UK University places are more competitive than ever

A recent article in The Times (29.06.22) states that this year’s admissions will mark the start of a “new tougher era” in the battle for university places.

According to Professor Lee Elliot Major, Professor of social mobility at Exeter University, grade inflation, a growing population of school leavers and new student loan rules from 2023, (lowering the threshold for graduates to start repaying their loans) means that this year is about to become one of the most competitive in living memory. Professor Major told The Times, “Students with high A-level grades will no longer be able to guarantee places” as universities have disclosed that they have fewer places on offer this year.

So how can we help our students get the places they deserve? Here we have put together some tips and advice so that you can help and encourage your children to write a strong and compelling Personal Statement. We view this as a process that should not be rushed, don’t skimp on research! This particularly applies to applications to research intensive degrees (e.g. Russell Group universities). Students need to show that they are interested and self-motivated enough to read some seriously academic material. By the end of the process the student will be well prepared and set up for a successful three years or more at university.

Research and reading

  • Make sure you know your shortlisted courses – look at the modules and know the difference between a BSc and a BA.
  •  Show your motivation for the subject and provide evidence to support your motivation. You need a wide variety of reading different academic sources not just lightweight introductory reading.
  • Academics need proof that you know what you are letting yourself in for. Prove you are interested by critically engaging with the subject and reflect on what you have read.

Make it Personal

  • Admissions Tutors want to get a sense of who you are – what are you offering? Are you good at languages? Tell them. Are you an ace communicator or debater? Let them know. Are you an avid scientific researcher? Write about it.
  • Your extra-curricular activities are not as important as your academic achievements – talk about them in terms of skills you are offering. Negotiation, communication, time-management, leadership and teamwork are all important skills that you will be expected to have.
  • Your writing style should be engaging and interesting. Use active verbs to bring your Personal Statement alive, encouraging the Admissions Tutor to read on and ultimately offer you a place.

Have a read of our blog Personal Statement Essentials – What You Need To Know for further tips and advice.

Each year www.UKStudyOptions.com helps students obtain some cracking university places. It’s not an easy process and the student has to put the work in. Our team of former admissions tutors provide support, guidance and expertise to cut through the confusion.

Contact us on hello@ukstudyoptions.com for details of our Personal Statement Package and how we can support you with your own Personal Statement.

The Cost of an Undergraduate Degree in the UK

A guest blog article from our partner TorFX who specialise in currency transfer.

As one of the most popular study destinations in the world, thousands of students move to the UK each year to start their undergraduate degrees.

The UK is home to over 160 higher education institutions, including some of the most prestigious, competitive and well-known universities in the world. It offers great choice to both British and international students alike.

The benefits of UK higher education are numerous; unrivalled student experience, globally-recognised education, excellent career prospects, and more but studying in the UK can be costly and families need to plan and budget effectively.

There are three main areas of costs that families need to consider when planning for university in the UK; tuition fees, accommodation and living expenses.

Tuition Fees

UK bachelors degrees are usually 3 years in duration for most subjects although some degrees may be longer such as Engineering, Architecture, Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Scottish bachelors are typically 4 years. Before starting to budget for the cost of tuition fees, you need to check the duration of the course you are interested in.

Tuition fees in the UK vary depending on whether you’re a home or an international student.

Home students pay tuition fees of between £1,820 and £9,250 a year, depending on which UK country you study in. Most students can apply for a government-provided tuition fee loan that covers the cost of this and is paid directly to your university.

For international students, undergraduate degrees begin at around £10,000 per year and can go as high as £61,000 per year, depending on the course you’re applying to. Tuition fees also vary depending on the university you’re considering – more competitive institutions tend to charge higher fees. Some universities also charge international students additional college fees of around £10,000 per year. It’s best to check the fees for any course you’re thinking of applying to for the year that you are applying, as fees tend to go up each year by around 5-10%.

International students aren’t eligible for the tuition fee loan. You may be able to secure a scholarship, grant or bursary, although these can be highly competitive. It’s worth contacting the universities you’re interest in to see if they offer any funding.

Accommodation and Living Expenses

According to Unipol, rented student accommodation was about £166 per week on average in 2021-22, while private accommodation cost £155 per week for an en-suite room in a house-share and £228 for a studio flat.

Of course, this varies hugely across the country. Rural and northern towns tend to be cheaper, while cities and popular tourist destinations are far pricier. In London, costs were significantly higher. University accommodation averaged at £212 per week and private rooms averaged at £259.

