University Information
UCAS & Student Finance
UCAS
When applying for full time Higher Education courses, all applications go through the University & Colleges Admissions Service, more commonly known as UCAS.
Applications are made during Sixth Form time via the UCAS web-page. Once UCAS receive your application/s they forward the information on to the chosen Higher Education providers. The time taken to get a response from a Higher Education Institute can vary; you may need to have an interview, sit an admissions test, or for art and design courses produce a portfolio of evidence. The Higher Education Institute will then inform UCAS of their decision and UCAS will notify you through the post.
When replying to offers made by Universities, you can accept one offer firmly, meaning this would be your first choice of University. If you had been offered a conditional University place you could also accept your second choice, therefore providing yourself a ‘back up plan.’
Application Fee’s
Application fees for 2010 entry will be £9 for a single choice and £19 for 2 to 5 course choices. These will increase for the 2011 entry to £11 for a single course choice and £21 for 2 to 5 course choices.
Important Deadline Dates – 2010 Intake
| 15th October, 2009 |
UCAS must receive applications for all medicine, veterinary medicine and veterinary science course. Applications for all courses at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford must also be received. |
| 15th January, 2009 |
UCAS must receive all applications for any course that did not have a deadline on the 15th October 2009 and any art and design courses that do not have a 24th March deadline. |
| 24th March, 2010 |
UCAS must receive all applications for art and design courses, except those that had a 15th January deadline. |
| 30th June, 2010 |
The last date for UCAS to receive any applications for immediate consideration. Any applications received after this date will be held for clearing. |
Extra
All is not lost if you were unsuccessful at all five of your first choices. Extra allows you to apply for further Colleges and Universities without waiting for clearing during the end of February and the end of June. With Extra, you can apply for several courses that still have vacancies however, you can only apply for one course at a time. If you are still unsuccessful after using Extra, you will automatically be put in clearing.
Clearing
The Clearing process begins in England on the same day that your A-Level results are given to you and helps students who have not got the right grades or applied too late to find courses where there are places still available.
You will be able to go through Clearing if...
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You hold no offers and they have not withdrawn from the UCAS scheme;
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Your offers have not been confirmed because you have not met the conditions;
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You decline or do not reply to a confirmed offer of a changed course, and therefore have no offers.
Students who need to use Clearing must be available in person to deal with admissions tutors and make decisions. Summer holidays should not be planned for when the exam result are expected!
Glossary of Commonly Used UCAS Terms
Apply: the online application system for applying for higher education courses. Apply and its supporting information can be accessed here.
Clearing: a system used towards the end of the academic cycle, which enables an applicant who has not yet secured a place to apply for course vacancies.
Conditional offer: an offer made to an applicant by a university or college, whereby the applicant must fulfil certain criteria before they can be accepted on the relevant course.
Confirmation: when conditional offers that have been accepted by an applicant become unconditional or are declined. Confirmation is dependent on an applicant's qualification/exam results.
Deferral: holding an offer until the following year.
Extra: the opportunity to apply for another course if an applicant has used all five choices and has not secured a place.
Firm offer: the offer that the applicant has accepted as their first choice.
Insurance offer: the offer that the applicant has accepted as their second choice, in case they do not meet the requirements for their firm offer.
Personal ID: a 10-digit individual number assigned to an applicant when they register on Apply. It is printed on every letter we send and is displayed in the format 123-456-7890.
Scheme Code: a code used in conjunction with the Personal ID to uniquely identify an application.
UCAS Tariff: the UCAS Tariff is the system used for allocating points (numerical values) to qualifications and establishing agreed comparisons between different types of qualifications used for entry into higher education.
Unconditional offer: an offer given to an applicant by a university or college, whereby the applicant has satisfied the criteria and can attend the course.
Unsuccessful: the applicant has not been accepted by the university or college concerned.
Withdrawal: either an applicant or university/college cancels a choice before a decision has been made - a reason will be included if the withdrawal was issued by an institution.
For further information please visit the UCAS website
Student Finance
University can be a worrying time because many people worry about the debt you will have when you finish your course. This section aims to quash some of those worries and aims to answer any questions you may have about student finance.
Student Finance England
Student Finance England provides all the official information you need to know about your Student Finance. It aims to offer you and your family clear information and fast decisions.
Student Finance England have worked to improve the online service they provide and you application for finance will now be linked to your UCAS online applications. Therefore, everything should be quicker and simpler.
The Student Finance England website has an online calculator so you can work out how much money you are entitled to. Plus, you can compare different courses and institutions to make sure you have all the correct information about what support you can receive.
Student Finance Explained
If you are planning to be a full time student there are two main types of support; Student Loans and grants, and Bursaries from the University that you are attending.
Student Loans
Student Loans are split into two sections, Student Loans for Tuition Fee’s and Student Loans for Maintenance (i.e. living expenses).
You can get a Student Loan for Tuition Fees up to the value of £3,225 per year in order to meet the course costs. The money is paid directly to the University and you only have to start repaying the loan once your salary is over £15,000 per annum.
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Where will you be living and studying?
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Amount of Student Loan for Maintenance you could receive.
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| I will be living at home with my parents’. |
£3,838 per annum |
| I will be living away from my parents’ home, but will not be studying in London. |
£4,950 per annum |
| I will be living and studying in London. |
£6,928 per annum |
All eligible full-time students can get a Student Loan for Maintenance. The table below explains how much maintenance you could be eligible for.
The exact amount you can borrow will depend on household income, where you live while you’re studying, when you started your course and whether you’re in your final year. How much you get will also be dependent upon the amount of Non-repayable Maintenance Grant that you are entitled to.
Non-repayable Maintenance Grant
If your household income is less than £25,000 you could receive a Non-repayable Maintenance Grant of up to £2,906. The grants are provided to help with general living costs.
Additional Funding/Support
You can also apply for other non repayable grants if you are disabled, a carer, or have any dependants. The table below explains what you could be entitled too if you are completing a full time Higher Education course.
Type of Grant
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Students with children/dependants
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Amount of support/funding available
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| Childcare Grant... |
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| One Child |
£148.75 per week |
| Two or more children |
£255 per week |
| Parents Learning Allowance |
£1,508 per annum |
| Adult Dependants Grant |
£2,642 per annum |
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Students with disabilities or specific learning difficulties
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Amount of support/funding available
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| Specialist equipment allowance |
£5,161 for the course |
| Non-medical helpers allowance |
£20,520 per annum |
| General disabled persons allowance |
£1,724 per annum |
| Extra travel costs |
No upper limit |
Repaying the Student Loans
If you decide to get a Student Loan for Tuition Fees’ and a Student Loan for Maintenance, you do not have to pay anything back until the April after you have completed your course and you have to be earning over £15,000 per annum.
Once your salary is over £15,000, you will pay 9% of the amount above this figure. For example, if you earned £18,000 per annum you would be earn £3,000 above £15,000, so you would repay 9% of £3000 every year which would work out at £5.19 per week. Is somebody earned £25,000 per annum you would repay £17.30 per week. Repaying Student Loans really is affordable!
Repayments will be automatic through the tax system.
For more information on Student Finance, please go to the Student Finance England website!
www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance
