Higher Education Handbook

2019 - 2020

Contents 4

From the Head Master

5

The Research Stage

6

The Application Stage

7

A Guide to UCAS Universities

8

Closing Dates

9

The Interview/Offer Stage

10

Closing Dates

11

Oxford and Cambridge

12

American Colleges and Universities

13

Personal Statement

14

The UCAS Tariff

15

Gap Years and Deferred Places

16

Music College Applications

17

Art College Applications

18

Contributions from Recent Upper Sixth Pupils

21

Finance at University

22

Alternatives to University

3

From the Head Master Making a decision about what you do after school should be exciting. There are so many wonderful opportunities available to you, but it is also a crucially important decision. And as with all important decisions, it is vital that you think and plan very carefully, taking time to undertake effective and diligent research so that you can be sure you are making the right decision and that you have done everything you need to do to have the best possible choice and realise your aspiration.

This guide is designed to provide you with the direction and advice you need in order to help you make that important decision. There are many other sources of advice too, but I hope this summary is a useful starting point and reference point as you embark on the Higher Education Application journey.

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The Research Stage

Lower Sixth: Lent, Whitsun and Trinity Terms It is during these terms that you should begin to think about Higher Education and what you may want to do when you leave school. During this time you should: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Talk to the Universities and Careers Advisor at school.

Talk to your Tutor, Heads of Faculty, your Music Tutor, the Art Department etc.

Attend the UCAS Higher Education Fair (organised by school).

Consult university prospectuses and websites, including universities overseas.

Consult COURSE SEARCH on the UCAS website: www.ucas.com Look at websites which compare universities (e.g. university.which.co.uk or unistats).

Attend (with parents if possible) the Saturday morning information session in June.

Attend a few Open Days (normally June / July) with tutor agreement.

Talk to parents, friends, contacts.

Assess the progress you are making academically against the requirements of different courses and universities.

Parents are also welcome to book appointments with the Universities and Careers Advisor and an information morning is organised for parents and pupils in June.

By the end of the summer term you should have an idea about: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Whether you want to go to university, at home or overseas.

Whether you want to go to Music College.

Whether you want to apply for an Art Foundation Course.

Whether you may be interested in Graduate Level Apprenticeships.

Which course(s) may interest you.

Which type of university may suit you best (city, campus, London etc.)

Whether you may apply to Oxford or Cambridge (see separate section below).

Whether you need work experience to support your application.

Whether you may take a GAP year.

Whether you need to register for “pre-tests” (e.g. UKCAT or BMAT for Medicine, LNAT for Law, or the tests set by Oxford and Cambridge) normally taken in Autumn Term of Year 13.

5

The Application Stage

Upper Sixth: Michaelmas and Advent Terms If you decide to apply for university and want to start immediately you leave school or after a GAP year (via a deferred place), you will apply through UCAS during the Autumn Term. You will need to talk to your tutor and the Universities Advisor to ensure that you are choosing wisely and realistically. On the form you will indicate: ● ● ●

GCSE results Choice of course and university (5 choices, 4 for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science) No order of preference.

You will write a Personal Statement (you should seek help from your tutor or the Universities Advisor) indicating why you wish to study the courses you have chosen.

The school will have to write a reference on you (written by your tutor, and based on reports from subject teachers and House staff) and will have to make a prediction as to your A-level grades. You should see this reference.

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Seek advice from the Universities Advisor about choice of universities. Obviously you should apply for courses and universities which require the grades you are likely to achieve, but there are some universities (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, LSE), to which a number of Wells pupils have gone in the past, but which are so competitive that even the very best pupils may receive rejections.

Non-Standard Applications It is perfectly possible to apply (as well as applying through UCAS) to universities outside the United Kingdom, and in recent years pupils have applied successfully to universities in the USA (expensive, but where some generous scholarships are available), in Europe, the Far East and the Republic of Ireland. Some Dutch, German and Scandinavian universities are also now offering courses in English.

Tuition fees in all these cases (NOT USA) are at the moment much lower. The Higher Education Advisor should be consulted in the first instance about these applications.

