UCAS

Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to tackle university issues, A-Levels and my blog. Although I haven't updated anything recently, I have been going through my blog looking at errors I've made so that I can correct them and things that I might like to talk about or readdress.

But that isn't what this blog post is about.

As I've said before, I had a series of blog posts ready to post about university. That hasn't quite gone to plan. I've been so busy trying to get my UCAS form ready that I haven't really had the time to write anything. So now that my form is almost complete, I thought that I might share some insight and tips into handling your UCAS application.

My college wanted my form sent off as soon as possible, so instead of waiting until the last minute to send it off and allowing us to go at our own pace, we were given a deadline of the 30th of October. This is to give us chance to edit anything that may need it or to add anything important, and to hear back as quickly as possible.

So, this leads to my first piece of advice. If your college or sixth form hasn't set a date for completion, set one for your self. This gives both you and your teacher time to review the application and personal statement.

My next piece of advice is about your personal statement. I have a lot I could tell you about this process, but I will try to only share useful bits of information!

Be Honest! Tell them about your self. Tell them about your hobbies, interests, skills, qualities and achievements. But don't brag, that makes you appear arrogant, and be too modest, you are more likely to standout if you are confident in your abilities.

Plan. Write out what you want to include, draft and re-draft continuously until you are completely happy, get a teacher to check it (but don't have too many teachers telling you what to write!) go over the character count and then cut it down. Make sure you are happy with what you have included!

Don't repeat yourself. You only have 4,000 characters to tell them about yourself, don't waste them!

Write what it important. If you have loads of achievements, interests or qualities, pick out the ones you feel will relate to your chosen course best. Its better to have a bit of detail about something that will help you on your course than to write a little about this and a little about that.

Stand out. Why do you want to be on that course? What do you want to do in the future? Why should you be chosen?

My final piece of advice is to keep an eye on the progress of your application. If your reference hasn't been completed and you are unhappy, talk to someone. There's no point just waiting around!

I hope that some people may find this helpful!

Love you all xoxo