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Application form – When applying for a higher education course you will need to complete and submit an application form via the UCAS website. If you are a school or college pupil, this needs to be done through your school or college. Your teachers will be able to help you complete and submit your form. If you are not at school or college, the form can be found at www.UCAS.ac.uk. On the form you will need to fill in details about yourself, your qualifications and about the course(s) for which you are applying. The online form does not have to be completed in one go, you can fill in a bit at a time and save it, then go back to fill in the rest at a later date.
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Bursary – A bursary is a non-repayable amount of money provided by a university or college. Many universities and colleges offer bursaries to a broad range of students. You can find out about the different bursaries that universities and colleges offer by contacting them directly or by going to www.direct.gov.uk/bursarymap.
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Clearing – Clearing starts on results day and continues for up to a few months afterwards, depending on the college or university in question. It is the system that can be used by those who do not achieve the required grades for their chosen course. It gives people the chance to get onto other courses with the qualifications that they have achieved. If you do not get accepted onto your chosen course, you can phone the clearing hotline (ask your teachers for this) and you will be asked to provide a few details before your qualifications are considered by the relevant university or college staff. Alternative courses may be offered to you which you can decide to accept if you want to. You will need to have your UCAS identification number and your previous qualifications handy before you make the phone call.
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Conditional offer – A conditional offer is an offer to study a certain course, provided by a university or college that is dependent on you achieving a required set of qualifications, sometimes in specific subjects, in your further education assessments.
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Courses – There are over 53,000 higher education courses that you can choose from in the UK. These courses cover a range of subjects and different courses can be studied in different ways. When deciding what to study, at university or college, you will need to think carefully about which type of course would suit you best.
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Decision – When you have submitted an application to a university or college, that institution will send you their decision about whether or not they would like to offer you a place to study there on your chosen course(s). That decision is usually dependent on you achieving certain grades, sometimes in specific subjects, in your further education assessments. (This is called a conditional offer).
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Entry requirements – Each university or college course requires applicants to achieve a certain number of tariff points and sometimes specific grades in certain subjects in their further education assessments. These are the course’s entry requirements. You can find out the entry requirements for each course at a university or college by looking in their prospectus.
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Firm choice – Your firm choice is your first or preferred choice of higher education course at a certain university or college. On your application form you will need to put your firm choice as well as your insurance (runner-up) choices. Your insurance choice needs to be something that you would be happy to study but which has slightly lower entry requirements than your firm choice, just in case you don’t make the grades for your firm choice.
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Further Education/FE – Further education is the studying you can do when you are 16 and have finished your GCSEs at school. You can study further education at a college or sixth form. Further education qualifications include things like A-levels, diplomas, vocational qualifications and certificates.
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Gap year – You don’t have to go to university or a higher education college as soon as you finish your further education study. You might choose to take a gap year or several gap years first. Some people choose to work in their gap year(s), or to travel. Gap years can be a good idea if you are not quite sure what you want to do after school or college, as they allow you the time to make a more considered decision.
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Graduate – A graduate is someone who has successfully completed a higher education course. Graduates are usually invited to attend a graduation ceremony where they receive their qualification certificates and can celebrate their achievement with other graduates.
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Higher Education College – Some higher education courses are taught at universities and some are taught at specialist colleges called higher education colleges. Higher education colleges often teach different types of courses to universities, although some courses are taught at both higher education colleges and universities. When choosing where to study you will need to consider whether you would be more suited to a university or a higher education college. To help you make this decision it is a good idea to arrange to visit several institutions at one of their open days.
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Higher Education/HE – Higher education is the next stage of studying after further education, and can be done in a higher education college or a university. You can begin a higher education course after the age of 18. Higher education qualifications include things like degrees, diplomas and certificates.
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Insurance choice – Your insurance choice is your second or runner-up choice of higher education course at a certain university or college. On your application form you will need to put your insurance choices as well as your firm (first) choice. Your insurance choice needs to be something that you would be happy to study but which has slightly lower entry requirements than your firm choice, just in case you don’t make the grades for your firm choice.
