To: Year 2/3/Access Students September 2013

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR UCAS APPLICATION ONCE IT HAS BEEN SENT TO UCAS

1. PROCESS

 UCAS (University & College Admissions Service) will send your application form to the institutions named on your form.

 Track your progress using the UCAS website www.ucas.com/track facility using your personal ID No. to see who has/hasn’t made an offer.

 You will receive each institution’s decision; some universities take longer than others, so don’t panic if one is still outstanding. Just wait!

 If you applied to less than the 5 maximum choices on your application, you can still add other choices up to five using the UCAS track facility.

 You may be called for an ‘informal’ or ‘formal’ interview, i.e. all applicants for teaching, medically related professions, Oxbridge and Veterinary science will have formal ones as will some universities requiring high grades.

 See Careers staff for information on preparing for interviews and kinds of questions that can be asked.

 When receiving decisions, UCAS will send an email to show that there is movement on the record. Follow this on track – ‘choices’. When all decisions have been received, UCAS will send an email and a letter requesting that you make your final choices, narrowing your courses to 2 , known as: 1st choice - Conditional Firm (CF) 2nd choice - Conditional Insurance (CI)

PLEASE NOTE: first choice should be the higher graded course. If not, please discuss with Personal Tutor or the Careers Co-ordinator.

 You can reply through UCAS Track. You must reply by the date/deadline specified or you will lose all your offers! UCAS will then notify the institutions involved.

2. UCAS EXTRA

 If you have been declined or rejected from all of your course choices, you will be eligible to apply to further Institutions/courses (one at a time) through the UCAS Extra service any time after 25th February to the beginning of July 2014. If you are eligible, UCAS will automatically contact you directly. This service may help you gain an offer without having to wait until Clearing. 3. CLEARING Clearing is a process whereby institutions advertise which courses are still available. You can apply for a place by ringing the institution. If you are eligible, UCAS will automatically send you relevant information on how to confirm your Clearing place. A media information guide on how to find out what is available is given to you with your examination results.

4. APPLYING FOR STUDENT FINANCE SUPPORT ASSESSMENT FOR TUITION FEE AND STUDENT LOAN

You will need to apply for assessment for Tuition Fees, Student Loans and any other grants available. You will normally receive, in tutorial, a pack on financial support for Higher Education students, published by Student Finance England, explaining how to apply for finance. For more information about the student finance package please visit www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance.

5. EXAM RESULTS ARE PUBLISHED – What happens next

 Exams taken (May/June 2014) and Results are published (mid-August 2014)

If you gain the entry requirements for your first choice university, you are committed to that course.

 If you do not gain the entry requirements for your first choice but for second choice, you are committed to that course.

 If you do not gain the entry requirements for either first or second choice, you will be eligible for CLEARING. But ring 1 st /2 nd choice institutions to check if they are prepared to accept you with a lower result.  NEVER ASSUME THAT THEY WILL NOT TAKE YOU!

 If you gain ‘higher’ grades than those needed for your 1st and 2nd choices, you can still accept the place. If you wish to apply for a university that requires higher grades, you need to use the system called ‘Adjustment’ – a period of up to 5 days after A level results day during which candidates whose results meet and exceed their firmly accepted conditional offer may research alternative courses without relinquishing their confirmed place.

6. Advisory Service An ‘Advisory Service’ is available at Varndean College from the day of the examination results to help and advise students if CLEARING is the next option and/or what other steps they may need to consider.

ANY QUERIES PLEASE SEE Judy/Sheila/Karen in the Careers Library in the Loft

Sept 2013careers/ucasprocess/what happens to your UCAS form/entry2014