HOW DO I APPLY TO UNIVERSITY?
Step by step guide
There are 3 UCAS application deadlines. It is your responsibility to check the
deadline for each of your choices.
15 October 2009 - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for all
medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and veterinary science courses and for all
courses at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
15 January 2010 - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for all
courses except those listed above with a 15 October deadline and Art & Design
courses with a 24 March deadline.
24 March 2010 - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for art
and design courses except those listed with a 15 January deadline.
30 June 2010 - last date for the receipt of all other applications for immediate
consideration. Those received after this date will be held for Clearing.
The Learner Advisory Team coordinate the UCAS application process, but are
not responsible for completing your application. In order to process your
UCAS application in time to meet the UCAS deadline, we require you to have it
completed and paid for by:
8 October 2009 – for 15 October 2009 deadline
18 December 2009 – for 15 January 2010 deadline
17 March 2010 – for 24 March 2010 deadline
*Applications not submitted by these dates will miss the UCAS deadline
Step 1.
Research degrees – check university websites and look at
www.ucas.com for information and guidance on applying to university
as well as accessing the course search facility.
Step 2.
Find a lecturer that will be happy to give you an online
reference.
Step 3.
Register on MOODLE . You MUST do this otherwise the College
cannot track your application*.
Step 4.
Complete the online application at www.ucas.ac.uk/apply
Step 5.
Pay for your application. You MUST pay with a credit/debit card.
*We have attached additional notes to help you complete the MOODLE registration and
your UCAS application.
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How do I apply for University?
You need to complete an online UCAS application at www.ucas.ac.uk/apply.
To apply through Forth Valley College, you need a UCAS buzzword and one
of your lecturers must complete a reference for you. The Learner Advisers
coordinate the applications, but you are responsible for completing and paying
for the application and asking a lecturer to give you a reference.
Follow steps on the flowchart to meet the UCAS deadline.
Research
degrees
Find a lecturer who is happy to
give you an online reference.
Register as a UCAS applicant on
Forth Valley College MOODLE*
VLE.* This This
generates a UCAS BUZZWORD.
Register on www.ucas.ac.uk/apply
www.ucas.ac.uk/apply,,
using your UCAS BUZZWORD.*
* Refer to UCAS
Student Pack for
full details and
guidance.
Complete your online application.*
Pay for your application using a
credit or debit card.
Hit ‘send to referee’. Tell lecturer
you have completed application.
Learner Adviser checks your
application.
Learner Adviser
returns your
application. Login
and make
required changes.
No
Application
ok?
Yes
Application approved by Learner
Adviser.
Approved application with
reference sent to UCAS by
Learner Adviser.
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Lecturer
completes
reference.
reference
How to access the UCAS Buzzword?
In order for your UCAS application to be processed you
must register your details with us.
1.
Open Moodle. If you are completing this outside of
College servers please type in:
http://campus1.forthvalley.ac.uk
2.
You must logon to Moodle. Your logon would have
been assigned to you at the start of term. Speak to a
member of library staff if you need help with your
logon.
3.
In the ‘Would you like to’ click on UCAS Registration
4.
Click on ‘UCAS applying to University’
5.
All fields must be completed. Click ‘submit your
answers’ when form is complete.
6.
The UCAS buzzword is now generated.
YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS BUZZWORD. YOU
WILL NEED IT WHEN REGISTERING ON THE
UCAS WEBSITE, TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A
FORTH VALLEY COLLEGE STUDENT.
7.
Click ‘Continue’ to ensure your form is submitted to
the Learner Advisory Team.
8.
When you have fully completed the form please use
the link to the UCAS website to start your application.
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UCAS Registration
Before you start, remember you must treat this online
application as a paper application form. All text/spelling errors
and lower caps will remain on the application, which may
reduce its impact.
1. Go to www.ucas.ac.uk. Click on ‘apply’. Click on Apply 2010,
then ‘register/login to use Apply’.
2. Click ‘register’.
3. Read through Welcome page and click next.
4. Read through Terms and Conditions, then tick the box at bottom
of page to accept.
5. Input personal details, name, gender and date of birth.
6. Complete ‘Previous contact’ screen. If you applied last year but
cannot remember your personal number, choose the ‘I have
neither of the above’ option.
7. Complete next 4 screens with address and contact details. You
must give a current email address.
8. Complete ‘Security’ screen with a password of your choice and
answers to 4 security questions. Take a note of the password,
you will need it later.
9. Username will be given. TAKE A NOTE OF THIS, ALONG WITH
YOUR PASSWORD.
10. Click on ‘login now’.
11. How are you applying? Click on ‘Through my school/college’.
12. Enter the BUZZWORD.
13. Forth Valley College will now be populated, tick YES, then next.
14. Select your department at Forth Valley College from the drop
down list.
