UCAS 2024/25
Disclaimer�Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information presented here is accurate and up to date, you must still do your own research and do it now! If in doubt see your guidance teacher, Mr Macdonald, or refer to https://www.ucas.com/
- Highlands UCAS exhibition is on 18 September 2024. Meet universities, hear about different options & pathways, and attend live expert talks
https://www.ucas.com/events/ucas-discovery-inverness-2024-438861
Join group booking after you’ve registered with UCAS. Our reference code is UCASBKN1054514
Before you go any further:
- Our school buzzword is ira2025
- The application deadline for most courses is 6pm on 29 January 2025
- If you need any help contact your guidance teacher or me on graeme.macdonald@highland.gov.uk
Starter questions
On average how much debt do Scottish students have by the time they graduate from university?
£15430
On average how much extra do university graduates earn over their career?
£100000 to £130000 after tax and student loan is repaid
However, the maximum loan is £9400 per year (£8400 if your household income is more than £34000). If you live away from home while at university and take the max loan each year to help pay for accommodation you will have £33600 to £37600 of student debt (plus interest) which needs to be repaid over time
However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies state that one in five students would actually have been better off financially had they not gone to university
Tip: use a personal email address
Enter the code emailed to you
Complete all sections of the application
Very important: in the Finance & Funding section you must select the options highlighted below
Personal statement workshop with Aspire North next week
For help with your personal statement see:
Colleges and universities charge tuition fees for their courses. However, you do not pay tuition fees to the university. Instead:
SAAS will cover your tuition fees if you choose to study in Scotland or at some other universities in the rest of the UK & Ireland. Elsewhere you’re responsible for paying own fees, which can be up to £9250 per year. SAAS will loan this money to you
Tuition fees are different from a student loan, which needs to be repaid
For Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery undergraduate courses a non-repayable bursary of £37500 is offered to all students
Student Awards Agency Scotland
SAAS provides funding for the following full-time higher education courses:
SAAS usually funds you for the minimum number of years you need to complete your course
You may be allowed one extra year of funding to cover specific situations, such as a repeat year
Official guide to student finance in Scotland www.studentinformation.gov.scot
Student Awards Agency Scotland www.saas.gov.uk
If you live in Scotland and choose to study full-time at a Scottish university or college, you will not have to pay tuition fees. However, you will need to apply to Student Awards Agency Scotland to have your tuition fees paid for you, as this is not automatic. Applications open in April 2025. See https://www.saas.gov.uk/full-time/funding-information-undergraduate for details. This also applies to EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status, and those with leave to remain.
Scottish students who wish to study elsewhere in the UK will generally be charged the standard tuition fees for their chosen course provider but may apply for a loan to cover the costs through SAAS.
SAAS also provide student loans to cover the cost of living, which need to be repaid, and bursaries, which do not. Once you graduate and earn over £27660 you repay 9% of the income you earn over this figure each year until the loan is repaid
Other bursaries (free money) available to IRA pupils:
Some courses offer bursaries:
Imagine you attend university away from Inverness. How much should you budget to spend each month?
According to Glasgow Caledonian University first year students typically spend:
£550 Accommodation
£200 Food
£100 Social life
£75 Energy
£65 Transport
£50 Clothes
£25 Phone
£25 Books/printing
£13 TV licence
£1103 each month
£8400-9400 student loan will barely cover your term time expenses
Official guide to student finance in Scotland https://www.studentinformation.gov.scot/
Learn how to budget! https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-budgeting-planner/
Be aware that: ��You are entering a very competitive system
Exam grades are not enough to ensure an offer of a place; a good personal statement reflecting your life experiences is essential
�If you are likely to struggle to obtain the minimum, necessary entry requirements for your course, you should back up your UCAS application with additional applications to colleges and / or training programmes such as apprenticeships and for employment
Always have a Plan B!
Think carefully. Be honest with yourself and ask is university the best option for you? Are you sure there are courses you really want to do that match your interests and skills? Be realistic and explore all of your options. Resist peer pressure and be authentic in your choices. Do what’s right for you!
There are many excellent careers which pay well and do not require a degree such as:
Police officer Administration Train Driver
Air Traffic Controller Accounts assistant Military
Project manager Retail management Plumber
Firefighter HGV driver Prison Officer
Offshore energy Hospitality Mechanic
Electrician Tourism Estate Agent
Arborist Entrepreneur And many more
Did you know?
Almost half (48%) of students and graduates who left university in the last five years say they regret their decision to go to university and 44% say they do not need a degree to do their current job. 66% felt under pressure to go to university (Barclays Bank 2018)
This is a good place to start your UCAS journey
https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-to-university
You should start your application, filling in personal details, exam results etc, before the Summer holidays. Some people like to get their form off early so they get early replies, but this is a matter of choice and you should only do so if you are certain about which courses you wish to study and at which universities
If there is any uncertainty, use the available time for research. In particular, visit the universities and contact them directly with any questions you may have
Some universities do not make decisions until after the application deadline
Only a sample of pages have been included in this presentation to give you an idea of how the system works
If you do encounter problems, see your guidance teacher or Mr Macdonald as soon as possible
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Where HNC, HND and degree courses fit in
You must apply through UCAS for undergraduate degree courses. Some colleges accept direct applications for HNC & HND courses
You can usually choose up to five courses, which UCAS will arrange into alphabetical order. Each university and college will only know about their course or courses that you have applied for
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The combination of choices allowed depends upon your chosen course(s):
You can apply to a maximum of:
5 ‘normal’ courses or 4 courses in any one of medicine/dentistry/veterinary medicine/veterinary science.