A Guide to UCAS Universities

Ultra competitive The following universities are so competitive that a pupil could have all the academic qualifications required and still not get a place. Offers, if made, will be around A*AA. ● Oxford and Cambridge ● London School of Economics (LSE) ● Imperial College London ● University College London (UCL) (some courses) ● St. Andrews Russell Group A group of other major UK universities. Grades here will be between A*AA and ABB depending on subject. ● Bath ● Birmingham ● Bristol ● Cardiff ● Durham ● Edinburgh ● Exeter ● Glasgow ● King’s College London ● Leeds ● Liverpool ● Manchester ● Newcastle ● Nottingham ● Queen Mary London ● Queen’s Belfast ● Sheffield ● Southampton ● Warwick ● York

Other universities Most UK cities will have a second university, such as the University of the West of England (UWE), Manchester Metropolitan, Oxford Brookes, Nottingham Trent, Bath Spa etc. These are less competitive and grades required will be lower: BBB to CCC and occasionally unconditional. These universities often offer subjects not found at Russell Group universities, such as Media, Film, Accountancy, Journalism.

Subjects The most competitive subjects are Medicine, Veterinary Science, Law, some Engineering and Economics courses, Architecture, Natural Sciences, and courses such as PPE (Politics Philosophy and Economics).

Predicted grades on the UCAS form are therefore massively important. In the absence of AS levels it is important to perform well in the school internal Lower Sixth examinations in May. The school has to link predictions to evidence of current academic attainment and, given that the challenge of Upper Sixth work is harder than in the Lower Sixth, the school cannot be expected to predict more than one grade higher than that achieved in the Lower Sixth exams (and in some circumstances it may be appropriate to predict in line with the Lower Sixth performance).

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Closing Dates The closing dates for the forms to reach UCAS are: 15th October - Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science applications.

15th January - Applications for all other universities and courses.

Note that the closing dates for application for Organ and Choral Awards at Oxford and Organ Scholarships at Cambridge is 1st September 2019. Application for a Choral Award at Cambridge does not take place until an offer has been received.

However, you will need to complete your forms much earlier than these dates to allow the school time to process them.

Overseas universities will have individual closing dates.

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The Interview/Offer Stage Upper Sixth: Advent, Epiphany and Lent Terms Once your form reaches UCAS, it is sent on to the individual universities. No university knows to which other universities you have applied. Your application is considered by Admissions Tutors who may decide: ● ● ●

To make you a conditional offer based on A-level grades or UCAS points.

Not to make you an offer To call you for interview (Interviews are largely limited to applications for Oxford and Cambridge, and for Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, and some Law, English, Music and Art courses.)

The school provides help in the form of interview practice, ‘enrichment’ lessons and discussion groups for all pupils who feel that they would benefit from this experience.

Replies from universities will come in the late autumn or spring terms. Universities will generally reply by 31st March, and replies are posted on the individual pupil’s UCAS website. A pupil may hold only two offers. The normal pattern is: ● ● ●

Accept firmly the offer from the university you want to go to.

Accept conditionally a lower offer from another university as an insurance.

Decline all other offers.

All this to be completed by 1st May at the latest.

If you receive no offers, the UCAS EXTRA scheme operates from late February onwards, whereby you may make further applications to individual universities, one at a time. See Universities Advisor for details at the time.

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Closing Dates

August after leaving school A-level results are published in the third week in August. If your results match or exceed the offer from the university, the place will be conďŹ rmed.

If your results are lower than the conditional offers made from the two universities which you are holding, the university may come down a grade or two and offer a place anyway.

If this is not the case, you may opt to go into the UCAS CLEARING system which operates in late August and September, and is designed to match pupils who have not met their offers with universities and courses which have vacancies. It is normally the less competitive universities / courses which enter the Clearing system.

If you decide at this stage that you not wish, after all to take up the place offered, you can withdraw from the UCAS system.

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It is wise to be available when the results come out.

The Higher Education Advisor will be in school, and available for discussions with pupils and parents. It is much more difďŹ cult to help you at this stage if you are not available to come into school, or to be in direct contact via email.

New Applications Pupils who did not apply through UCAS for this academic year because they intended to take a GAP year, and pupils who have either still received no offers or have declined all offers, should consult the Universities Advisor at this stage. The school remains available to assist pupils once they have left the school, and to help them organise their UCAS applications for the next year.

