This is an interesting development reported in the Telegraph, getting on for thirty years after I received the very welcome early Christmas present of an unconditional offer. I had thought the practice was gone, never to return.
Universities making unconditional offers in race for top A-level students – Telegraph.
Last year I wrote a post about interpreting university league tables. In an increasingly market-driven, competitive culture, league tables are more important than ever in the role they play in affecting students’ decisions about where to apply, but just how useful are they?
Recent research from Royal Holloway, University of London, has studied the role that league tables play in applicants’ decision making, and has identified the Guardian league table as the most influential. But does that mean it is the best? Naturally, the Guardian itself has been trumpeting the value and influence of its tables, but I would suggest you read not only their article, but, perhaps more importantly, the comments below it (they get quite heated in places).
The overall message I would give is to make sure that you refer to several tables, make sure you understand how they are compiled, and make sure they are only one part of a decision making process that takes in a range of information and data. Certainly don’t be swayed by differences of a small number of places in a table. As you can see if you spend any time at all looking at the detail, tiny differences in the weighting of individual pieces of data that are less than wholly reliable in the first place can send a university or subject department soaring up or plummeting down the tables.
As for any teenagers reading, I can’t advise you which course would be best for you. But I can tell you that accountancy students drink the most, philosophers take the most drugs but, as we learned last autumn, economists have the most sex. Coincidentally, the applications submitted to Ucas in January saw a 4.8% in demand for economics. Don’t forget to explain to your parents that the course offers excellent career potential.
Chasing the job market is no way to choose a degree | Ally Fogg | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.
Thinking of applying to Oxford? You may want to look beyond the bigger, more famous colleges if you want the most satisfying student experience. I went to Regent’s Park College, which topped the poll of mixed sex colleges for student satisfaction, and at the very top was St Benet’s Hall, a Catholic Benedictine hall, which I remember as being notable for the jugs of (free) beer and cider served at their meals!
Full story at Oxford Student, here:
Access to Russell Group universities ‘far from fair’, according to new research – Durham University.
An update to the study … found that state school applicants continue to be significantly less likely to receive offers from Russell Group universities than comparably qualified applicants from private schools, although the disparity appears to have become smaller over time.
Rather than thinking of the reference as an awkward extra over which you have no control, and which just annoyingly delays your application being sent off, you should consider it as an integral part of your application.
If you are reading this at an early stage of your sixth-form career, and you know who will be writing your reference (at McAuley it will be your form tutor) then you can begin the process of ensuring your reference is both personal and positive by the way you conduct yourself both academically and socially.
In our case, part of the reference will be compiled from the comments of subject tutors towards the end of Year 12, so make sure your teachers have a very positive view of you as a student that will allow them to make comments that show you standing out from the crowd, whatever your academic ability. Asking for suggestions for wider reading or other study materials (and then doing that wider study and showing it in your work) is one straightforward way of doing this. Make sure you are fully engaged in lessons, asking questions and contributing to discussion.
Impress your form teacher (or whoever will write your reference) by your punctuality, and willingness to contribute to form and school activities, such as assemblies and fund-raising. Ensure your tutor knows about any and every extra-curricular activity you are involved in, and if you have part-time work, make clear how you are organising your time well to fulfil that responsibility without it harming your academic work. Show that you are well-organised and committed to higher education (or future career if you are applying for work or training) by starting your research early, arranging work-placements, visiting universities, developing a network of contacts through social media in your field of interest, and make sure your tutor knows about all this. A good way of doing this would be to start a blog tracking your experiences. I posted about this idea previously here.
Once you are closer to completing the application process, you should work ever-closer with your tutor to make sure that your UCAS personal statement (or CV / letter of application for jobs) is complemented by the reference. One of my main sources of annoyance as a tutor is when the guidance I have given is not followed, leading to extra work on my part: if you want the best reference possible, you should obviously want to make your reference writer’s job as easy as possible, so make sure you carefully take on board all the advice and instructions you have been given (in my case you will find it all on this blog). In particular make sure you are in a dialogue with your tutor as you draft your personal statement. Perhaps there are things that you are struggling to fit into your personal statement, which it would be appropriate to be mentioned in the reference instead. For me, one of the most important things is making sure that my reference not only shows genuine knowledge of the student, but also of the courses they are applying for. However, it is frustrating to have to constantly switch between the personal statement, my draft reference, and university websites or UCAS entry profiles. So remind yourself of this post on targeting your personal statement about making sure you know exactly what universities are looking for, and share this information directly with your tutor as you are drafting the personal statement, so that it can also be used to tailor the reference to be specific to your course choice(s).
You may like to read some of the guidance that is available for staff who write references (see links below). This will help to give you an idea of exactly what we have to do, and help you work with your tutor to make your statement and the reference complement each other positively.
UCAS advice on reference writing. Ucas have also produced a video guide to reference writing.
Slides from a UCAS presentation on references – succinct and useful advice with examples of what to write (and avoid)
Exeter University Teacher Information Sheet– a short and succinct advice sheet.
Slides from a Leicester University presentation – covers both personal statements and references.
Tips from Birmingham University academics – a short video packed with useful advice.
Grammar and spelling must be checked and checked again before submitting your UCAS form and your Personal Statement should be written in full paragraphs
Rebecca Lee (undergraduate recruitment and widening participation officer at Manchester University)
It is also always vital that you proof, proof and proof again your statement. It may sound obvious but it is really important. Write your statement as you would an academic essay, using paragraphs, avoiding repetition and thinking about how it might be read. We are looking for you to demonstrate your ability to write longer essays once you come to university.
Dr Abigail Harrison-Moore (admissions tutor for seven years at the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds, where she is now head of school)
Remember to draft and re-draft your personal statement. Watch out for spelling mistakes (spellcheckers are not a guarantee) and missing or repeated words: doing this shows your commitment to the application and attention to detail. An admissions tutor will be impressed by the use of good English; a personal statement needs to be well written, in straightforward English, and laid out carefully. If you try too hard to impress with clever language you’ll normally make your statement harder to read and your reasons for wanting to study a particular programme less clear.
Richard Emborg ( Director of Student Recruitment & Admissions, Durham University)
Universities are reading a lot of personal statements and so I really like the first few lines to clearly outline the intended area of study and the reason why. The end of your personal statement should also reinforce this. Although you are working in a restricted space I find it helpful when students use paragraphs so that the statement flows well and it’s easy to identify key points. If you’re going to be interviewed for a course, the interviewer will read the statement beforehand and may even refer to it during the interview so a well-structured statement is imperative.
This is brilliant, from Altrincham Girls’ Grammar School. I wish I’d done it:
And here’s a guide from Essex University which, among other things, includes some example statements with comments on strengths and weaknesses:
Don’t forget there’s lots of other useful guidance elsewhere on this blog. Click ‘Personal Statement’ under ‘Categories’ in the sidebar.
Life After Sixth Form