One course at either Oxford University or University of Cambridge
You can use your remaining choice(s) for any other subject. For example, if you have made four choices for medicine, you could still make one choice for veterinary medicine
Some people like to leave a blank choice so they can add one later�
If you apply to Oxford or Cambridge, the process is slightly different – do your research and do it early!
Deadlines
There is an early closing date – 6pm on 15 October 2024 - for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and for most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine / science. Let your guidance teacher know immediately if you intend to apply for one of these courses. You can add choices with a different deadline later
�Conservatoires: for music it is 6pm on 2 October 2024. For most undergraduate dance, drama, and musical theatre courses the deadline is 6pm on 29 January 2025. There might be differences so you must check conservatoire websites for details and check today!
For the vast majority of undergraduate courses, applications that UCAS receive up to and including 6pm on 29 January 2025 will be regarded as on-time and will be considered by the universities and colleges you have chosen
The school has an internal deadline of Friday 8 November 2024 for the first draft of personal statements at the latest to be with guidance teachers
And forms (apart from choices) should be completed by Friday 29 November 2024
If you meet the above deadlines, your guidance teacher will check your form and your personal statement and suggest ways to improve both.
If you fail to meet the deadlines, your form and statement may have to be sent away without being checked
These are final deadlines: we will accept forms earlier
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Beware: a number of courses may require you to sit supplementary tests e.g. UCAT Test for medicine & dentistry and LNAT for law. You need to organise this yourself
https://www.ucat.ac.uk/about-ucat/ucat-test-cycle/ Register from 14 May 2024
https://lnat.ac.uk/ Register from 1 August 2024
The results of these tests are critical for your UCAS application�
The application fee is £28.50. You pay this directly to UCAS
Universities will tell you the grades & subjects required to get into their courses, this is called the standard entry requirements. The minimum entry requirements apply if you meet certain criteria, usually based on your postcode, if you’re care experienced or a young carer. Check with each university for their criteria.
Task
According to thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk the top 6 universities in Scotland are: Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Strathclyde, Aberdeen & Edinburgh. Put them in the correct order from high to low
The correct order is:
St Andrews
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Strathclyde
Heriot-Watt
Aberdeen
However it’s important to check on a subject basis for example if you were applying for a biology degree the correct order is:
Strathclyde
St Andrews
Dundee
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Glasgow Caledonian
Searching for courses
Click on filters to narrow search by subject or location etc
Why not apply to your local University?
UHI is rated 4th best in Scotland for student satisfaction, above 14 other Scottish universities
Research your course options thoroughly using reliable, independent sources:
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/
https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings
https://www.theguardian.com/education/universityguide
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/by-subject
Have a look at what graduates do once they’ve completed their course. It varies greatly depending on the subject
https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/what-do-graduates-do-scotland
Read about the graduate labour market in Scotland (where the future jobs are):
https://issuu.com/agcas_00/docs/the_scottish_graduate_labour_market/1?ff
Did you know that the largest single employment destination for sociology graduates (18.34%) is retail, catering, waiting & bar staff?
Or that 78.1% of civil engineering graduates go on to become professional engineers?
Citizens Advice Scotland found that 20% of recent graduates had been unemployed for over 1 year, and 24.8% said they were currently under-employed in low-paid or short-term positions that did not require a degree
https://www.cas.org.uk/news/many-scotlands-graduates-struggle-harsh-job-market
What about a Graduate Apprenticeship? Get a degree, get paid & get a job
Once you’ve submitted your application universities will consider it and reply to you. Some reply quickly and others take their time
If successful they will make you a conditional offer (qualifications required from S6) or unconditional offer (no further qualifications required). You don’t need to accept or reject any offer until all universities have replied to you
If you don’t receive any offers you will be eligible for clearing, which matches students with courses looking to fill spaces. For details see https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/results-confirmation-and-clearing/what-clearing
Conservatoires have a slightly different application process and more information can be found below. If you intend to apply please speak to your guidance teacher
Useful links
�UCAS application guide:
https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-to-university
How to write your personal statement:
Highlands UCAS exhibition is on 18 September 2024. Meet universities, hear about different options & pathways, and attend live expert talks
https://www.ucas.com/events/ucas-discovery-inverness-2024-438861
Join group booking after you’ve registered with UCAS. Our reference code is UCASBKN1054514
�List of open days:
https://www.ucas.com/explore/search/events
�If you have any questions about UCAS please see your guidance teacher or
email Mr Macdonald on graeme.macdonald@highland.gov.uk