Surviving UCAS

So you’ve decided to apply for university in the UK. Fab! Guess what comes next… UCAS.

It’s daunting, I know. Especially if you’re applying from outside the UK. So I thought I’d list the things you’ll need to sort out, to make it a bit less of a challenge. These tips are gathered from my own experience of applying as a mature EU student.

Before applying

• If you don’t have an English version of your qualification certificate from any former education, you’ll have to get an officially recognised translation complete with a stamp and signature. This can be irritating and costly, but ultimately something you’ve just got to get done. Make sure you sort it out in good time prior to applying. Mine cost nearly 200€ for all four pages of the certificate, but it may vary between countries.
• Some universities require you to take an IELTS test, even if you speak English as your first language (mainly to make up for not having GCSEs). Prepare to take the test at the beginning of the year, as it may be the condition of your potential offer. The cost of the test may vary, in Finland there’s only one place you can take it and it costs 230€. NOTE: If you’re English but applying internationally, or speak English as your first language, the university might not require you to take the test, so don’t rush into doing it unless you really have to!

Your personal statement

• Take your time. You don’t need to write up a polished statement in one sitting, so give yourself plenty of time to think about what you want to say – remember you’ve only got 4000 characters to tell them why you’re fantastic! 
• Get somebody else to proofread it! You’re bound to miss one or two silly mistakes, whether you speak English as your first language or not, and the spellchecker on Word can’t tell if what you’re writing makes sense or not. 
• As an international student you’ll need to focus on proving that you have a good grasp on the English language (yes, even if you’re half English like yours truly!), so it might help to mention if you’ve got any links to English speaking countries, and any English language achievements from school or otherwise. 

The reference

• If you left your previous school a while ago, this might be a bit of a pain to source. It took me forever and a day, but after some persistent emailing one of my former tutors (make sure you pick one that liked you at school, it’ll make for a nicer reference!), I got them to write one up for me. 
• UCAS makes referees log onto the site themselves to post your reference, so make sure you explain the process to them thoroughly! This is especially important if your referee isn’t familiar with UCAS in the first place, or doesn’t speak much English. My tutor sent their reference to me before sending it through UCAS because they wanted me to check their spelling and grammar, so do make sure you help them as much as possible.

Your qualifications

• UCAS may not recognise your former qualifications, but don’t worry! Just go to the “other” box, and list it there. You may have to provide further details later if the university you’ve applied to requests it, so remember to keep that translated qualification certificate at hand (scan it too, so you’ve got it ready to send just in case!). 
• They’ll ask you to list your grades separately – ALL OF THEM! This is important, so take the time to write them all up properly. Some of the module names might be odd after translation, but write them up exactly as they’re listed on the certificate.

Your employment history

• It’s tempting to write down all the jobs you’ve ever done, but that summer job as a berry-picker may not add anything of value to your application. However any English-speaking jobs, as well as those relating to the subject you’re applying for, are well worth listing. For example, although I applied for an art subject, I listed my waitressing job at my granddad’s coach company, since that was in England.
• Although you can’t list voluntary jobs, I’d suggest mentioning any relevant ones in your personal statement. Charity work always makes you look good!

 

Sending portfolios  

For art related courses, you’ll have to prepare a portfolio of your previous work(or several!). There are major differences in the specifics for different universities, and most wont ask you to send one in until the final application deadline in January, even if you’ve applied earlier. I prepared three different portfolios, two of which I had to send through the university’s own student website, and the third was sent in by email as per their request. Make sure you read the instructions carefully!

• Size (one university wouldn’t allow images larger than 500px on the longest side, while the others only required the resolution to be suitable for the media)
• Amount of work (this can vary a lot, some universities only want a handful of 10 or so pieces, while others have no restriction) 
• Description (you may be asked to write a short paragraph about your work, or alternatively not be allowed to include anything apart from the title and your UCAS ID number)
• Variety (Most places want to see sketches and process shots, but if you’re restricted to a small amount of images I’d recommend keeping the amount to one or two pictures. Depending on the course, you might also want to include some photography, crafts, writing, or animation.)

Got it all sorted? Great! Now all you’ve got to do is pay the fee (£23 for multiple courses in 2014), and send it off! Not so hard, eh? Now all you've got to do is wait for an offer... A good time to take up crochet, start an especially long box-set, or start reading Les Mis, because this bit takes a while. To give you some idea of how long it can take; I sent off my application on the first of September, 2014. I received my first offer on the 12th of February, and the second on the 24th. My third choice never got around to replying as I took up my second offer (which was unconditional), but I know lots of people are still waiting for offers.

If you're starting to get anxious, need some support from your peers, or want to see how others are doing with their applications, I heartily recommend The Student Room. They have dedicated forums for all the different universities, as well as a general one all about applications and UCAS.

Ps. You don't need to make your choice as soon as you've received your offers! I had had lots of time to think through my choices, but you might get an offer very quickly after sending off your application! So give it some thought. I'll write a bit about why and how I chose my offer in my next post. :)