University is not the right route for everyone. Push knows that, you know that.

Luckily the rest of the country is beginning to know that too and that is expanding the other options that you have available. With that, apprenticeships are getting more attention and variety.

University admissions are something that the majority of us would agree should be a straightforward and fair process but it isn’t always clear (and is a topic up for debate) on how fair that process is currently.
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What should be considered in a university application? Well the most obvious is the grades of the applicant, a clear indication of academic ability, but is that all admissions should be judged on? After all, everyone has their own barriers to face in life. At Push we love talking about building resilience from your setbacks and using these as a positive element to your self development. The argument is that these barriers are something that should be considered by universities during admissions. 

A report by the Nuffield foundation found that, selective universities are increasingly taking into account  socioeconomic and educational contexts in which applicants achieved their grades but Vikki Boliver of Durham university argues that universities must be even bolder in their admissions process to ensure that students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds are able to access higher education.

Hopefully the past month has given you a bit more clarity as to how your school/ college is assessing grades. You may have been getting more essays or homework set, maybe a new set of mocks have been announced or are even happening now. Either way, it’s safe to say that it’s best to complete each piece of work to the best of your ability. In this blog I’ll be talking about some tips and tricks you can use to keep working through a school of twenty back-crunching zoom calls whilst trying to prep for upcoming exams.

So, firstly for general revision and keeping focus: we have to remember that this doesn’t last forever. A-levels/ BTECs/ GCSEs will end, and so will all this work you're doing… I promise! Yes, we don’t know when or how we’re getting assessed exactly, but when school finishes in 5 or so months this will all be over and a new chapter awaits. The likelihood is these academic grades will be finally determined around May/June time, so summer and sunshine is only a few more months away!

So one thing that 2021 has brought with it is the UKs actual, no gracing period, exit from the European Union. Regardless of how you feel about the situation, it's happened and now we have to get used to all of the changes that has come along with that.

One of those changes is that the UK will no longer be able to take part in the Erasmus+ scheme. Something that allowed students to go study abroad in Europe with no tuition fees and also receive a grant for their living costs. 

It is a fact that one of the aspects of choosing to go to university is unfortunately acquiring some student loan debt. 

So, being a student it is useful to come up with short-term financial goals that you need to look after. If you know the basics of personal finance management, then you would also know that there are some other financial goals that you should focus on while studying!
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But how to set goals when Covid-19 is still hanging around? Does this have any effect on your financial goals? Let’s find out in the discussion.

If you've decided you want to go to uni, then we're going to go ahead and assume you're feeling pretty smug and have already submitted your application. If you haven't, then you've got about four weeks till the January 15th deadline.

So between now and then, stop dreaming of a vaccine Christmas and dream instead about where your chosen degree might take you.

​Researching and supporting a cause that matters to you this Xmas not only helps you. It can massively help others.

Supporting causes can help you work out what you want from life. Careers in the 21st century, when we are likely to work for longer than ever (and for different companies), will be based much more on company values and ethics than older generations - who tended to focus on a paternal "you'll move up through the ranks from apprentice to retirement" arm around the metaphorical shoulder, driven by financial security first, a job-for-life second, and perhaps striking lucky and enjoying your career third. Younger people, via social media, are much more aware of global issues and therefore how they want to fit into them (and ideally solve or improve them). 

If your plan for next year is university then you’re already submitted your application, right? If not, then get a move on. The UCAS deadline (January 15th) may be the official cut-off, but a lot of places will have been filled already. We know how fab you are, but that doesn’t mean the unis are holding a space specially for you. Get your application in before the end of this month.

The pandemic might have changed your plans about going to university. Perhaps you’ve already deferred for a year or because of everything going on you may have already decided that uni isn’t the right path for you in 2021, but you’ll give it a go in 2022. 

If that’s the case, don’t let your gap year go by, in the blink of an eye, leaving you feeling unfulfilled and still not ready for uni. In days pre-covid (remember those?) a gap year often meant jetting off in a plane with a backpack and spending a couple of months in a new country. However we don’t know when that’s going to be a realistic option. So maybe it's time to think a little closer to home during your gap year.  Here are a few ideas to get started:

Covid casts a long shadow over lives. As we are discovering, the condition can persist for months or, as we may yet discover, possibly years. It also casts a shadow of grief over those who have lost – or will lose – those they love. But even those who, thankfully, have never been infected may yet find their lives have been blighted for years or even decades by this pandemic’s other long-term wasting effects.
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The labour market has rarely looked worse for young people and emerging from education into a recession can handicap a whole career. At first there are no jobs and, by the time there are, there’s another generation coming into bloom, fresh out of school or university, unwilted by months or years of unemployment.