15. Take a note of your personal ID. You are asked on this screen to
verify your email address. UCAS will have sent you an email with
a verification code; check your email, get the code and input it.
Then click to return to the welcome page, where you will see the
following screen.
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16. You can now start to complete the 6 sections of the application:
a. Personal Details
b. Additional Information
c. Choices
d. Education
e. Employment
f. Statement
As you complete, a red tick will appear beside the section. Once all 6
sections are complete, you need to pay and send. For one course the
cost is £9. For more than one course the cost is £19.
Art & Design Applicants who are applying for courses with 15 January
2010 and 24 March 2010 deadlines have two options:
•
Submit 15 January 2010 deadline applications separate from 24
March deadlines. This will allow applicants to add 24 March
applications at a later stage.
•
Submit both applications for the January deadline.
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Section 1: Personal Details
Some of your personal details will already be completed. Please complete all other
required fields (marked * on form):
Further Details
• Is your permanent home in the UK? Yes or No
• Country of birth: Select United Kingdom (or other country) from the drop down
list.
• Nationality: Select UK National (or other nationality) from the list.
• Area of permanent residence: UK student? Select an area (hit ‘See list of UK
areas’ button), for example, Falkirk, Stirling, Clackmannanshire or West
Lothian. International student? Hit ‘see list of countries’ to select your country.
• Residential category: Select from list.
Student Support
• Fee code: Select from the list. For most UK students, this will be ’02: LEA,
SAAS…’ as SAAS or Local Education Authorities typically pay your full-time
Higher Education fees.
• In the Student Support arrangements box you should input SAAS if you live in
Scotland. If you live in another area of the UK choose your Local Education
Authority from the drop down list.
Nominated access
• If you might be away at any time over the year, for example on a gap year,
you can nominate someone to make decisions on your applications on your
behalf, for example your parents.
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Criminal Convictions
• Please read the text box and tick this if you have a relevant criminal
conviction.
Disability / Special Needs
• Please select any support needs from the list. You must choose ‘None’ if you
do not have any support needs. If your support need is not listed, please
select ‘Other…’ and type more details in the box below. Your support needs
will not affect your offers from universities; stating them will allow
support to be put in place.
Tick the section completed box.
Hit save.
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Section 2: Additional Information
Ethnic origin
You must complete this. Choose from the drop down box.
National Identity
You must complete this. Choose from the drop down box.
Activities in preparation for Higher Education
This should be completed if you have taken part in any courses that aim to prepare
you for university. Relevant examples in Scotland include LEAPS, GOALS, On Track
and On Route.
Have you been in care?
You do not have to complete this section, but if you choose to complete, simply
select Yes or No. Read the information provided in the text box to decide.
Parental Education
You do not have to complete this section, but if you choose to complete, select an
option from the drop down box. Read the information provided in the help box to
decide.
Occupational Background
You must complete this. Input the occupation of the highest earning member of your
household.
Tick the section completed box.
Hit save.
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Section 3: Choices
You can apply for up to 5 degrees. Before you start this section, you will need details
of the universities and the titles of the degrees you want to apply for.
Click on ‘add a choice’, which will take you to the following screen.
Institution, Course and Campus Codes
Ideally you will already have the UCAS institution and course codes for your chosen
degrees. If not, do not worry; you can use the search facilities on the UCAS website
to find these codes. Refer to your University prospectus for details of the relevant
campus for your course.
Start date
Click on the ‘see list’ box to choose your preferred start date.
Further Details
Only complete if requested in the Course Search on the UCAS Website or the
prospectus.
Live at Home?
Choose Yes if you plan to stay at home while you study
Point of Entry. This is where you indicate the YEAR you want to start the degree in,
i.e. year 1, 2 or 3. If you will hold an HNC or HND when you start your degree, you
may be able to start in year 2 or 3. Check with the relevant university before you
complete your application.
Hit save.
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Section 4: Education
What do I need before I start this section?
• Each College and school you have attended and the start and finish dates.
• Details of the qualifications you are studying towards at College this year.
• Leaving College in 2010 with an HNC/D? You need a list of ALL MODULES
you will complete as part of this qualification, including the Module title and
code (ask your lecturers for this information).
• Your SQA certificates detailing your qualifications gained to date and your
SQA candidate number.
• The Core Skills profile from your SQA certificate.
Step 1: Click ‘add new school/college’
You must input each College or School you have attended. Your first entry will be
Forth Valley College, then input any other schools/colleges.
You must enter the exam centre number of each school or college. This can be
found using the search facility. If your school or college does not appear using the
search facility, manually enter the name and leave the centre number blank.
When you are asked to state if you received any formal qualifications at this
school, you should say yes (even if you have not yet finished your
qualifications).
Keep clicking ‘add new school/college’ until you have added all your schools/
colleges.
