This year more than 10,000 Irish students applied to British colleges through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The proposed re-introduction of fees may cause something of a fall-off in applications but it's still likely that a substantial proportion of students sitting the Leaving Cert next year will apply to UCAS.
For students in the Republic thinking of going across the water or over the border to study in 1998-99, the UCAS application form must be filled in and returned before December 15th. Applications including the universities of Oxford or Cambridge must reach UCAS by October 15th. Different dates may also apply in the case of certain art and design applications (see panel).
Your guidance counsellor will have copies of the form as well as the UCAS Handbook. If you are no longer in education you can get a form from UCAS, Applications Requests, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 3SF, England.
Filling out the form demands some time and thought as it differs from the Irish CAO form in a number of ways. As you work your way through, keep the separate detailed instructions at hand at all times.
The first section of the form asks for personal details correspondence address. For students in boarding schools, now is time to make up your mind whether to your home address or the school address. Further personal details include age on September 30th, 1998 date of birth. This may seem straightforward but addled students occasionally enter the date on which they are filling in the form.
The next question asks who will pay your fees? This has nothing to do with the proposed re-introduction of fees next year. UCAS is asking if you are an EU applicants and whether you will qualify for your fees to be paid by the local education authority in the area of whichever British or Northern Irish college you choose. For most Irish applicants, the LEA will pay the fees, so the correct course code is 02 (see panel).
The third section asks students to list the colleges and courses for which they are applying. Colleges should be listed in the order in which they appear in the UCAS handbook as opposed to the CAO system which asks students to list their choices in order of preference. Students may select six courses in total. You should use a separate line for each course, even if they are in the same college.
The mix of courses you select will influence the college admissions tutor reading your form, so choose a number of related courses rather than six totally different courses. This section also asks you for point of entry, which for school-leavers is year one. If you are hoping to defer a place for a year, tick the appropriate box for the relevant course.
If you have previously applied to any of the colleges you are listing, you must give the college code and your most recent application number . Some British colleges will not consider repeat Leaving Cert students for certain courses with high entry requirements such as medicine.
Sections four, five and six are straightforward. Section seven asks students to fill out examinations completed. You should give full details of your Junior Certificate results as it is the only State exam you will have completed. Under qualifications pending , list subjects to be taken in the Leaving Cert.
Students are asked to list special needs in section eight. Remember colleges in Britain and Northern Ireland will go out of their way to accommodate students with special needs - so be specific.
Details of employment to date are requested in section nine. Guidance counsellors advise students to list formal employment only - while babysitting may be lucrative it does not count.
The next section, which asks you for a personal statement , is probably the most important part of your application. Places are allocated by admissions tutors who take more than your examination results into account. This is your chance to sell yourself - in two-thirds of a page.
Think out your strategy and then write it out in draft form. Don't commit anything to the actual form before you have discussed it with your parents, guidance counsellor, class tutor and anyone else who will listen. UCAS lists a number of headings you should cover and you should make sure you get to grips with these. But, a little originality is sure to impress a college tutor faced with an enormous bundle of forms with little to differentiate them. WHEN you have signed the declaration that the information you have given is correct, it's time to hand the form over to your school principal or guidance counsellor who will complete the final section which asks for a . Give them plenty of time to think about it.
UCAS has produced a number of useful leaflets including The Parents' Guide to Higher Education, How to Apply to Universities and Colleges in the UK for Entry to Third-Level Education Instructions for Completion of the Application Form . There is also a UCAS qualifications guide for Irish applicants which lists minimum Leaving Cert requirements for various courses.