Living expenses, meanwhile, sit around £389 per month. This includes everything from groceries and gift-giving to health expenses and household bills. Students with family abroad will likely have higher travel costs too, so that’s something to factor in.

Overall, students can pay between £600 and £1,100 a month on accommodation and living expenses. Online student calculators are a great tool for adding up the cost of living and comparing costs in different parts of the country to be able to budget more efficiently.

Once again, home students are eligible for a government maintenance loan to go towards their cost of living. The amount is based on your household income and in 2022-23 ranges from £3,597 to a maximum of £12,667 (for someone studying away from home in London) per year.

Maintenance loans rarely cover the total cost of living. Instead, students will likely need financial support or to work while they study.

As with the tuition loan, international students are not eligible for government maintenance loans. Instead, they’ll need to secure their own funding or apply for a scholarship.

How TorFX Can Help

While TorFX can’t shrink the price that universities charge for a degree, we can minimise extra costs associated with currency exchange.

If you’re transferring an international currency into Pounds to pay for tuition, accommodation and living costs, you are likely to be charged for the transaction. You are also vulnerable to fluctuating exchange rates, as US banks, for example, request that your payment be made before providing you with a rate.

Currency exchange providers, on the other hand, specialise in conducting international money transfers – and can often offer a more competitive exchange rate. At TorFX, an account manager will explain the current rates available and can offer a variety of tailored products to help get the most from your transfer.

Tools we offer include spot contracts, forward contracts and market orders. Respectively, these allow you to transfer money immediately at the current exchange rate, fix a favourable exchange rate up to two years ahead of a transfer, or target the rate you’d like to achieve so that if and when that rate is achieved, the transfer will take place.

We also offer stop loss orders. With these you can set your minimum exchange rate and if the market moves to this level, your transaction will go ahead, protecting you from further losses.

Whatever the cost of a UK university education amounts to, don’t be tricked into paying more than you need to. Contact TorFX today by filling out our form for an online quote.

What makes a standout postgraduate application?

Competition at the best UK universities at postgraduate level is tough, so it’s time to ‘cash in’ on all your accomplishments up to now. Universities will expect you to have used your undergraduate time wisely and to have developed yourself in a number of ways. An average candidate will have academic achievements, experience (professional and/or life) and well-developed soft skills. In your postgraduate application, you need showcase all of these. But the most promising candidates will have an impressive overall profile that can boast uniqueness, ambitious careers goals and a desire to ‘give back’ to their chosen institution.

When applying for a course at any university, some things are a given:

You must meet the entry requirements – this sounds obvious but it’s extremely important. Most universities publish the minimum entry requirements that they accept such as a 2:1 in your first degree or a number of years’ work experience. Actually, the average grade/work experience that applicants have is usually much higher, so meeting the entry requirement is by no means a guarantee of a place on the course, you need to offer more than this to compete for a place.

You must demonstrate a range of well-developed soft skills – teamwork, problem-solving, time-management, detail-orientated, creative, good communicator, networker – whatever is relevant and useful to your studies and future career. And you need to evidence these in your studies, work experience and achievements. You may be academically strong but without soft skills to match this, you will be limited in achieving your potential at postgraduate level.

The above merely makes for an adequate application which doesn’t guarantee you a place, so what makes a STANDOUT application? From helping students get into the top universities in the UK for over 10 years, we’ve come up with our top three things that make a standout postgraduate application.

What’s unique about you?

Does you profile bring something distinctive to this year’s cohort? Your personal combination of background, experiences, passions, goals is surely unique but easily overlooked when you take it for granted. Try and look at yourself objectively and articulate to prospective universities what you have to offer. What perspective, skillset, knowledge will you bring into the classroom/lab? How will you contribute to the diversity that universities love within their cohorts? Work out what this is and make yourself a ‘must have’ for any class of 2022. We can help you look at yourself with fresh eyes and enhance your profile, such as Imran, who we helped shape his Social Sciences degree, passion for agri-business and experience growing up in India into a impactful pitch to Warwick’s International Business MSc.

What’s the endgame?

Postgraduate education is a stepping-stone to a promising career so it’s assumed that you will have thought considerably about what you will do after you graduate. Universities will want to know about your career aspirations and see that you have thought about what challenges you may face in getting there, how you will resolve these and generally what your roadmap to success will be. It’s essential that these are realistic and well-researched. If the journey from undergraduate to postgraduate to career doesn’t make sense on paper, then you need to explain your rationale and convince the Admissions team that your postgraduate course is the right choice. At UK Study Options, we help students develop credible and compelling aspirations that complement and justify their academic journey – like Alex from Greece, who we supported from a Law degree, to studying Economics at Imperial, to a career in Finance in London.