We all knew that going into school after a six month break would not look normal. Schools and teachers are all doing their best to make things run smoothly, even when there’s an imminent risk of a class being randomly eliminated. It’s like coronavirus is playing a pac-man video game to destroy the education system completely. With weapons of hand sanitisers and one way systems, it looks like schools are putting up a good fight.

Although you may not have had to self- isolate at home, the thought doesn’t seem as scary as before. Hopefully, by now, you have seen many procedures to make a potential quarantine at home easier. Luckily technology has rapidly advanced from the last time schools have had to close a century ago. It’s promising to see an abundance of lesson resources to help students who are self-isolating readily available online if needs be. This can be beneficial even if you are not working from home, for example, lesson powerpoint  being uploaded onto your online portal for use in your revision.

A recent BBC study found that the least likely group to go to university is currently white males from low-income families. Only 26% of students from low-income backgrounds have gone on to higher education this year, only half of them were white British males.

October 15th is the deadline for applications to Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses. This is not a seriously-ill-line or near-death-line, it is a deadline. 

If you miss it, you'll have to wait a year to apply again. If you’re thinking about applying to these courses I’m sure you’re already done most of the legwork for your application. If you're not ready yet, then switch off your phone, dust off your laptop and let your mum know she’s on coffee duty for the next 24 hours solid

You'd be forgiven for thinking that with around a year to go until your first application deadline looms, you've got time to perfect your Beyonce dance routine. While this is a perfectly legitimate leisure activity and will look fierce when you whip it out at parties, choosing a uni is much easier if you take the time to do it right

We know that making real-life decisions and the whole UCAS commotion is basically a year away, but before you know it these choices will be getting all up in your face and demanding attention. Then there's all the exams, revision, coursework, birthdays/bar mitzvahs/weddings and cat gifs... it's never too soon to get focused.

Besides, what's sixth form all about anyway? If you can work out where it's heading, it gives the next two years more purpose, more focus — perhaps even more fun and success.

What we're saying is that, however early it seems, now's a great time to be thinking about two of the big questions: what do you want to study and where do you want to study it

If you’re thinking of going to uni in September 2021 but you haven’t thought about which unis you're going to apply to yet: You’d better level up and get going.

You’ve got until mid-January to complete your application for most courses, but Oxbridge, medicine and veterinary courses have deadlines that are less than a month away (October 15th).

This year has drove us inside our homes more than ever. We’ve all taken up a number of things to try and fill our times the best we can. From all becoming master bakers, taking our chance at cutting hair or finally picking up and learning how to play the recorder.

One of the saving graces of the lockdown was how technology allowed us to stay connected to our friends and family, but our relationship with technology has to be kept under control otherwise it has the potential to spiral into something that can have detrimental effects on our mental health.

Is it time to start thinking about which university you might want to go to?

Well fear no more!

Over the past few months we’ve had a go at making a handy map for you that outlines as many universities in the UK that we could throw our hat at.

Click here to have a look at the list of universities on offer with links to their location, websites and a little of our honest Push info too.

If you’re part of a university or college that isn’t on the map and would like to be included. Please email at aron@push.co.uk and we can get it added to the map.

Work experience: cancelled. Taster days: cancelled. University open days, you guessed it... cancelled.

Sinking into the sofa, many have felt like the whole of higher education is getting cancelled. Six months into lockdown, however, you start to realise that the world is actually at the tip of your fingers. 

We are the generation of technology. The generation of endless screening.  Even though work experience for many is cancelled, when a global pandemic forces us indoors, we’ve never felt more at home.

When distance learning is necessary, many students and teachers consider it a challenge. In reality, it can be a very useful tool which can provide students from all over the world with the chance to learn. Whether they don’t have access to education otherwise or a worldwide pandemic has taken place, distance learning can become a great alternative for everyone.
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In order to make it effective, though, teachers are not the only ones that need to find ways to keep it interesting. Students should also find ways to make distance learning more interesting in order to get something from it. Here are some tips to help you achieve just that.