#Making your application. #Some say you need a degree #to understand how to apply for a degree. #UCAS - The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service #- look after most of the process #and every May, they send out application forms to schools and colleges #and a handbook listing all the universities and all the courses available. #The form has spaces for applying to up to 8 courses, but you donÆt have to use them all. #You can apply to up to 8 different courses at the same university, #the same course at 8 different universities or, indeed, 8 different courses at 8 different universities, #although itÆs best if you show youÆve got some idea what you want. #YouÆll also be asked all sorts of questions about what grades youÆve got in the past, #what exams youÆre taking in the future and how you justify your existence to date. #ThereÆs also a section that the school fills in where they either sing your praises or chant your funeral dirge. #Unfortunately, you donÆt get to see what theyÆve said because when theyÆve added their comments, they send it straight back to UCAS. #The form needs to get back to them as soon as possible after the end of September and before the deadline around the middle of December. #TheyÆll still process the application if it arrives late, but theyÆll probably spill coffee on it and write insults all over it. #YouÆll get one acknowledgement fairly quickly and another within the next 6 weeks which gives you an application number and a record of where UCAS thinks youÆve applied. #Meanwhile, the universities get copies of your form #and write to you direct with their decisions. #TheyÆll either make an offer, effectively saying that if you get certain grades in your A Levels or other forthcoming exams, then theyÆll take you. #They might make an unconditional offer, saying theyÆll take you whatever your grades. This isnÆt likely unless youÆve already done some A Levels, highers or equivalent. Or they might turn you down outright. #Or theyÆll ask you for interview. In which case you get a good chance to check out the place. #After the interview, theyÆll join the ranks of those whoÆve already rejected your or made conditional or unconditional offers. #Whatever they say, you donÆt have to respond until youÆve got a full set of replies from all the universities you applied to. #You should hear from them all, one way or another, by, at the latest, the end of April and, when you hear from the last one, UCAS should send you a summary of all the responses. #If youÆve got any unconditional offers, you can reject them right away or accept them and prepare to start at the beginning of the next year. #If youÆve got more than two conditional offers, then youÆve got to dump some. YouÆve also got to say which is your favourite and firmly accept it. That means that if you manage to meet whatever conditions theyÆve made, then thatÆs where youÆre off to. #You are allowed to keep a back up by provisionally accepting another offer with easier conditions. That means if you donÆt make the grades for your first choice, youÆve still got somewhere to go. #It is possible that none of your choices will make you offers, or maybe that youÆll decide after an interview that you donÆt like the place. Alternatively, maybe you just wonÆt make the grades for either of the two offers youÆve kept. #In this case, youÆve got two choices. Either take a year out and go through the whole process again. Or, try to go through Clearing. #Clearing is the mad scramble that takes place between the day the exam results come out and the first day of the universityÆs new terms. #Because of the element of chance in the whole process, a whole load of students end up with nowhere to go #and a whole load of universities end up with vacancies on their courses. Clearing tries to match up the pairs. #However rough `nÆ tough this stuff gets, remember, this is the prime of your life and PUSH CD is there to help you turn it into the time of your life.