What’s in it for them?

Sometimes the measure of a great student is what they will give back to the university. Beyond your studies, what will you contribute as a student or as a graduate? During your time at uni will you lead the entrepreneurship society? Will you help the university recruit the next cohort of promising students? Will you enter competitions and elevate the university name? Universities don’t have impressive communities of accomplished alumni by accident – they scout out such individuals. What will you go on to achieve as an alumnus/a? No doubt you are ambitious, so voice those ambitions, and give the university something that they want to put their name on, like Lara from Lebanon who following her degree in Information Management at UCL went on to work in counterterrorism.

The UKSO team has been supporting students in their applications to the top UK universities and courses at postgraduate level for over 10 years. Whatever your education goal, we can work with you to help you achieve it. Get in touch for a free consultation to discuss your study ambitions.

How to apply to a postgraduate course in the UK

Postgraduate admissions in the UK differs from undergraduate admissions. For a start, very few universities use a central application system such as UCAS. Instead, most universities require you to submit an individual application directly to the university. There is less standardisation across postgraduate admissions and each university has their own admission process that needs to be followed to gain entry. Therefore, it’s crucial that you do your research into each course that you’re considering making sure you submit a successful application.

Here we break down what you need to consider when applying to a postgraduate course in the UK.

Timeline – is there a deadline you need to meet or are admissions rolling? Many competitive courses have early deadlines and will not consider any late applications. Other courses will have open admissions that only close when the course is full, but it’s always advisable to apply early so you don’t miss out. Applications usually open in November for the following September, ideally you want to apply by March (or by any deadline). There may also be scholarship deadlines to consider if you need funding.

Entry requirements – what criteria do you need to meet for entry to the course? You’ll probably need to have achieved a minimum grade in your undergraduate degree (usually the equivalent of a 2:1) which may be in a particular subject. If English isn’t your first language, you may have to submit English language test results. And some specialist degrees might require work experience or other test scores such as GMAT (Business), BMAT (Medicine) or LNAT (Law). Each university will have different requirements so check every one.

Supporting documents – what documents do you need to submit as part of your application? It’s normal to submit a personal statement explaining your reasons for wanting to study the course. Unlike at undergraduate level where one statement is sent to all unis, you are expected to tailor this to each university you are applying to, even if it’s the same course. You may also need to submit a research proposal, CV, cover letter, career statement, other essays or video statement.

Interview – does the application process include an interview? Many postgraduate courses now require this to facilitate selection of the best candidates. This may be a traditional-style interview in-person or via video conferencing with an Admissions Tutor or Academic. Some universities are moving to an automated interview system, such as Kira Talent, where you are given questions to answer on the spot and your responses are recorded and timed.

With all this to consider, preparing for your postgraduate applications in the UK can mount up to quite a bit of work, so it’s advisable to limit the number of applications to 3 or 4 universities. It’s also a good idea to get support to make sure you’re submitting a competitive application. As ex admissions officers, the UKSO team is experienced in postgraduate admissions and will guide you through these demanding application processes to maximise your chance of success. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your study goals.

Why study a postgraduate course in the UK?

There are around 590,000 students studying a postgraduate course in the UK and with around 35% of students coming from another country. What attracts so many students from around the world to continue their studies at a UK university? Here we talk about the benefits of postgraduate study in the UK.

World-class

A long history of excellent higher education and world-renowned universities is one of the UK’s main draws for students. Many of the world’s best universities are based in the UK such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE and King’s, who consistently top global university rankings year after year. Organisations such as the Quality Assurance Agency and The Office for Students, assess institution for the quality of education and value they offer students which raises the bar for higher education in the UK, meaning whichever university you study at, you can be confident that you will leave with a quality degree that is recognised around the world.

Breadth and depth

There are hundreds of subjects to study at postgraduate level whatever your interests are, allowing you to either drill down further into your academic passion or take your career in a whole new direction. The most popular postgrad subjects are Business, Education and Medicine. But it’s also possible to study niche subjects like Golf Management, Brewing and Stand-Up Comedy!