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Joint honours – A joint honours degree allows you to study modules that add up to half of two different courses at higher education level. Joint honours courses are great if you are interested in two different subjects, and you will still achieve a single degree award at the end of it just as if you were studying a single honours degree. Details of a university or college’s joint honours programmes can be found in their prospectus.
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Module – A module is a component of study for a higher education course. Most courses contain core modules (those which you have to complete) and optional modules which you choose from a selection. Each successfully completed module earns you credits that contribute towards your final higher education qualification.
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Non-repayable – A non-repayable sum of money provided by a higher education institution or council is one that does not have to be paid back when you finish university or college.
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Personal statement – As part of your application for a higher education course you will need to complete a personal statement. This is an important part of your application because it is the thing that can set you apart from other applicants who may achieve equally good grades as you. In your personal statement you will need to explain why you want to do a specific course; where you hope it might lead you in the future; and any previous experience or skills that you have in relation to that course. For more advice on writing a personal statement go to www.UCAS.ac.uk.
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Practical work – Some higher education courses contain aspects of practical work as well as written or theoretical work. When choosing a course it is important that you find out approximately how much practical or written work the course involves. This is so that you can be sure you are choosing a course that suits your preferred learning style.
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Prospectus – A prospectus is the book provided annually by each university and college containing information about the courses they offer; the entry requirements for each course; what each course involves in terms of modules and learning styles; as well as important general information about that institution. To order a prospectus just give a university or college a call and they will usually be happy to send one to you.
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Qualifications – Qualifications are the academic achievements you gain either at school, college, sixth form, higher education college or university. Having qualifications can help you to achieve your career goals.
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Sandwich course – A sandwich course is a higher education qualification in which a period of time is spent working with a company. Sandwich courses are a good way of gaining practical experience in the workplace, and can often lead to employment prospects with that company after you have graduated.
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Student Accommodation – As a student you can choose to live at home; in a shared house; or with other students in student accommodation (sometimes called halls of residence). Many students choose to live in student accommodation during their first year so that they can meet lots of other students easily.
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Student Loan – A student loan is an amount of money provided to you by the government throughout your time studying at higher education level. The amount of student loan to which you are entitled depends upon various circumstances, including how much your parents earn and the number of siblings you have. Student loans are paid back after you graduate, but you don’t pay back a penny until you are earning over £15,000 per year, and only a small amount has to be paid back each month, when it is automatically debited from your monthly income. The amount you pay back increases slowly as your earnings increase, so that you only pay the loan back at a rate that you can afford.
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Tariff Points – Tariff points are the points gained from your further education qualifications, which universities and higher education colleges request for entry onto their courses. Different courses will require different numbers of tariff points and sometimes certain combinations of grades in specific subjects are also needed. An institution’s prospectus will contain details about the tariff points required to get onto each of their courses.
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Tuition fees – Tuition fees have to be paid to study at most higher education institutions. However, there is a lot of financial help available to students, some of which covers the cost of tuition fees. To find out more about tuition fee charges and the financial help that would be available to you as a student visit www.UCAS.ac.uk and www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance.
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UCAS – UCAS is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. You have to apply for higher education courses through UCAS. Why not familiarise yourself with their website at www.UCAS.ac.uk
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UCAS higher education fair – UCAS higher education fairs, or conventions as they are also known, are events where universities and colleges from across the UK are represented. They are useful events to attend if you are thinking about applying for a higher education course, or you are trying to decide which institution you might want to apply to. Staff from the universities and colleges will be available to answer your questions and to give you their prospectus.
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Unconditional offer – An unconditional offer is an offer to study a certain course, provided by a university or college that does not depend on any you achieving any future qualifications. Unconditional offers are usually given to people who have already achieved the required qualifications for a certain course, either because they have taken gap years between their further and higher education study, or if they have chosen to defer a place at an institution.
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Work placement – Some courses allow students to carry out a work placement as part of their qualification, which is sometimes a paid position. Work placements are a useful way of gaining work experience whilst you study.
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