How To Apply For Higher Education 13 For the vast majority of full- time higher education courses, application is through UCAS ( Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). For a very few courses you may need to apply to the institutions direct ( if instructed to do so within the prospectus). Making a UCAS application You make your application through Apply- a web- based, online application system. Your school or college will tell you more about this. Applicants who do not attend a school or college ( such as some mature students) also make their application through Apply. On- screen help and advice is provided as you use Apply, and you can also click on ' How to Apply' or watch the UCAS video guide to applying at www. ucas. com You will need to select up to five courses* to which to apply. You can find course information by using Course Search- accessible through the UCAS website, or in the UCAS Big Guide. Universities and colleges to which you apply will onlyreceive details of the courses you have applied to at that particular institution. They will not know your other choices. By using UCAS Apply you can: . work on your application wherever there is access to the internet . use the on- screen help facility to guide you through completing the form . change your form as often as you like, before passing it to your teacher/ adviser. It is important to prepare thoroughly! * Please note: If applying for medicine, veterinary science/ medicine or dentistry you should select no more than four courses in those subjects and consider using the remaining choice for an alternative course. The closing date for applications for medicine, veterinary science/ medicine or dentistry is 15 October - earlier than for other courses ( see page 15). Entry Profiles When using the course search facility of the UCAS website, you will find that many courses carry Entry Profiles. Entry Profiles provide useful additional information about the courses, such as entry qualifications, selection criteria, desirable personal characteristics, course content, employability profiles and bursary/ scholarship opportunities. UCAS Card UCAS Card is aimed at students in year 12, or equivalent. It's free and is designed to help you through the application process, giving you information tailored to your particular needs, expert help from UCAS advisers, personal copies of ' You Can' magazine, as well as discounts at some high street stores and access to yougofurther. co. uk, the UCAS student network website. To register for the scheme access www. ucas. com/ ucascard

14 Personal Statement How To Apply For Higher Education This part of the form is about you. It is your opportunity to convince admissions tutors that you are right for the course. Bear in mind that admissions staff have to select from many applicants who are likely to achieve the academic qualifications required for entry. In many cases, the personal statement is the deciding factor. When completing the personal statement there are no right or wrong answers, and no correct style. Make it sound interesting but keep it concise. Sell yourself, but do not put anything which you cannot substantiate. Write a draft and show it to a friend, teacher or Connexions adviser. Be specific about what you do and where your interests lie. There is plenty of advice about writing your personal statement on the UCAS website. Topics include: . Reasons for your course/ subject choice How and why did you reach your choice? Explain the background to your interest in the subject( s) you wish to study, and your reasons for choosing the particular courses you have listed. . Any job and work experience or voluntary work Explain what you have gained from your experience of work. This is particularly important if relevant to your chosen subject area, but could include general attributes such as reliability, dealing with people, etc. . Your future plans Mention any future ambitions or longer term career ideas to show that you have thought beyond your higher education course. . Interests, activities, achievements These give an impression of you as an individual. Include any positions of responsibility or awards e. g. Duke of Edinburgh or Young Enterprise gained through extra- curricular activities. Keep references to your hobbies/ interests concise, but describe what you have gained rather than just giving lists. Emphasise anything notable or unusual. . Time out If you are planning to take a year out, explain your reasons and briefly outline any plans you may have for the year, along with what you hope to achieve from the experience. . Sponsorship Detail any industrial or professional sponsorship which you have applied for, or secured. It is a good idea to prepare your personal statement offline using ' Word' or other word- processing package. You can then copy and paste this into the ' Apply' system. Similarity Detection All personal statements are subject to ' Copycatch' testing to detect students who have copied all or part of their personal statement from someone or somewhere else. Please note: whilst the information provided about application procedures is accurate at the time of publication, it is possible that entry procedures for 2011 entry may be subject to further change. Always consult up- to- date UCAS information.