As well as an impressive array of subjects on offer, students will study their subjects in great depth and can use their studies as a way to specialise in their field, give their professional profile the edge and enhance their career options. Graduates from UK postgraduate courses walk away with significantly more experience and knowledge in their field of study than those studying in other parts of the world.

Choice and flexibility

As well as subject breadth and depth, students have a multitude of qualification options available. From specialist taught degrees such as MA (Master of Arts) or MSc (Master of Science), professional degrees such as MEng (Master of Engineering) or MBA (Master of Business Administration) or research degrees such as MRes (Master of Research) or PhD (Doctorate), students can gain a reputable and recognised qualification in their chosen field.

You can also choose a study mode to suit your lifestyle whether full-time, part-time, distance (online), hybrid (part online, part in-person) and a schedule that fits your individual needs: daytime, evening, weekend, on demand etc. Some courses can be studied intensively, or over extended periods to allow for different paces of study or to fit around other commitments. This flexibility has led to one of the most diverse student cohorts in the world, made up of recent graduates, young professionals and senior professionals which only serves to enrich the classroom experience.

Careers

One thing postgraduate courses in the UK have in the common, is their focus on careers and employability. Designed to propel you into a promising career, postgraduate study prepares you for an evolving and competitive job market. Built-in work experience, internships, consultancy projects often found in postgraduate courses are aimed at developing the necessary skills required for a range of jobs and expose students to potential employers. Universities encourage employers from all over the world to recruit directly off campus to support students’ transitions from study life to work life. This seems to be ‘paying off’, as UK postgrads are 56% more likely to be paid a ‘high-skilled salary rate’.

With so many benefits, the UK proves to be an excellent study destination for postgraduate students whatever their education goals and ambitions. UK Study Options have over 10 years’ experience supporting students to make this journey and can help you make your too. Book a free consultation to find out how.

Beyond London – Great universities outside the capital

The UK is renowned for its quality higher education – it has almost 400 institutions and attracts 458,000 students from around the world each year. Typically, students from outside the UK immediately look to study in London, as it’s a globally recognised city that they will have been exposed to through media, film, politics or may have already visited. But are there any good universities beyond London?

London is a fantastic place to study and boasts some of the best universities in the world; UCL, LSE, Imperial College London, King’s College London etc, but the university experience can be quite different to that outside of the capital. Often students might be studying and living in different parts of the city rather than in a campus setting. It suits a student who is already quite mature, independent and used to living in a large city. Most of our students at UK Study Options don’t fit this profile and instead seek an undergraduate experience that introduces them softly into the ‘real world’ after living with family their whole life. There is a wealth of universities outside London that rival the capital’s education, diversity, history and fun that don’t get fair consideration as future study destinations.

So here are some of our non-London suggestions that teach a wide range of different degree subjects that we recommend you explore when thinking about university in the UK.

Warwick University – located in central England, this university offers top ranking education on a US-style campus so students can study, live, work and socialise within a safe, but diverse and vibrant environment. They are quite unique in having a theatre, cinema, concert hall and art gallery all on campus. Not far from Birmingham International Airport, it is well connected with the rest of the world.

University of Bristol – Bristol is a trendy and creative city with good access to the South West of England and the coast – great if you love water sports. The uni has the largest student union in the country and hosts 100s of societies and clubs. The city also has its own airport, flying to some international destinations.

Durham University – Durham is a small, beautiful northern England city, steeped in history. This collegiate university does consistently well in student satisfaction and employability surveys. Among UK students it’s a popular alternative to Oxford and Cambridge. They have over 200 sports teams, it’s a great location for outdoor pursuits. It’s also very close to Newcastle International Airport.

University of Edinburgh – an academically outstanding Scottish university that is over 400 years old. As another historically significant place, the city is packed with Medieval and Georgian architecture. It hosts the famous Edinburgh Arts Festival every August which offers students low-cost tickets to comedy, theatre and music shows.

There are plenty more excellent study destinations around the country. The key to selecting the right university, is to look at the whole package of what they offer and see if this is compatible with your criteria. You might discover a city or university that you have never heard of that is perfect for you! Ask yourself:

  • Is it ranked highly for the subject I want to study?
  • Is it easy to get home from? (Many cities have international airports.)
  • Can I practice the sport/activity that I love in the university or the local area?
  • Does it offer the right level of independence/security for me?
  • Does it fit my budget? (Living costs can vary widely in different parts of the country.)
  • What’s the weather like there? (Weather can also vary widely in different parts of the country!)

