My articles
My weekly articles cover everything from thinking about your future career, to choosing a course or university, and on to making an amazing application.
Browse through to find something of interest, or better still, put a keyword in the search box and find everything I’ve written on that topic.
Articles
New UCAS historical entry grades data: Just how useful is it?
For the very first time UCAS have introduced information on their website that attempts to show you what grades students actually had when they entered different courses, rather than just showing the university’s published entry grades.
It turns out, you see, that nearly 50% of students get into their course with qualifications below the level of those universities published by the universities.
So when a course says you need AAB to get in, it turns out, you don’t!
This new data is aimed at making this all a bit clearer and more transparent, so that you can make better decisions about which courses to apply to.
BSc, MA, MBChB? I’m so confused!
Whenever I hear a university presentation in a school, I am struck by just how much jargon we use. Listen to any presentation about studying Medicine, and you’ll hear them talk about MBChBs as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
The reality, of course, is that while a select few people know that an MBChB is shorthand for a degree in Medicine, the number of people who know what it actually stands for is vanishingly small.
If you are one of those people, you have no need to read any further. However, if you are currently starting out your search on UCAS and are finding yourself baffled by the weird and wonderful array of degree titles and wonder what they all mean, this article is for you!
University Admissions Tests: Everything you need to know right now!
On the whole, I see them as something that gives an advantage to the wealthy and more educated families, who are able to prepare their sons and daughters for the tests, or can afford extra coaching.
In addition they come with extra costs, which can be a significant barrier for many.
I’d prefer it if universities would simplify admissions processes as far as possible, basing it on the one genuine gold standard we have in education: your school leaving qualifications.
However, university admissions tests exist, and for a number of courses and universities, they are a straightforward requirement.
And so this article is designed to help you navigate your way through them, understand what they are for and how you go about taking them.
Resilience and Stoicism: what they are and why they matter
Last month, I wrote all about parental pressure and finding happiness in work.
I then received a lovely reply from another education consultant and adviser. He said that he would add, for the parents out there, that “aside from a decent paying job in an industry you care about, happiness across the lifespan is essentially a by-product of resilience” and that for this “stoic philosophy will do the job”.
He was so spot on with this comment that I just had to follow-up with a quick look at both resilience and stoicism, to further understand them, and why they are so important for your life ahead.
Why are some universities so ridiculously hard to get into?
Whether you are applying to university yourself, or are helping and advising students, you’ll have all heard the same stories: a student predicted A*A*A*, with an excellent Personal Statement and Reference gets rejected from a top university. Come A-level results day, some of these students will find themselves with no offers at all, and might even find themselves as a headline in the press.
But why is this? Why are amazing, talented students so frequently finding themselves rejected by universities, when there seems to be nothing wrong at all with their applications?
Well, to understand, we need to go back a few steps.
UCAS Extra and Clearing: A failsafe for the unexpected
Sometimes, the UCAS system might seem a bit clunky and a bit restrictive, and for many students it seems a bit complicated. But in the main, it seems to work for most people, with some 384,000 students ending up at their firm or insurance choices last year.
Yet each year, there are a whole bunch of students who the main process doesn’t quite work properly for. That’s where UCAS Extra and Clearing come in; to provide you with a failsafe for when the unexpected happens.
You might not plan on using either of these, but trust me, it's well worth spending the next five minutes reading all about them, so that you have that failsafe ready, should you need it!
Five to two: Making your final UCAS choices
As I write, many of you will be receiving offers from your chosen universities. It’s a nervous time, and while some of you will be getting offers promptly within days of applying, others may need to wait weeks, or even months for a decision.
So when you get all these decisions from universities, what happens next? Well, the response is now up to you.
The universities will all be hoping you’ll choose them. They’ll be sending you emails, inviting you to visit days, perhaps even sending you a brochure or two in the post. But the reality is that the power now rests with you. You get to choose which offers to accept!
So, how does it all work, and what should you be thinking about as you accept your offers?
‘I just liked the logo’: How branding can help you make your university choice.
I expect at some point, you will all look at a university website and think ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!’, or perhaps ‘Nah, this isn’t for me’. And trust me, a lot of that will be to do with their brand, and how they have presented themselves.
Because of this, I wanted to give you just a few thoughts about university branding.
Bear with me; I promise there will be some useful take-aways at the end, and along the way you’ll learn some new stuff about marketing and strategy.
University rankings and league tables: just how useful are they
You will probably be familiar with the concept of university league tables: they are rankings of universities, listed from best to worst, published so that you can easily identify the top universities in the country, and in the world - right?
Well, let's see…
Making your university choices: are you a driver or a passenger?
Right now, I’m reading Who gets in and why: A year inside college admissions, by Jeffrey Selingo. It’s a book all about university and college admissions in the US, by a renowned journalist who embedded himself inside several university admissions offices to find out what really happens. It’s a fascinating read, and while there are enormous differences between UK and US admissions, there are one or two areas where there are direct parallels between the two countries.
One aspect of his analysis that immediately resonated with me was his characterisation of applicants as either drivers or passengers.
A growth mindset; and it’s nothing to do with just being smart.
I’ve recently been reading Mindset, by Dr Carol S Dweck.