Oxford and Cambridge

Oxford and Cambridge stand slightly apart from the other UK universities in that they are organised on a collegiate basis, and much teaching takes place in very small groups in individual colleges. Terms are generally shorter than at other universities (about 8 weeks) but during those weeks the pressure can be intense.

Applications are made both via UCAS and to an individual college. You cannot apply to both Oxford and Cambridge. Entry is competitive, most candidates receiving an offer will have: ● ● ●

Very good GCSE results (usually at least seven A* or 8/9 grades).

Very good results in any pre-tests.

The standard offers from Oxford and Cambridge are A* A* A / A* A A depending on subject. Both universities now set entrance tests in many subjects in November, and all the results, together with the personal statement and the school reference, will help the college to decide whether to interview an applicant or not.

Interviews are held in early December; frequently candidates are asked to submit examples of school work beforehand, and there are often separate written tests at the interview. Practice interviews and extra discussion-type lessons are available at school.

Offers are sent out early in the New Year. Places are offered to about one in five applicants overall, but some subjects (e.g. English, Economics, Medicine, Law) are much more competitive than this.

Do I apply?

The decision as to whether to apply for Oxford or Cambridge must have been made by the end of the summer term, as part of the holiday will be used for reading, research, travel etc. in support of the applications. Talk to your teachers, to Heads of Department, to your tutor, and to the Universities Advisor. They will give you a very realistic assessment as to your possible application.

Oxford? Cambridge? Which College?

If you are unsure, visit both universities on an open day, normally held in late June or early July. There you will pick up information about courses and colleges.

You should also have the chance to look at some individual colleges, and may decide to attend a college open day as well. The Universities Advisor can help with ‘types’ and reputations of the different colleges.

It is also possible to make an ‘open application’ whereby you do not specify a college; you will then be allocated to a college at random by the university admissions department.

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American Colleges and Universities

An increasing number of sixth formers in British schools are considering the possibility of pursuing Higher Education courses abroad, and in particular in the United States. Wells Cathedral School has very good links with institutions in Boston Massachusetts, where the higher education scene is rich in its degree course provision in many subjects, including Music.

Other colleges across the States have taken Wells pupils in the past.

apply for means-tested funding from American colleges. Scholarships for the very best candidates are also available – but are very competitive.

American higher education has the reputation of being broad, attractive and expensive! There are, however, opportunities for pupils from the UK to

The best place to research the American college scene, apart from individual university websites, is via the Fulbright Commission in London: www.fulbright.co.uk

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Most pupils applying to American universities need to take the SAT tests, as well as offering A-level grades and school reports and references. Most courses are of four years duration. See the universities advisor for further details.

Personal Statement

The personal statement is an important part of your application. Now that most universities do not interview, it is your one opportunity to convince the Admissions Tutor that you are worthy of a place, and would be a good pupil to have in the department / college / university. For universities which do interview, the personal statement may also form the basis of the interview.

What follows is advice on the personal statement taken from the prospectus of one sought-after university:

“The personal statement is primarily an academic statement and you must target it very directly towards the subject in which you are interested, though we will also want to know something about your more general interests. We recommend that you cover three main areas in the personal statement, in the following order: 1.

Why do you want to study this subject? This could be a short sentence, and needs to capture the reason why you are interested in studying on the programme you are applying for. Some of the most effective personal statements start simply, for example, ‘I want to study History because ...’

2.

3.

What have you done beyond the A-level course that makes you particularly suitable to study the subject? You can include here which aspects of the subject(s) interest you the most.

Do you read around the subject? Have you attended talks or lectures? You need to be able to show the admissions tutor that you have the right background in terms of academic ability, and that you know what the programme of study involves.

What else have you done that would contribute to the course and to the university, and makes you an interesting individual? You should write about all those extra things you have done or experienced which will bring something extra to the community of the university you want to join.”

In the Upper 6th there will be further advice and support during the first few days of term in September, as well as designated time to work on your statement with your tutor.

There is more advice about writing personal statements on the UCAS website (www.ucas.com).

Remember, though, that it is a personal statement, and do not make it too stereotyped.