We always recommend that students visit their shortlisted universities to get a feel for if they are right for them. It’s difficult to know what a place is like from a website but in person you will immediately get a sense of if it’s where you want to be.

At UK Study Options we work closely with students to help identify the right course and university for them as individuals. Get in touch to learn about our university application support.

A-Z list of UK Universities

There are 117 universities in the UK. Below is the full list in alphabetical order.

To learn more about how universities are ranked, read our blog University league tables explained and to understand more about the different university groups in the UK, visit our blog UK University Groups – a quick guide.

University of Aberdeen www.abdn.ac.uk

University of Abertay www.abertay.ac.uk

University of Aberystwyth www.aber.ac.uk

Anglia Ruskin University www.anglia.ac.uk

Aston University www.aston.ac.uk

Bangor University www.bangor.ac.uk

University of Bath www.bath.ac.uk

Bath Spa University www.bathspa.ac.uk

University of Bedfordshire www.beds.ac.uk

University of Birmingham www.bham.ac.uk

Birmingham City University www.bcu.ac.uk

University of Bolton www.bolton.ac.uk

Bournemouth University www.bournemouth.ac.uk

University of Bradford www.bradford.ac.uk

University of Brighton www.brighton.ac.uk

University of Bristol www.bristol.ac.uk

Brunel University www.brunel.ac.uk

University of Buckingham www.buckingham.ac.uk

Buckinghamshire New University www.bucks.ac.uk

University of Cambridge www.cam.ac.uk

Canterbury Christ Church University www.canterbury.ac.uk

Cardiff University www.cardiff.ac.uk

Cardiff University of Wales Institute (UWIC) www.uwic.ac.uk

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) www.uclan.ac.uk

Chester University www.chester.ac.uk

University of Chichester www.chi.ac.uk

City University www.city.ac.uk

Coventry University www.coventry.ac.uk

Cumbria University www.cumbria.ac.uk

De Montfort University www.dmu.ac.uk

University of Derby www.derby.ac.uk

University of Dundee www.dundee.ac.uk

Durham University www.durham.ac.uk

University of East Anglia www.uea.ac.uk

University of East London www.uel.ac.uk

Edge Hill University www.edgehill.ac.uk

University of Edinburgh www.ed.ac.uk

University of Essex www.essex.ac.uk

University of Exeter www.exeter.ac.uk

University of Glamorgan www.glam.ac.uk

University of Glasgow www.gla.ac.uk

Glasgow Caledonian www.gcal.ac.uk

University of Gloucestershire www.glos.ac.uk

Goldsmiths, University of London www.goldsmiths.ac.uk

University of Greenwich www.gre.ac.uk

Heriot Watt University www.hw.ac.uk

University of Hertfordshire www.herts.ac.uk

University of Huddersfield www.hud.ac.uk

University of Hull www.hull.ac.uk

Imperial College www.imperial.ac.uk

University of Keele www.keele.ac.uk

University of Kent www.kent.ac.uk

King’s College London www.kcl.ac.uk

Kingston University www.kingston.ac.uk

Lampeter, University of Wales www.lamp.ac.uk

Lancaster University www.lancaster.ac.uk

University of Leeds www.leeds.ac.uk

Leeds Metropolitan University www.leedsmet.ac.uk

University of Leicester www.le.ac.uk

University of Lincoln www.lincoln.ac.uk

University of Liverpool www.liv.ac.uk

Liverpool Hope University www.hope.ac.uk

Liverpool John Moores University www.liv.jm.ac.uk

London Metropolitan University www.london.met.ac.uk

London School of Economics and Political Science www.lse.ac.uk

London South Bank University www.lsbu.ac.uk

Loughborough University www.lboro.ac.uk

University of Manchester www.manchester.ac.uk

Manchester Metropolitan University www.mmu.ac.uk

Middlesex University www.mdx.ac.uk

Napier University www.napier.ac.uk

Newcastle University www.ncl.ac.uk

University of Wales, Newport www.newport.ac.uk

University of Northampton www.northampton.ac.uk

Northumbria University www.unn.ac.uk

University of Nottingham www.nottingham.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University www.ntu.ac.uk

