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UCAS Guidance

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)

The majority of students apply to their choice of UK universities in the Michaelmas Term of their final year.

However, the application process begins when students start at Earlscliffe. We use Unifrog, an online platform, to help students research, plan and prepare for their chosen post-Earlscliffe pathway. In the Trinity Term of Year 12, students are taken off timetable for a week to complete their UCAS form and begin their Personal Statements. As with everything at Earlscliffe, a personalised approach is provided for university applications.

If students are applying to study at university in the UK, they will apply to five universities through UCAS and each student will be given a considerable level of guidance from his or her teachers, Group Tutor and the Careers Leader, covering their selection of courses and universities.

There is support for students who want to apply to universities outside the UK in Earlscliffe and within the Dukes family.

UCAS Guidance Steps

Students begin their university application in the September they join Earlscliffe. Each student is given a Unifrog account to record and research potential future pathways, and dedicated Group Tutor time is given over to this.

In the final term of their school year, Year 12 students have a week off timetable to complete their UCAS form and begin their Personal Statements. Staff (Group Tutors, Head of Year, Careers Leader, Deputy Head and the Head Teacher) are on hand to assist with this process and small personal statement workshops, run by subject teachers, are provided with subject-specific guidance. If students are applying to study somewhere other than the UK, they can work on these applications during this time too with support from staff.

UCAS forms are typically submitted to universities just after October half term except those students who wish to study at Oxbridge or any of the following courses: Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, who have the deadline of October 15th. However, if a student joins us in the Hilary term, we will work with them individually to ensure that they can meet the final deadline of 15th January.

Once applications have been submitted, we work with students to ensure that they choose the most suitable Firm and Insurance choices for their final two UCAS choices. If a student is called for interview, we are on hand to provide mock interviews and thorough feedback to help them secure an offer from their favoured university.

Personal Statement

The UCAS Personal Statement

This 4000-character document which supports university applications is completed by students with guidance and assistance from staff. Many staff are available to help students with this and the Careers Leader offers personalised coaching to ensure this is tailored to both the universities and courses that a student is applying to.

Students will need to show enthusiasm and understanding of the subject they want to study in their personal statement. This will include reference to the following: relevant work experience, wider reading, online courses, subject knowledge and why they want to study that particular subject at university.