Students face wait to apply to university

Ucas warns that significant reforms are needed because the current system is “complex, lacks transparency for many applicants and is inefficient and cumbersome".?Photo: GETTY IMAGES

In a report published today , the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) proposes scrapping the current system in which students apply for courses based on predicted grades.

Under reforms that could be introduced in 2016, teenagers will sit exams as early as Easter and A-level results will be published at the start of July, instead of mid-August.

Applications would also be limited to just two choices – instead of the current five – and all degree courses would start in October.

Ucas warns that significant reforms are needed because the current system is “complex, lacks transparency for many applicants and is inefficient and cumbersome for [universities]”.

It says that many students apply for university before they are ready and fail to make sensible back-up choices, leaving many without any places at all if they fall narrowly short of predicted grades.

A consultation document warns that almost half of predicted grades are wrong and more than a quarter of pupils receive at least one under-prediction – often forcing them to drop applications to top universities.

In a damning conclusion, Ucas also claims that the traditional clearing system, in which students without a place compete for spare courses in late August, is “inefficient, stressful and confusing for applicants”.

Currently, most students apply for university between October and January, seven to 10 months before results are published.

The National Union of Students welcomed the plans, saying evidence showed that applicants from poorer backgrounds were more likely to be failed by predicted grades.

But the proposals are likely to be opposed by many schools and colleges because it will cut the amount of teaching time available in their pupils’ final year. It could also lead to more mistakes during exam marking as the process has to be speeded up considerably.

Top universities also fear that it could cause chaos as admissions tutors are forced to consider tens of thousands of applications in just a few weeks instead of months.

Consultation into the plans opens today and is due to end in January.

David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said the Government would consider the proposals, adding: “Making the university application process simpler and more efficient would be good news for students.

“It is important that applicants understand how the system works and that any unnecessary burdens on institutions are removed.”

Key dates in the university application process

September 23 2011
Registration deadline for UK clinical aptitude test (Ucat) – for most medical applicants

October 7 2011
Last date for taking the Ucat

October 14 2011
Registration deadline for most Oxford University aptitude tests

October 15 2011
Deadline for Ucas applications to Oxford, Cambridge, and for medical/dentistry/veterinary medicine courses

November 2 2011
Oxford University aptitude tests (and the biomedical aptitude test)

January 15 2012
Deadline for all other UCAS applications (except some art and design courses)

March 24 2012
Deadline for most art and design course applications

March 31 2012
Informal (initial) deadline for universities to respond to applicants

May 9 2012
Deadline for accepting university offers (if received by March 31) – failure to do this will cause offers to be declined

May 10 2012
Formal (final) deadline for universities to respond to applicants

June 7 2012
Deadline for accepting university offers (if received after March 31)

August 16 2012
Publication of -A-level results; Clearing process opens

September/October 2012
Freshers’ Week; degree programmes commence

The American dream: How to apply to a US university

With UK tuition fees at ￡9,000 per annum, increasing numbers of our bright Sixth Formers are looking hard at the North American education option. America spends twice as much on its universities as Europe and its universities dominate international league tables.

Today, staff and pupils from more than 200 British schools are attending a United States universities conference and fair at King’s College School Wimbledon (http://www.kcs.org.uk/) to find out more about studying in the US.

If you've missed out on the event, here is a list of factors to consider before applying to a US university.

1. There are more than 4000 colleges and universities in the USA of which about 2,000 offer undergraduate degree programmes.

2. The general type of programme offered falls under the heading of “liberal arts”, although it will involve “majoring” in a particular subject. American universities greatly respect the breadth and rigour of the IB.

3. With a view to working in the UK eventually, it is important to obtain a degree from an institution that is recognized and highly rated here.

4. Partly due to their wealth, and to a society that values and invests in education, the top American universities dominate the world university rankings.

5. Fees for American universities vary from one institution to another but the more prestigious ones can be in the region of $50,000-$60,000 per year. Remember that degrees in the USA usually take four years.