University of Oxford www.ox.ac.uk

Oxford Brookes University www.brookes.ac.uk

University of Plymouth www.plymouth.ac.uk

University of Portsmouth www.port.ac.uk

Queen Margaret University www.qmu.ac.uk

Queen Mary, University of London www.qmul.ac.uk

Queen’s University, Belfast www.qub.ac.uk

University of Reading www.reading.ac.uk

The Robert Gordon University www.rgu.ac.uk

Roehampton University www.roehampton.ac.uk

Royal Holloway, University of London www.rhul.ac.uk

University of St Andrews www.st-andrews.ac.uk

University of Salford www.salford.ac.uk

School of African and Oriental Studies, London www.soas.ac.uk

University of Sheffield www.shef.ac.uk

Sheffield Hallam University www.shu.ac.uk

University of Southampton www.soton.ac.uk

Southampton Solent www.solent.ac.uk

Staffordshire University www.staffs.ac.uk

University of Stirling www.stir.ac.uk

University of Strathclyde www.strath.ac.uk

University of Sunderland www.sunderland.ac.uk

University of Surrey www.surrey.ac.uk

University of Sussex www.sussex.ac.uk

Swansea University www.swan.ac.uk

Swansea Metropolitan University www.sihe.ac.uk

University of Teesside www.tees.ac.uk

Thames Valley University www.tvu.ac.uk

University of Ulster www.ulster.ac.uk

University of the Arts London www.arts.ac.uk

University College London www.ucl.ac.uk

University of Warwick www.warwick.ac.uk

University of the West of England, Bristol www.uwe.ac.uk

University of the West of Scotland www.uws.ac.uk

University of Westminster www.westminster.ac.uk

University of Winchester www.winchester.ac.uk

University of Wolverhampton www.wlv.ac.uk

University of Worcester www.worcester.ac.uk

University of York www.york.ac.uk

York St John University www.yorksj.ac.uk

UK University Groups – A quick guide

Universities in the UK commonly form alliances or groups when they share common goals, visions or characteristics. University Groups can be a useful place to start when you are looking for a list of similar institutions. But remember that there are some very real differences between the universities in each group.

The Russell Group (and what was the 1994 Group) lead the league tables in terms of almost every traditional subject (Classics, Maths, English etc) and tend to ask for the highest entry requirements. The University Alliance and Million+ groups contain ‘new’ (after 1992) universities and provide some specialist or modern courses that you won’t find at the more traditional institutions. These newer universities tend to be more flexible in terms of the qualifications that they accept. The GuildHE Group represents specialist institutions that focus on particular courses. Finally, the Cathedrals Group share faith-based values. Here’s a breakdown of the different groups.

The Russell Group

The Russell Group is a group of universities with a shared focus on research and a reputation for academic achievement and includes many of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious universities.

In their words, “The Russell Group represents 24 leading UK universities which are committed to maintaining the very best research, an outstanding teaching and learning experience and unrivalled links with business and the public sector.”  www.russellgroup.ac.uk

The group has a website dedicated to advising students on the best subject combinations for a wide range of university courses as well as the best choices for students who want to keep their options open. www.informedchoices.ac.uk

Who’s in the Russell Group?

University Alliance

This is a group of technical and professional universities who bridge learning with practical experience. They don’t always reach the top of the rankings but for students who want a vocational tertiary education, they provide promising career opportunities.

They describe themselves as “…Britain’s universities for cities and regions. We believe in making the difference across everything we do. We are committed to providing the high quality teaching that is critical to creating the world’s future leaders and problem solvers. We excel in preparing students for a career in industry and the professions.” www.unialliance.ac.uk

 Who’s in the University Alliance?

 Million+ Group

 This younger, more modern group of universities focuses on research that drives economic, social and cultural change.

They say, “We are a university think-tank. This means we work to help solve complex problems in higher education and to ensure that policy reflects the potential of the UK’s world-class university system.

We champion, promote and raise awareness of the essential role played by modern universities in a world-leading higher education.” www.millionplus.ac.uk

Who’s in the Million+ Group?

GuildHE

The GuildHE is a group of universities, further education colleges, professional bodies and specialist institutions that specialise in art, design and media, music and the performing arts; agriculture and food; education; business and law and health and sports. www.guildhe.ac.uk

Their vision – “The diversity of UK higher education nurtures innovation and creativity. It means more choice for students and for graduate employers and more opportunities to reach out to new learners. It encourages healthy competition, fresh approaches to research, different ways of engaging with business and industries and new ways of enriching the social, economic and cultural prosperity of life in the UK’s communities and regions. Diversity is the key to excellence.”

Who’s in the GuildHE?