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The UCAS Tariff

Offers made by universities, particularly the more traditional ones, will normally be based on A-level grades. (e.g. AAB to read English at Liverpool)

Some universities (often the more vocational ones) make an offer based on a points score, whereby certain examination grades carry a certain number of points. The grade / points equivalent is as follows:

A-Level

A*

56

28

A

48

24

B

40

20

C

32

16

D

24

12

E

16

8

In theory UCAS points may be awarded for other qualiďŹ cations (e.g. Practical Music examinations). In practice, however, this will only apply if the course

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EPQ

you are applying for has direct relevance to these qualiďŹ cations. So a grade 8 in piano will not help you to obtain a place for Economics!

Gap Years and Deferred Places

The decision as to whether to take a gap year is an individual one. For certain subjects (e.g. Modern Languages, Politics, Engineering) it can clearly be beneficial to gain some experience in the ‘real world’ which may then benefit your university course. For other subjects (e.g. Mathematics) some universities prefer to take pupils immediately after A-level.

Personal preferences, family discussions, plans and projects for the year, and finances(!) will all play a part in the decision. The school can help in gap year planning.

If you are intending to take a year out between school and university, there are two ways to apply: 1.

You can apply in the Autumn Term of your Upper Sixth year, and ask the universities to consider you for a deferred place. The advantage of this route is that, if successful,

your place is secure and you do not have to involve yourself with UCAS applications in your gap year. Most universities are happy to consider deferred place applications on an equal basis, but there are departments in some universities which receive so many applications that it is difficult to get an offer for a deferred place. Look in the prospectus and on the website for the policy of the department / university to which you intend to apply.

2.

You can apply ‘post A-level’, once you have your results. The procedure is the same as a pre A-level application and you still apply via the school, but, because you have your A-level grades, the universities (unless they reject you!) will make you an Unconditional Offer, and you will have to decide by 1st May which offer to accept.

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Music College Applications

Pupils intending to apply to a music conservatoire either in the UK or abroad should discuss this with their instrumental teacher and Head of Department in the early stages of their sixth form courses, as there are many different routes into instrumental performance based courses in higher education. Applications for all UK conservatoires are made through UCAS conservatoires except for the Guildhall School of Music for which pupils apply via their website (www.gsmd.ac.uk). The application deadline is 1st October.

Entry to all UK music colleges is by audition. All pupils applying for performance courses will be offered an audition. The London colleges tend to audition in early December but others may be as early as late October.

The speciďŹ c audition requirements differ for each college and are listed on the colleges’ websites. These should be studied very carefully well in advance of the auditions. Pupils applying for non performance courses (such as composition) will usually be required to submit a portfolio or video of evidence and may also be asked for interview.

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Pupils will generally hear the results of their auditions during the Christmas holidays and have about a month to decide and to respond. The reply dates will be different for each individual pupil and are dependent on when the last offer is made from the colleges. This will be communicated via the UCAS Track system.

A growing number of pupils in recent years have also applied for performance courses at European, US and Asian conservatoires. Application and audition procedures for these vary quite widely and so if pupils wish to investigate this route, they should seek advice from their instrumental Head of Department during their lower sixth year.

It is common, but not necessary, for musicians to apply also to university music (or other) courses through UCAS and academic music staff can advise on suitable courses. It is ďŹ ne for pupils to apply and accept offers for conservatoires and universities via UCAS in the same academic year.

Art College Applications

If you decide that you may wish to pursue a career in Art, you generally will need to apply for an Art Foundation Course (1 year) before you select a degree course in which you want to specialise.

In addition, you will write a Personal Statement, outlining your particular interests and specialisms; the school will also supply a reference which will be written by the Head of Art.

Unlike the UCAS scheme, applications are made direct to individual Art Colleges, and you may apply to several. (You may, of course, also submit a normal UCAS application for other academic courses at the same time). It is advisable to visit some of the colleges on open days, and at this stage the Head of Art will advise pupils as to courses offered at different colleges.

The closing date for applications to most colleges is 31st January. One or two colleges, including Manchester and Falmouth, have an earlier date in late December. If your application is successful, a college will offer you either a conditional or an unconditional place on the Foundation Course.

All applications are individual: some colleges require a portfolio only and others require a portfolio and interview. Guidance will be given by the Art Department at school with portfolio preparation and interviews.

In recent years we have had a high proportion of pupils who take Art going on to Art Colleges, including St Martin’s, Wimbledon, Chelsea, Kingston, Leeds, and Manchester.

