Helping your son or daughter to apply for a higher education course can seem like a daunting task, so this section is here to help you understand what they need to do and when. It introduces you to the application process and has a step-by-step guide to applying. It explains about things like UCAS and personal statements, and contains information about application deadlines. When the time comes for your son or daughter to start an application, there is a timeline to allow them to check they are up to date with every stage of the process.

The UCAS Process

Tarriff Points | Choosing a Course | Choosing Where to Study
Personal Statement | What Next?

UCAS is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Everyone has to apply for a higher education course via the UCAS website, where they will need to register their details and complete an online application form. If still a school or college pupil, applicants must apply online to UCAS through their school or college using a password that their teachers/tutors will provide. The UCAS website can be accessed at any time, and it contains useful information about higher education and applications, including advice for international applicants and those with disabilities or other special needs.

To view a UCAS step-by-step guide to applying for a higher education course, please click here.

Tariff Points
Each higher education course at each university or college requires a certain number of points (called tariff points) for entry onto it. These points come from the grades achieved in previous qualifications, such as AS-levels, diplomas, vocational qualifications etc. The higher the grades achieved in these, the more points are received. As well as a certain number of points, some courses will require specific grades in specific subjects. You can find out about each university or college's exact course requirements in their prospectus.  These can be ordered by contacting them by phone, via their website, or they can be picked up UCAS higher education fairs.

To learn more about tariff points and to find out what your grades/predicted grades are worth in terms of tariff points click here.

Choosing a Course
There are lots of different types of higher education course to choose from. These include traditional subjects like English, History and Maths, or more career-specific ones like Nursing, Aeronautical Engineering and Physiotherapy. There is also a whole range of courses which you might not have even known existed, such as Ecotourism, Football Studies, Japanese, Jewellery Design and Animal Behaviour. In fact, there are over 53, 000 to choose from in the UK!

Different courses can be studied in different ways - some include a paid work placement in the middle of them (called 'sandwich' courses) and some include a study year abroad. Some contain lots of practical work compared to others which require more research and written work. Courses can be studied part-time and some courses can be combined with others (sometimes called 'Joint Honours' courses). Your son or daughter will need to think carefully about which type of course would suit them best.

To search through the full list of UK courses click here.

Choosing Where to Study
With over 329 higher education institutions in the UK, there is lots of choice for where your son or daughter can study their chosen course. They will need to consider the sort of place they would like to live and study if moving away, or if they would prefer to stay at home and study locally, which many people choose to do. It is also a good idea for them to find out whether certain places have a good reputation for teaching the course in which they are interested. Most universities and colleges hold open days where people can talk to current students and tutors as well as getting a real feel for the place.

For a list of UK higher education institution open days click here.

Personal Statement
As part of your son or daughter’s higher education application they will need to write a personal statement. This is really important, as it is their chance to let certain universities and colleges know why they ought to offer them a place there. Personal statements need to include information about things like why the course interests them, anything they have been doing in and out of school/college that relates to this course and what they hope to do for a career when they graduate. The personal statement might be the one thing that sets them apart from other applicants hoping for a place on the same course, so it's important that they spend plenty of time on it and check it thoroughly before sending it off.

To find out more about what needs to go into a personal statement click here.

What next?
After submitting an online application form through UCAS, applicants will receive decisions from the universities or colleges to which they have applied. They will either be offered a place dependant on them achieving the grades and tariff points required (a conditional offer) or the university or college will decide they are not going to accept you onto their course this time. Occasionally people receive an unconditional offer if they have already received their further education (e.g. A-level/vocational qualification) results. Applicants will then need to decide which two of these offers they want to have as their firm and insurance offers. The firm offer should be the first choice and the insurance offer should be something they would be happy to study but with slightly lower requirements, just in case they don't quite make the grades for their first choice.

By the time exam results day arrives, the universities or colleges at which your son or daughter holds a conditional offer will know their grades already and will have made a decision about whether or not they will take you them on the course. They cannot be contacted about a decision before this time, though.

If they have achieved the required grades, they do not need to do anything – they will have been accepted onto the course at that university or college and can go out and celebrate! If they have missed the required grades they will need to contact the universities or colleges to see whether they have been accepted onto their course anyway (which sometimes happens) or whether the university or college have decided to offer them a place on their second choice of course.

Clearing
If your son or daughter is not accepted onto either their firm or insurance choices of course, they can go through what is called clearing. Clearing is the system where universities and colleges will try to fill up all of their courses by allowing people who didn’t quite make the grades for a certain course to try for a similar or different course at that university or college instead. Your son or daughter’s school or college will advise them of the Clearing Hotline number which they will need to call. They will need to have their application identification number and GCSE and further education qualification results handy. Lots of people find places on great courses through clearing, so don’t worry if they don’t make it onto their first choice of course.

Once they have got a place on a course, your son or daughter will receive a welcome pack through the post containing all of the information they need about starting their higher education course. Why not have a look at our student life pages to learn a bit about what they might be doing during their time at university or college?

For more information on UCAS processes and applying to university or higher education college, or to begin your application, please go to www.UCAS.ac.uk