6. Most American universities will expect UK candidates to have A-levels/IB or equivalent and a minimum of five GCSEs (including English and Mathematics).

7. Most US universities will expect undergraduate applicants to complete Scholastic Assessment Tests or SAT tests. These tests have been developed by The College Board, to measure verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities, rather than factual knowledge. The tests are set on specific dates at designated test centres around the UK.

8. Most universities also require applicants to also take the SAT II Tests which are subject specific.

9. The Fulbright Commission organises “College Day’, an annual event held in London in either late September or early October. All those seriously thinking about applying to USA universities should attend this event.

10. Practice SAT tests and details of UK test centres are available from The College Board (www.collegeboard.com). For help and tutoring for SAT Tests see The Studyworks: www.studyworks.com and for Kaplan Test Prep: www.kaptest.co.uk

Helping your child return home for university

It’s that time of year again. A time of celebrating the accomplishments of our children as they graduate from secondary school and prepare for their futures. For many this means preparing for the transition to university. Leaving behind the familiar and venturing into the unknown is both exhilarating and frightening for any student. Students however who have been living outside their passport country and plan on returning for their tertiary studies must face an added transition – that of adjusting to the culture in their home country.

These global nomads, or third culture kids (TCKs), as they are sometimes called, are likely to have been back and forth to their home country many times during their overseas experience. They often think they know their home culture well, and can be quite shocked to find that they don’t understand, for example, the nuances of daily living, or the pop culture. Simply trying to answer the question, “Where are you from?” can throw them into a ten-minute dissertation. They grow up overseas answering the question easily by stating the country stamped on their passport, but when they return they may feel like anything but that nationality. They often feel more like an international in the very place they have grown up calling “home.”

Due to a lack of shared experience, these children sometimes have difficulty relating to their home-country peers. The domestic peer has no point of reference for someone who may have lived on several continents during their childhood, who in turn has no point of reference for someone who may have grown up in one place all his life. Their different backgrounds also mean they build relationships quite differently. The often transient lifestyle of expat children forces them to make connections quickly, whereas domestic peers take their time to wait and see if a relationship will develop. Plus, children who grew up overseas can come off as being arrogant when they become impatient with peers who they feel are immature, have a narrow world view, or are ignorant or less concerned about global issues. These relational disconnects can lead to feelings of isolation and depression.

Every first-year university student will face homesickness to some degree, but for the nomad whose family may be an ocean away, this can be profound. Homesickness is a form of grief. If the student’s family relocates or repatriates at the same time the student goes off to university, then that student has lost everything at once. Home-country peers may be on the phone to family three or four times a day, while differences in time zones may only afford the student a weekly call with family – making loneliness a very real issue.

What can parents, teachers, counsellors and schools do to help students make this double transition with success? The following recommendations can help:

Plan for your student to spend time in the home country before the start of university to adapt to the culture they may have missed out on while growing up. Help them to understand that their international life experiences will inadvertently make them somewhat different from a student who has grown up in one place all of their life. Dave Pollock and Ruth Van Reken’s book, Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds is a must-read that can help them understand how their life experiences have shaped them.Encourage your student to think about how they will answer the “Where are you from?” question. It is quite alright to call themselves a global citizen, a British/Japanese, an Australian from Singapore or whatever else their international experience has led them to feel they best fit in.Students who grew up in another country often find their sense of belonging with others of similar background. Encourage them to look for a “TCK community “on their university campus or to start their own group. At the very least, encourage them to check out the office and activities for international students, as they will be going through the same double transition, and many foreign students are also TCKs themselves.Encourage your student to attend International Orientation (I.O.), if it’s offered, even though the school may consider him or her to be a domestic student. I.O. is a great way to meet other students in a more intimate setting and to learn more about their home country culture.

Tina Quick is the founder of International Family Transitions, a consultancy focused on helping individuals, students and families make successful global transitions. Her book, The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition is available from Summertime, ￡15