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Contributions From Recent Upper Sixth Pupils University - Psychology Despite always knowing that I wanted to go to university, the question of what to do and where to do it was a big one. The hardest decision I’ve had to make during this process has been whether to choose between English or Psychology, my two favourite subjects. After much thought and deliberation, I chose Psychology and this meant that I started looking up tables of the best universities in the country for the subject. When it came to putting together a list of universities to consider, my most important factors were quality of teaching, pupil satisfaction and whether you could do some modules outside of your subject. I also looked through all the different course breakdowns, even though they are all generally quite similar, as different universities specialise in different areas. After this, I had a list of about seven universities, which I then narrowed down based on where they were in the country and what grades they were asking for. When looking at universities, it is also useful to think about what you like - would you like to be at an older or newer university, on a campus or in a city? In the end, I decided that I preferred campus universities and so this influenced where I started looking.

This narrowing down left me with five universities on my shortlist. At the same time as all of this, I was also working on writing my personal statement. My main advice for tackling the personal statement would be to not overthink it - tell the universities about why you’re interested in the subject or course, highlight your strengths but don’t go overboard, talk about any extracurricular activities that you do. Extracurricular activities are good because they can make you stand out- something that is important when applying for a popular course, such as Psychology. These could include something like DoE, volunteering or doing an EPQ. EPQs give you a chance to show what you’re interested in and, as I found out, some universities will even drop a grade on your offer if you’ve done well in one. If you’re struggling with writing your personal statement, you can always get help or ideas about what to write from Mr Taylor or your teachers.

Before applying, it’s important to visit the the universities you apply for, possibly not all of them but the ones that you are most interested in.

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It’s a good idea to look up different universities’ open days as soon as you can, so that you can book them and arrange transport. They’re really useful because they allow you to get a feel for the place and what it would be like to study there. Talking to pupils and pupil ambassadors also allows you to ask questions about practically anything, from aspects of the course you want to do to how good the nightlife is. Looking around the different types of accommodation is always fun as well!

After you’ve sent off your UCAS form, it’s just a matter of waiting until you get responses from universities.

Don’t stress if other people are getting offers from the same universities - response time differs based on when you sent your application off and what subject you’re doing - you’ve just got to wait it out!

At the moment (end of February) I have offers (AAB / ABB) from Exeter, Liverpool, Queen Mary London and Reading, and I am still waiting for a reply from Bath. As soon as all the replies are in, I will then make a first and second choice, and hope my place will be confirmed on results day in August!

University - Medicine I decided I wanted to do Medicine in Year 10 / 11 so going to university was always my aim. Despite this, I changed my mind a few of times between then and the week before I sent off UCAS in Upper Sixth. I had done lots of research on a career in medicine from websites, books and talking to doctors on work experience and at lecture days. Deciding which medical schools to apply to was probably the biggest and most time consuming choice I had to make as there is so much information about all of them. After devouring ‘The Insider’s Guide to UK Medical Schools’, poring over many websites and talking a lot to doctors at work experience I decided to apply to King’s London, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Bristol. I visited Cambridge, Liverpool and King’s College London on official open days and looked around UCL informally. I chose King’s as the Medical School was really strong with world-renowned teaching hospitals attached, it had beautiful green campuses in the centre of London and lots of opportunities. I loved the cities of Edinburgh and Cambridge and the Universities had

Contributions From Recent Upper Sixth Pupils amazing facilities, teaching and resources. They were beautiful, prestigious and had excellent reputations so they made my next choices. I decided on Bristol as it had one of the best courses, and I really liked the feel of the city / university. Mr. Taylor was also on hand to advise me, which was really helpful.

The application process was stressful but easier than I thought it would be. Writing the personal statement is not too hard once you get past that whole modesty hurdle and realise you’ve got to stand out and sell yourself. I did consider a GAP year as I’d always wanted to travel, but with the prospect of a six year course I decided to go straight for it (although the course length could equally be a reason FOR taking a GAP year). I am thoroughly glad I’m not taking a GAP year because I feel ready for university and can’t wait! I get so excited just reading the course outlines so for someone as impatient as me, having to spend another year waiting, would not have been the right choice. However, it can be really beneficial for many people.