 The 1994 Group

Like the Russell Group the 1994 Group was another prestigious collective of smaller, mainly campus-based universities that focused on research until the group disbanded in 2013. The 1994 institutions are known for doing well in the league tables particularly in terms of student satisfaction.

Who was in the 1994 Group?

The Cathedrals Group

This is the only group of universities and colleges in the UK that unite on ethical and faith grounds. They are a mix of teaching and research institutions that specialise in arts, humanities and social sciences with particular focus on public sector training, in fields such as education, health, social work etc.

“Members share a common faith heritage and a strong commitment to values such as social justice, respect for the individual and promoting the public good through our work with communities and charities.

Within Cathedrals Group institutions there is a strong commitment to providing a high quality education for students, supporting personal and spiritual development within a challenging learning environment.” www.cathedralsgroup.ac.uk

Who’s in the Cathedrals Group?

The UK Study Options team has extensive knowledge of UK universities and guides students on the ‘best fit’ institution for them. Find out what university application support

Personal Statement Essentials – What you need to know

The Personal Statement is an important part of your application to any UK university which you submit through UCAS (The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). It must meet quite specific criteria and plays a major role in determining whether your application is successful or not. Here we spell out what it is, what it should contain, how it’s used by Admissions teams and more.

Why is the personal statement important?

The personal statement is a very important part of the UCAS application. You may believe that you are only one of a handful of students applying for a course with a particular set of examination grades and predictions. But the reality is that there are lots of other, equally able candidates, all wanting one of the limited number of places. The Admissions Tutor for an oversubscribed course needs a way of deciding which applicants most deserve an offer and a carefully considered and well written statement is needed to help you stand out from the crowd.

The personal statement is likely to be the only communication that you as an individual have with an Admissions Tutor. Most courses do not interview applicants and it is likely to be your only opportunity to show that you are an interesting person who is genuinely interested in the course they are responsible for.

Who reads the personal statement?

Although some UCAS forms are processed by a centralized admissions department, most personal statements for competitive courses are read by a tutor in the department to which you are applying. Admissions tutors will be actively involved in both the research and teaching that takes place in the department. In other words, you must assume that your statement will be read by an expert in the field who is looking for students who share their enthusiasm for the subject and that they will enjoy teaching.

When are personal statements read and how are they used?

The primary role of a personal statement is to help admissions tutors differentiate between candidates of similar academic ability and decide who they will make offers to. They are read (together with the rest of the information on the form) when the UCAS application is sent to the university. Many admissions departments will consider applications as soon as they arrive and make offers immediately – others will wait until they have a batch of applications.

Sometimes statements are used to decide which candidates to call for interview. This is especially true of Oxford and Cambridge who interview all applicants before making any offers. Personal statements may also be used to generate questions at interview. Be warned – anything you claim to have read or be interested in is fair game for Admissions Tutors to quiz you about.

Sometimes statements are used to reject candidates outright – especially if they are poorly written and contain grammatical and spelling mistakes.

The personal statement can also make a difference much later on in the UCAS process, after offers have been made and accepted and examination results known. If an applicant has narrowly missed the required grades (and there are still places available to be allocated) Admissions Tutors may look again at the personal statements to decide whom to give those remaining places to.

Why write your personal statement early?

It is important to start early – good students redraft their statements many times until they are satisfied. Keep in mind the deadline for your application – October 15th (Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science) or January 25th (most other courses). You will also need to work to any deadlines set by your school. Teachers and UCAS referees do not have an unlimited amount of free time available to check your statement – help yourself by ensuring that they receive your statement in plenty of time.

Many admissions departments look through applications and make offers well before the official deadlines – it is in your interest to apply early while there is still a full complement of offers available. In addition, early applications show organization, good time management and enthusiasm – qualities that university students need and that you are trying to demonstrate.

As the official UCAS deadlines approach admissions tutors are inundated with a rush of applications – you want your application to cross their desk well before this, so that they have more time to carefully consider your application.

How long should the statement be?

The electronic UCAS application form allows you 4,000 characters, including spaces, which is about the same as one side of A4 paper. You should draft your statement in word and then copy and paste the finished article into your UCAS Hub account. There is no spell-check facility on the UCAS form so it is essential that you have checked and double checked your statement for spelling and grammatical errors.

Many students try to use complex language in order to impress Admissions Tutors but good writing is often concise and it can be more useful for you to use the limited space by putting your points across directly and simply. Be careful not to waste any of the valuable space by including information that is already available to the admissions tutor elsewhere on the application (e.g. details of A-levels being studied.)

