UCAS application
The Process
Once you have researched your chosen university/degree course and made a decision, there are then seven steps that you need to complete when applying to university:
Fill in your UCAS application
Write your personal statement
Your lecturers then write your references
Petroc will 'quality check' your application and send it to UCAS
UCAS sends your application to your chosen universities
The universities invite you for an interview and/or make you an offer
Finally you decide which offer to accept
Support - who does what at Petroc
LECTURER
Once you have completed your UCAS application and you are happy with it, your lecturer will write a reference based on what they know about you and might include:
Your potential for success in higher education.
Why you are suited to their chosen subject and career path, plus their attitude, motivation and commitment.
Skills and qualities like aptitude and enthusiasm, plus current or past achievements that will help with their chosen subject area.
Achievements, work experience, and extracurricular activities that relate to their chosen course(s).
Any commitments (like January AS assessments) that might prevent interview attendance on a particular day.
Any contextual information which might warrant special consideration. This could include individual circumstances – e.g. mature student, disability, widening participation activities, or information about your school which may affect performance, such as significant staff changes, or damage to buildings.
Any mitigating factors that might affect their performance, for example serious, acute or chronic illness, or significant adverse personal circumstances (with applicant consent).
TUTOR SUPPORT COORDINATOR
Your Tutor Support Coordinator is your main point of contact for UCAS applications and will support you through the whole process. They will pull together all the references written by lecturing staff and combine them to create one coherent reference. They will also provide advice on the UCAS application process from start to finish and may also teach elements of the process in group lessons.
ACADEMIC PROGRESS LECTURER
If you are studying a level 3 vocational course then your academic progress lecturer will support you through your UCAS application.
ADVICE AND GUIDANCE CENTRE
The Advice and Guidance centre can help with all aspects of the UCAS application form and also student finance.
Click here to email the Advice and Guidance Team
Phone: Barnstaple: 01271 852422 | Tiverton: 01884 235245
CAREERS ADVISER
Petroc's careers adviser can support with researching degree courses and universities, can provide an overview of the application whole process, can guide you on how to structure a supporting statement and can support you with deciding on degree courses and universities.
Click here to book a careers appointment
Phone 01271 852424
The UCAS Application
UCAS is a central admissions service for all UK universities and it is through their website that you apply to university. The benefit of UCAS is that you can apply for up to 5 degree courses or universities, but you just complete one UCAS application form. Once the form is received by UCAS they will then distribute it to your chosen universities. Of course, they charge for this service and this charge may change each year. For example, 2021 entry fees:
£20 for a single choice
£26 for multiple choices
You complete the UCAS application online at the UCAS website. When you are ready to do this please give yourself plenty of time as you will need to enter quite a lot of information. You will need to make sure you have with you details like Petroc's UCAS 'BUZZ' word (your teacher will give you this or you can ask the Advice and Guidance Centre), your recent exam grades going back to GCSEs, the awarding bodies and details of employers from part-time work.
Click on the image below to watch a UCAS video showing a step by step guide on how to fill in the UCAS application form:
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