periods’ have a flick through them. If they are still ticking boxes for you, have a look at going on open days. They are great excuses to skive off a day of school, and are they best way to find out what it would be like to go there. You can read a book, but that’s second to none to actually experiencing it for yourself. So, when you get up there, between going ‘ooooh’ and ‘ahhhh’ ask questions! By the end of the day, you want to have a clear ‘ya-eh’ or ‘nay’ in your mind. But, if you are still dithering when you get home, you can still contact people at the university. Email the lecture of the course, and they’ll more than happy to help.

The blog has landed.

Hey there, how’s it going?

I’m Claire, I’m 17, and I’m currently a Fresher at University of St Andrews studying Astrophysics. I’ve created this blog to put out there my experiences of University, to give a bit of insight into what it is like being a student. If you’ve got any questions, feel free to leave me a comment, whether it’s about St Andrews specifically, or just about student life, gimme a shout

Peace out!

Clairex