Can I write more than one personal statement?

No, you are only allowed to write one statement for all five course choices. This is relatively simple if you are applying for the same single honours course at all five choices but becomes more problematic if you are applying for slightly different courses – the skill here is to identify and focus on the common ground between the courses and then provide evidence that you are a suitable candidate to study these elements. With joint honours courses you will need to show that you are equally interested in both subjects.

If you are applying for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Dentistry you are only allowed four choices for these courses and a fifth back up choice that is usually for a related subject but can be for something completely different. For these applicants the personal statement must be purely directed to the Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry course and needs to be much more work experience based than the majority of statements. Most ‘fifth’ choice admissions tutors are happy to accept a statement that is clearly aimed at one of these ‘early entry’ courses, but this may not always be the case and you should always check with individual institutions. (Some may ask for a separate statement to be sent to them directly.)

What about plagiarism?

UCAS check each incoming personal statement (via their similarity detection software) against a library of personal statements previously submitted to UCAS. They also sample statements collected from a variety of other sources. If your statement is found to have enough similarities to any other, then UCAS will contact your universities to inform them that they suspect you have copied your statement. The decision about what action, if any, to take regarding cases of plagiarism rests with the Admissions Tutors at individual institutions.

Lots of students look at statements that have been used before, either from friends or from websites – this is fine for research purposes, but your statement MUST be an original piece of writing and your own work.

Needless to say, your UCAS personal statement is a very specific piece of writing so it’s worth taking the time to understand its purpose, how it is used, who reads it and any specific requirements, such as character limit. Once you have a good understanding of this then it’s time to start crafting the content.

As ex Admissions Officers for top UK universities, the UKSO team know well what makes an excellent personal statement and we are experts in coaching students to write compelling, competitive and successful statements. Read about out Personal Statement Package to see how we can help you succeed.

University league tables explained

League tables of universities and colleges are a common feature of higher education across the world as well as in the UK. Ranking tables can be a helpful source of information if you are applying to study at a university or college. They are, however, far from perfect and, if read uncritically can be misleading. It is certainly worth knowing something about how universities are ranked and how the different league tables compare.

World Rankings

Students (particularly international students who are considering studying in the US or the UK) may look at the World University Rankings. The QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World University Rankings give an indication of how the UK universities compare to their counterpart institutions around the world. However, students are often puzzled as to why a number of universities that regularly feature in the top ten of British university league tables are surprisingly low down in the worldwide tables. This disparity can be explained by the differences in the methodology and criteria used by the league table.

The London School of Economics (LSE), for example, has stated that ”all of the global rankings suffer from inbuilt biases in favour of large multi-faculty universities with full STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) offerings, and against small, specialist, mainly non-STEM universities such as LSE.” In short, international university rankings include criteria such as the number of citations per faculty and alumni prize winners – factors that may be particularly interesting to postgraduate applicants, whereas the UK rankings give most weighting to the undergraduate student experience.

UK Rankings

Three national rankings of universities in the UK are published annually – by The Guardian, The Times/Sunday Times (known as The Good University Guide) and by The Complete University Guide. In addition to ranking the universities overall, each guide also ranks universities on their strength in individual subjects which can be a more useful indicator of reputation within a particular sector. The quality of an individual degree course may not bear any relation to the overall position of the university in the league tables. Some university courses are very highly regarded even if the university features lower down an overall league table and vice versa.

All the league tables include measures of student satisfaction scores, student to staff ratios, graduate prospects and entry grades but then they start to differ. Always remember that different league tables measure different things and you will need to check whether the table you are looking at actually measures the things you are most interested in. Different tables also assign different weights to the criteria they measure, and you should know which of the topics they cover they consider to be more important. For instance, in contrast to the other tables The Guardian does not include any contribution from research rankings, as it believes that research does not help in understanding the typical experience of an undergraduate student. Instead The Guardian gives more weight to student feedback and includes a ‘value added’ factor, which compares students’ degree results with their entry qualifications.

While a consistent performance across a range of league tables can give a reasonable indication of a university’s overall standing in UK higher education it does not mean that a particular institution is the right choice for an individual applicant simply because of its league table position. It is worth remembering that league tables can only ever give you part of the picture.

UKSO has extensive knowledge of UK universities, we can advise on the best university for a student based on their individual needs, aspirations and academic achievements. Get in touch for a free consultation.

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