I was very happy to get interviews at both Cambridge and Bristol. I had moments of sheer stupidity in the Cambridge interview followed by better moments, but I still left Cambridge convinced that my interview performance had been terrible. The Bristol interview was a lot shorter and less academic-based. After the horrible wait, I was ecstatic to be offered a place by my college in Cambridge and by Bristol. I have been rejected by King’s London (with no interview) and Edinburgh (they don’t interview). Cambridge will be my firm choice and Bristol my insurance for acceptances in May.

University - Music I began my time at Wells in Lower Sixth, and had little idea of what I wanted to do when I left the school.

Joining as a specialist musician gave me mixed ideas of whether to apply to Music College, or university, and if I did apply to university, which subject to apply for.

After speaking to my tutors and music teachers for nearly 18 months I almost applied both to music colleges and university. I was also interested for a short while on doing a year in America to study music, although this was pretty short lived! Having made the decision to study in the UK, I realised that because I

am interested in community life outside music, and appreciating the opportunities provided by university in terms of sport and other activities such as acting and public speaking, I decided to research university courses.

I discovered quickly that there is a lot to read in terms of prospectuses and league tables. So, I got stuck into the latest league tables, talked to friends at university, and by talking with academic music teachers and the Careers Adviser Mr Taylor, I drew up a shortlist of around 6 universities that specialised in performance based music courses. These were: Leeds, Cardiff, York, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, East Anglia and Sussex. I was still unsure however of what to apply for in terms of courses. Doing a combined course of Music with Philosophy was something that interested me. However after thinking about this for a few months, I applied to do a BA in Music at Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Sussex and UEA. Although the application process was stressful, it was easier than I originally thought. The online application is very useful and you can go back to it whenever you want and make adjustments. I would advise that you get most of the administrative bits and bobs out of the way during the summer. It doesn’t take too long if you just get all your documents together. The personal statement is another thing that could probably take you all year if you wanted, but don’t be too modest, just sell yourself and don’t go eating the thesaurus.

I chose these universities because they all have a strong concentration on performance, and the ones that I was particularly keen on, Leeds and Cardiff were both Russell group. After going to open days at Leeds and Cardiff, they have become my top two, with Leeds as my first. I really liked the university campus, and also the atmosphere. The Halls of Residence, are all within walking distance of the campus and it’s also in the city, giving the advantage of a city and campus university. Cardiff was almost the same, it is a city university but the buildings are about 5 minutes walk from the centre. This course is also a very interesting one, offering a BMus course (just like the music college degree) and a BA. I have applied to the BA course.

However the BMus course is very interesting and

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Contributions From Recent Upper Sixth Pupils taught partly by Royal Welsh College of Music teachers.

The other advantage is that the college is just down the road from the university so you can use their music library and also do some performances with their pupils.

I was very happy and lucky to get all but one of my offers by the second week of the Lent term: Leeds, Cardiff, Sussex and UEA. Your offer will be sent to your email account and on UCAS TRACK. LIPA, is a very long application process. You have to pretty much write them a list/essay of reasons you feel you should be there and also give them a long, interesting list of all of your experience in music. That’s not all, you also have to attach a CD of 3 contrasting tracks of your performing, one of your pieces being performed on a track that you have helped mix or edit. If you are successful at this stage you will be invited for an audition and interview! I have been asked to go for an audition during Easter.

A GAP year was never really something I was interested in because there is nothing that I have a burning desire to do. So at the moment I plan to take six months after university to travel, but that is a decision for the future!

Music College I wanted to go to Music College, because after I joined Wells Cathedral School in the Sixth Form, I learnt a lot more about music, and it showed me how much I loved it, and how I wanted to carry on with music and hopefully one day become a musician.

I chose the course at the Royal Academy (RAM), because it has a good reputation as a music course, all the other colleges included their own positive point, different ways of keeping track of you during your course, but I found that the Academy offered the best.

Talking to my teacher helped a lot as well, because usually most of the instrumental teachers at Wells

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have been to Music College and they can give you some advice on which ones to consider.

I could only do two open days though; this was because I was late deciding that Music College was an option. My advice is to get in early and to go to open days very early on. Then it will be easier and less stressful when it comes to your audition day. The audition process was very easy and laid back; I went there nervous but the panel calmed me down and were polite and caring. They wanted to hear how I sounded in a relaxed environment, not under pressure.

