Thinking about applying to University?

With over 100 students from Brooklands College receiving offers for university places for September 2019, the UCAS application process will open on 4th September 2019 for September 2020 entry.

The University of Surrey, Royal Holloway, UCA, Oxford Brookes and Kingston University were amongst a list of universities to offer places to students studying at Brooklands College for degree courses including Business Management, Computer Science, Forensic Science, Film and Television Production and Mechanical Engineering.

We would recommend students thinking about going to university next year to prepare their applications as soon as possible.

We’ve prepared answers to some frequently asked questions below.

Is there any support available to help students decide whether university is the right option?

The Careers team provide support for students thinking about applying to university. The Careers advisors are based in the Library at both the Weybridge and Ashford campus and work alongside the course tutors to help students decide on their progression routes. They also advise on employment, higher education and apprenticeships.

Finding a suitable course to apply for

You can use the UCAS website to research suitable course choices. The Careers team recommend for all students to attend open days to meet the university lecturers and learn more about the different courses available. You can find out more about upcoming open days by following this link.

What are the deadlines for applying?

The deadlines are set by UCAS, with all applications needing to be submitted by 15th January 2020 to be given equal consideration. The final deadline is 30th June – all applications received by this date are processed and sent to the relevant universities and colleges. Applications received after 30th June will go directly into a process called ‘Clearing’.

What is ‘Clearing’?

Clearing is how universities and colleges fill any places they still have on their courses. At the same time, it’s an ideal way for you to find another course. You can find courses with vacancies that interest you.

What is the UCAS Tariff?

The UCAS Tariff is a points-based system used to report achievement and judge entry to higher education in a numerical format. All level 3 qualifications carry tariff points and students can work out which universities they can apply to once they know their predicted grades and how many tariff points they have.

Your Personal Statement

The following will help a UCAS application stand out:

• Strong reasons for choosing the course and motivation for studying a particular subject
• Related work or voluntary experience showing commitment to a chosen career
• Extracurricular activities, achievements and interests

Getting advice about Student Finance

For the latest information about university tuition fees and student finance, click here.

Useful Websites

TARGETcareers

Get advice on choosing degree subjects

www.targetcareers.co.uk/uni

UCAS

You do all your research and applying for courses online through the UCAS website.

www.ucas.com

University websites

These will give lots of useful information.

Unistats

Gives students’ views of their universities based on the results of an annual student survey

www.unistats.ac.uk

Whatuni?

The biggest course search comparison site, find a range of courses as well as information on colleges and universities

www.whatuni.com

Researching Careers

Find up-to-date labour market information (LMI) within the Careers section.

LMI is information about the current and future economic and employment situation and is an important tool when researching career ideas. It includes current trends in employment sectors, recruitment patterns, average starting salaries and future prospects.

Get in touch

Katherine Crooks and Sarah Symonds
Careers@brooklands.ac.uk
01932 797700