The book is a full and frank discussion of two different types of mindset: a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset, and the consequences of being stuck with the former.
A person with a fixed mindset believes they are either dumb or smart; they can’t change it.
A person with a growth mindset believes that being dumb or smart isn’t the issue. They can learn, improve, and get better, whatever their starting point is.
Three tips to help you study smarter (not harder).
The Christmas holidays might be just around the corner (yay!), but for many of you this will mean that mock A-levels (or other exams) will follow pretty shortly after that (boo!).
And so, lots of you will have teachers and parents telling you that now is the time to work harder; now is the time to revise and make sure you know your stuff.
The conscientious amongst you will do exactly this, and will spend lots of time re-reading all your notes. The less conscientious won't, but will probably pretend to be working while actually doing something completely different.
But what if there were ways that you could use your study time more effectively and more efficiently?
UCAS Applicant Days: What are they and how do you get the most out of them?
As I write this, thousands of you who have applied to UCAS relatively early will be beginning to receive offers from universities. Most of these offers will be accompanied by an invitation to go and visit the university, normally to an event called a UCAS Applicant Day, or something similar.
In this article we’ll be having a look at what these events are, how they differ from University Open Days, and what you should be looking out for if you decide to attend one.
How to get feedback on your UCAS Personal Statement
So, you’ve had a go at writing your UCAS Personal Statement. The school deadline is looming, and you have no idea whether what you have written is any good.
This is where you need to start looking for some specific help and support. The great news is that there are almost certainly people around to help you.
However, getting feedback is not simple. Knowing who to ask (and when) is not simple. And knowing who’s input to take on board is not simple.
But never fear, I have a few ideas about how to maximise and make the very most of the feedback you can receive, by getting the feedback in a planned manner.
University admissions interviews: What they’re for, what they’ll include and how to prepare for them!
Potentially one of the most intimidating parts of the whole university selection process is the admissions interview.
Most advice I’ve seen on interviews tends to revolve around what questions you might be asked and what to wear. I’ll get to these a bit later, but I’ll start by looking a little deeper into why you are being interviewed, what structures the universities might use, who might be involved in these, and what impact it could have on your admissions. The more you know about this, the more sense the whole process will make, and the better you can prepare yourself.
Preparing a portfolio for Art and Design
Firstly, I’d better make clear that I am not a specialist in art and design. While I have been at the sharp end of making admissions decisions on applications for a variety of subjects, I have not been an admissions tutor for art or design subjects.
What I have had, however, is the opportunity, to work with some amazing art teachers and lecturers (most notably at Loughborough University and the University of South Wales). I have listened to them talk about what they like to see in portfolios, and watched them discuss individual portfolios with the students who created them.
I have attempted to distil what I have learned into a simple guide to preparing your portfolio. You’ll soon realise, however, that it will take more than a short article on a website for you to fully understand what an amazing portfolio will look like specifically for you. So take this article as just the beginning, a jumping off point if you like; a solid platform from which to start your journey.
Just who are admissions tutors anyway?
This newsletter is all about you making better university choices, and of course, making a great application. But what of the universities? They make decisions too, and most specifically they’ll decide whether to accept your application and offer you a place!
In this article, I’ll give you a bit of insight into how universities make decisions, who makes the decisions, and the processes they use.
Just how ambitious should you be with your initial five UCAS choices?
The basic principle behind the UCAS system is that it balances the need for students to have a range of choices when they apply, with the need for universities to have some kind of predictability in working out how many offers to make. So, for many years, students have been able to make up to five choices. Any more, and the universities will simply be swamped with applications that are not realistic or necessary. Any less and you could run the risk of not getting an offer of a place that suits you.
The system works reasonably well most of the time, provided students are realistic with their applications, and provided universities are transparent with their entry criteria, and consistent with their offers. This year nearly 79% of A-level students secured their firm choice (ie. their first choice course), while 12% got into their insurance choice.
So, how do you make sure the system works well for you? How do you turn all that research, all those possible choices, into a list of five courses on your application form that gives you the best chance of getting into a course that you really want to do? Is it as simple as listing your five favourite courses? I’m afraid not. But neither is it some dark art where you need to have some amazing insight and specialist knowledge to get it right. Just read on, and I’ll try to make it as simple as possible.
Top 10 things I learnt at the University of Cambridge Open Day
A few days after I’d been to the University of Oxford Open Day I had a message from a long-standing friend that he’d be attending the University of Cambridge Open Day with his son the following week. Did I want to meet up?
I thought for at least half a second before replying a very positive “yes”. After seeing Oxford, what better than to see their nearest and dearest rival on equal terms. And of course to catch up with an old friend who I hadn't seen for a couple of years (you know who you are!)
So off we went, on a beautifully sunny day to visit the University of Cambridge!
Top 10 things I learnt at the University of Oxford Open Day
At the start of the summer, I was staying with my brother in London, and his niece had booked to attend the University of Oxford Open Day. “Would I like to go along with them?” they asked.
In my 30+ years working in universities, I’ve visited Oxford numerous times, and I’ve shared a stage with University of Oxford admissions tutors even more often. But I’ve never been to an Open Day there, and I’ve never been right inside any of the individual colleges. I couldn’t resist the opportunity!