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Step 2: Click ‘add qualifications’
The list of qualifications that appears are Scottish qualifications. If you have
qualifications not in this list, please click the link for other qualifications at the bottom
of the page.
•
Your SQA certificate has headings for different types of qualifications, for
example Highers, Intermediate 1, Standard Grades, National Certificate
Modules. Use these headings to guide you when inputting. Click save at the
bottom of the page when you have finished inputting a qualification.
•
The universities need to see ALL the qualifications you have AND what you
are studying for right now. Start with your current courses. For example if you
are studying towards an HNC/D this year, input this with a date of June 2010.
Leave the result blank as the qualification is incomplete at this stage
(see example below).
•
Remember for HNC/D all modules must be input, even if you have not
completed these yet. For an HND you need to input all the modules you
passed in Year 1 (2008-09) and all the modules you will take in Year 2 (i.e.
2009-10). Keep clicking ‘add another module’ until you have input all
modules that make up your HNC/D (see example below).
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•
If you sat Highers between 1995 and 2000, you may have a combination of
Highers (start with a C on your cert.) and SCE Highers (4 numbers on your
cert.). Make sure you input the correct qualification.
•
Do not forget to input your Core Skills Profile.
Step 3: Candidate number
Once you have input and saved all your qualifications, you should input a candidate
number at the bottom of the page. If you have input Scottish qualifications, you
should input your Candidate Number for Scottish Qualifications. You will find this
9 digit individual number on your SQA certificate.
Tick the section completed box.
Hit save.
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Section 5: Employment details
You can add details of up to 5 employers in this section.
Click ‘add an employer’
Input details as per the screen. Tick the save button after each employment you
input.
•
Although you may not think your current employment is relevant to your future
career, remember that all employment can be used to demonstrate
transferable skills when writing your personal statement, e.g. communication,
organisational and team work.
•
If you have a long or varied employment history, try to cover the last 5 years.
•
Make sure you include any employment that can be related to your planned
degree.
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Section 6: UCAS Personal Statement
Before you start
The UCAS application personal statement section does not spell check your
statement. It is easiest to prepare it in MS Word and copy and paste it into the
application form. There is a limit of 4000 characters (including spaces) and 47 lines.
You can check this on MS Word by clicking tools and word count.
Your personal statement is a very important element of your application and can
make the difference between gaining a university place or not. We recommend you
spend a minimum of 4 hours on this. Your statement is individual to you and
should demonstrate your suitability for your chosen course/s. This is your opportunity
to provide relevant additional information to support your application. Make sure you
use this to sell yourself. If you are applying for more than one course do not make
reference to particular courses as this may jeopardise your chances of successfully
gaining a place at your other choices. The main elements of a good personal
statement are as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reasons for choice of course
Background to your interest in this subject
Relevant employment, work experience and/or placements
Key skills
Achievements
Particular interest in your current area of study
Career aspirations
Industrial/professional placements and sponsorships
Social/sporting hobbies, interest or pastimes
Other Tips
Ask friends, family and college lecturers to look over your statement, as they will be
able to provide additional ideas.
It is useful to have a look at examples of UCAS personal statements. To view
examples and for a few more useful helpful tips and ideas see:
http://www.planitplus.net/search/?q=ucas&tab=info
www.studential.com
Additional Information
The UCAS application only allows space for one reference. If you wish to include
further references or any additional information this can be forwarded at a later date
once you have received your UCAS personal reference number.
Click preview. Happy with the statement? Click ‘section completed’.
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Completed all 6 sections?
Next steps
1. Click ‘Pay/send’
2. Tick the 4 boxes to agree to terms/conditions. Click ‘I agree’.
3. Input card details and click ‘make payment’.
4. Inform your lecturer you have completed your application and ask them to do
your reference.
What happens now?
1. A Learner Adviser will check your application. We will contact you if you
need to make any changes.
2. As soon as any required changes have been made and your reference is
complete, we will send your application to UCAS.
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UCAS Problems
Problem with the buzzword?
E-mail the Learner Advisers on [email protected]
Forgot your password or username?
Click on student login, 2010 entry. Click ‘lost login details’.
Or, call UCAS on 0870 11 222 11.
Applied as an individual rather than through Forth Valley College?
Speak to a Learner Adviser to transfer your application to Forth Valley College. Tel:
01324 403001
Lost your qualification certificates?
Call Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) on 0845 279 1000 or email
[email protected]
Need help with your personal statement?
• Check out websites like www.planitplus.net (see
• Ask your communications lecturer, family and friends for input.
• Make an appointment to see a Careers Scotland Adviser at your main
reception. You MUST prepare a draft personal statement before you see
the Careers Adviser, or they cannot help you.
Any other problems?
Contact a Learner Adviser, at [email protected]
Or go to main reception at your campus to find out the Learner Adviser drop-in times.
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