Writing my Personal Statement for Music College was much easier than doing one for University I felt, so I made it a bit comical in areas and tried to get through that I was a fun and entertaining person!

I did not want to take a Gap Year; it may have given me some time to improve my playing and then go the auditions next year but I felt that if I had the whole year of no lessons, or no events, I would lose the will to work and a break would have been a setback.

For Music Colleges, you have to make your decisions by the end of January; I had to go up to London and have consultation lessons so that I could decide which teacher I would like to have. I would advise organising consultation lessons as soon as you know whether you have got in or not. The sooner the better, even if it is over the Christmas holiday season.

After a few weeks up to London, I found the teacher I wanted and to make that clear was easy, UCAS Conservatoires is a very good system that allows you to accept your offers or decline them online and to verify which teacher I wanted: all that I had to do was to contact the Head of Department and make a request.

Finance at University

Up-to-date information may be found on the UCAS website (ucas.com) and via: www.direct.gov.uk/pupilfinance

Home Pupils and EU Pupils 1. Tuition Fees / Loans Most universities charge tuition fees of £9250 per year.

No-one, regardless of household income, has to pay university tuition fees ‘up front’. You can take out a Pupil Loan of up to the amount charged per year to cover this fee. This loan is available to any pupil and is paid directly to the college or university. You have to start repaying it only when you have left university and are earning more than £25,000 a year, at which point you pay 9% of your income above the threshold. So if you are earning £26,000 per year you would pay £90 per year. The interest rate charged on the loan will be 6% during your time at university. It is the pupil, not the parent, who is responsible for paying back the loan (via salary), and if the sum is not repaid after 30 years it is written off.

Bursaries and Scholarships: some universities offer bursaries for specific subjects, for excellent achievement at A-level, for excellence in sport or music, as well as for pupils from families on low incomes. Check prospectus or website, or see the Higher Education Advisor.

2. Living Expenses / Maintenance (UK pupils only) Everyone, regardless of household income, is entitled to a maintenance loan of £4054 (£5654 in London).

There is then a sliding scale; if your parents’ household income is below £25,000 per year, the loan goes up to £8700 (£11354 for London). If your parents’ household income is £50,000, the loan is £5579 (£8178 for London). Repayments are the same as for tuition fee loans.

Overseas Pupils Overseas pupils (i.e. those whose home address has been outside the UK or EU in the three years before going to university) will not be eligible for financial assistance from Pupil Finance England or European Union Funds, and will thus be liable for the full tuition fees at UK universities. No fee increases are at present planned by most UK universities for overseas pupils.

Exact figures can be found on websites.

Application for Finance Even if you are not applying for a loan or a grant, you must fill in an online Application for Pupil Finance (to ensure your name is in the system) and return it to Pupil Finance England. Register at: www.direct.gov.uk/pupilfinance or www.pupilfinancedirect.co.uk You should go online during the Spring Term (for courses starting in Autumn) even if you are not yet sure which course at which university you will be following. The closing date for applications is 31st May.

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Alternatives to University

1. Apprenticeships

2. Direct Employment

The government, in consultation with some universities, industry and the business world, is developing ‘Degree Level Apprenticeships’. (See ‘www.ucas.com/degree-apprenticeships’).

Some of the large financial institutions (accountancy firms, insurance companies and banks) have schemes to attract high quality school leavers who are prepared to spend about five years working with the company.

As with apprenticeships, there will usually be the opportunity to study for a degree in Business or Finance, and to take professional qualifications, alongside the salaried work.

These are aimed at pupils who have already decided on a first step towards a career, and are prepared to undertake salaried work in business or industry while studying part-time for a degree at a nearby university.

Apprenticeships are mainly offered in Business, Law, Engineering, Retail, and Health and Public Services. Of the Russell group universities, Aston and Queen Mary London have well-developed schemes, and other universities will join in the near future. It normally takes five years to receive a degree.

Advantages: ● ● ●

Graduate after five years with no debt to repay Have a guaranteed job on graduation Become established and trained within a company

Disadvantages: ● ● ● ●

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Miss out on three or four years of university life Initial salary will often be low (about £170 per week) Little choice of area of employment and study You have to make a decision at age 18 about first career choice

Consult websites of companies like KPMG, PWC, Santander etc., and see the Careers Adviser for further details.

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