MAY NEWS: Year 12 & 13

For year 12s

Are you heading down the uni highway?

This month you can officially start applying to uni for 2019 entry. UCAS opens its website for people to register on 22nd May.

Don’t worry, the deadline is still a while away, but the dogs are now off the leash.

Hopefully, your thoughts about what you might want to study have, like chewing gum on the pavement, been getting firmer.

The next question is where to study? Sometimes this isn’t just about where it is in the country, but about what the place is
really like – the atmosphere.

No two unis are the same. The surroundings and building affect how it feels, but so too do the people, the students. Some
unis are posh, some are full of students from the area, some are ethnic melting pots, some are arty, sciency or businessy. Some are none of those things.

How can you get to know unis a little better?

• Get yourself there. Nothing gives you a better idea than being there, experiencing it first hand. Universities all have official open days, either for the whole uni or for just one department. But you don’t have to wait for an open day, just contact the department and arrange a visit.
• Make sure you get the most out of an open day or visit. Don’t let them just show you what they want. See the bits that will matter most to you.
• Don’t just visit one uni and think you’re done. You need to get yourself to at least three before you even start to get a feel for how they’re all different.
• Do you have any friends who went there? Get in touch with people and ask them for their top tips too.
• Read the uni profiles on Push – particularly the section about atmosphere which tries to capture what makes each uni just feel different.

For year 13s

Uni applications...

Deadline alert: If you’re planning to go to uni this autumn and you want to be able to pay your fees and have money to live on.

Remember to apply for your student loan by 31st May.  You don’t need a confirmed place at university or college to
apply, just use your preferred choice and update it online if it changes.

If you miss the deadline you might find yourself starting uni with only the change from down the back of the sofa so here's your reminder now.

Not got a place yet? If none of your unis offered you a place or you played hard to get and turned down all their advances, then you might still find something through UCAS Extra. The idea is that you can apply to courses that still have spaces even if they weren't one of your first choices.

Rather than doing a whole new application, you just pick unis to apply to one at a
time. Only when you get their response can you decide whether to keep looking and apply for another instead. If you're eligible for UCAS Extra it will tell you when you log into Track.