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University Entry: a guide for the Lower Sixth

Visit www.ucas.ac.uk for more information on UCAS.

• You need some precise information to complete your UCAS form.
• If you think you might forget to bring any of the information you need with you, then find the answers now and webmail them to yourself, so you can get at the information when in school.
• You also need an email account with a sensible and recognisable name. You want an Admissions Tutor to think you are an able, intelligent candidate, rather than an immature one. If your present email address is not of this type, you must create a suitable Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail account immediately.

Parent guide to student financing 

Parents! If you're all at sea about student finances these days,for a quick introduction click here

Your documentation

Your questionnaire 

Your checklist of essential information

Your How to Apply as a PDF  or Powerpoint

MTS UCAS Handbook 2008-2009

The UCAS Handbook contains advice on all aspects of the application process, from choosing the right course to writing your Personal Statement. You will be given a hard copy of this on Monday 16th June, but a preliminary reading of it will help you make the most of the UCAS preparation days.

Download the MTS handbook here

Your introduction

Though it may seem as if it was only a short time ago that you started your AS levels, you are already at the stage when you should begin to consider what you might be going to do next.

For most of you this will involve university – but which university , and to study what?

The purpose of our UCAS booklet is to guide you through the process of applying to University.

The UCAS process can seem quite daunting at first.There are many thousands of courses and more than 180 institutions at which to study them, ranging from Oxford and Cambridge to the newest universities. The advice and information contained in our UCAS booklet will set you on the right path.

Do share your booklet with your parents, so they too can understand the various stages that you will be going through between the last months of the Lower Sixth and the autumn term of the Upper Sixth.

The majority of you will be choosing the older, established universities (Bristol, Durham, Nottingham and so on), but for certain kinds of courses (Design or Media Studies, for instance) you are more likely to find what you want in the new universities.

Don’t limit your choice too much by preconceived notions of status; the university world does change rapidly, and while the older universities retain their prestige in many subject areas, it may well be that in your chosen discipline this in no longer quite the case. Keep an open mind.

Don't assume that Oxbridge is always going to be the best choice. These universities clearly offer a great deal, but they do not suit everybody; certain kinds of courses may not be available; and the degree of difficulty in getting in – even for a three ‘A’ grade student – leaves disappointed applicants every year. This is a choice to consider very carefully.

The message is therefore clear: there is a good deal to think about and you must begin researching soon.

Even if you are already clear about what you want to study, you should obviously spend time making your choice of course and institution. There is always plenty to consider. 

Your booklet will help you focus on the most important aspects of the application process; it also provides you with a timeline to follow.

Your timeline

9 June	- Return to school. Go to existing Form. Receive PIF from Form Teacher. 8.50 to Lecture Theatre
11 June 11 June	- New Forms created depending on your university course choices. Your UCAS advisor is now your Form Teacher - L6 Oxbridge Day
16+17 June	-  UCAS Preparation Days Provisional Programme
23 June	- UCAS Evening for Lower VI Parents, Dining Hall, 6.30

Your essential information

To get going with your online UCAS registration - EAS - you must have with you certain crucial information. Check out what you need to know/bring with you in this section. Then read the FAQs to see if they answer any questions you have.

You need to know precisely

1. How your university fees are going to be paid. For most of you this means you need to know the name of your Local Education Authority.

2. The grades you have achieved in the public examinations that you have taken and the UAB (Exam Board) that awarded that Qualification. If in doubt about the Exam Board, check the list in the UCAS booklet or click here

3. The details of any GCSEs or other qualifications (Young Enterprise) you have taken out of school. Again you need to know the UAB (Exam Board) the formal title of subject (e.g. Jewish Studies; Gujarati) and the level at which yuo passed (sometimes this may be 'Merit' or 'Distinction'). Remember you may want to include Music Qualifications

4. Your post code: you need it for the form

5. Your parents' occupation. This mean the occupation of the chief wage-earner in your immediate family. Ask them about how they describe themselves to a new colleague. It should not be so vague as to be useless ("Businessman") nor be so precise that a reader (for example, an Admissions Officer) may not understand it.

6. If you have a UCAS card then bring the number; if you don’t, don’t worry – it’s not compulsory (it's the "special offers" card many of you ordered after the Careers Day).

7. There is a box for work experience. Only include work experience if it is relevant to your course (so not Waitrose) in which case you need to know your employers’ details precisely.

Your FAQs

Is there an additional application form for Oxford and Cambridge?

As of now, Cambridge have scrapped their old CAF (Cambridge Application Form). Any boys applying will complete an additional online form, as part of the UCAS form. You will be advised on any changes to the Oxford process by the Oxbridge co-ordinator as soon as we hear from the university.

How do I get started?

• Go to http://www.ucas.com/apply/
• Select Register / Log in to use Apply 2009
• Read the welcome message click next.
• Choose option to register through a school or college.
• Read the terms and conditions: click accept at the bottom of the page.
• Enter the MTS buzzword: click next.
• (Once you have registered you don't need the buzzword again).
• Confirm that you are registering through MTS by clicking yes.
• Select your application group (UCAS adviser) from the drop-down list: click next.
• Enter your first names, surname, title, gender and DoB: click next.
• Enter the location of your postal address: click next.
• Enter your postcode & postal address:click next.
• Enter your home telephone number, your mobile and email: indicate whether or not you wish to receive other information by text message or email (we suggest you OK that, they  don't spam). Click next.
• Check all your details are correct: click next.
• Enter a password and confirm it; enter a secret question and answer. Click send.
• Make a careful note of your username. Mail all these details to ucas@mtsn.org.uk
• Exit by clicking come back.
• You have successfully registered!
• (If any of your details are incorrect you can alter them later). 

What about ethnic origin? 

Most of you will put your LEA (#2). but there are special cases. If you live elsewhere in the EU put #02 and DfES for your student support arrangements. For further advice click here

Which LEA is "Three Rivers"?

The correct grade for exams not yet taken or certificated is pending

What month do I put if I took my GCSEs in the summer session?

The certification date for all exams is August