Published at 15:40, Wednesday, 28 July 2010

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ASK anybody who has navigated the UCAS minefield to university in the last decade and you’ll begin to feel a sense of pity.

While the path to higher education has always been a long-winded and stressful one, the UCAS application has managed to act as a focus point for teenage angst ever since its conception in 1994. It’s a short and sharp introduction to the chores of adult life that student finance so naturally builds upon.

Now in 2010, you can count yourself lucky if you come out of this process with a university place, let alone your chosen one. The light at the end of the tunnel is for many only a cruel illusion.

I speak from personal experience, relief and compassion. I successfully enrolled on my degree (English Language & Linguistics) at Newcastle University in September 2008 by the skin of my teeth.

University applications have been rising steadily for years, but with the recession acting as a catalyst and places and funding being cut by both Labour and now seemingly, the Coalition, university hopefuls of both this and next year face a stressful time.

So, what can we – those who have experienced the system either internally or externally – do to give others the best possible opportunity of getting them in?

Although schools do their best to advise their students on where to apply to and what courses they should be considering, they simply do not have the resources to guide every student through every stage of the application. If you are applying (or somebody you know is applying) to university for 2011 entry, use this summer holiday. Look at your capabilities (your predicted grades and your current ones) and draw up a list of three or four universities for each circumstance:

achieving as expected;

overachieving;

and underachieving.

Although you can only apply for six courses, it’s healthier to have too many options than not enough. In 2010, setting your heart on the one course simply isn’t a viable option. Especially at this early stage.

Look everywhere. The idea of living as far out as Bath and Bournemouth might seem overwhelming and impractical at this time, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, no matter what the government push.

The further ventured students have to gain that extra level of independence. In some instances it simply isn’t feasible, be it medical, family or any other circumstance that requires you to travel home regularly.

Write your personal statement as creatively and informatively as you can. Then rewrite it. Then once more for good measure. No pressure, but these 800 words are all you have to set yourself apart.

Grades are important, but if an applicant shows true flair in this statement, then you’ve got something as valuable as straight As already. Ensure it’s completely sound grammatically and structurally, especially if applying to a written-based course. One Oxbridge tutor just this week said: “What would it take to stand out? Reading and writing English correctly and legibly.”

Get your teachers, parents, friends, neighbours or even a local writer to check over it. This is essentially a job interview on paper. Use it wisely.

I was on just BDD (predicted ABC) when I applied, yet had three offers from universities requiring ABB minimum, simply on the strength of my statement. I’m now at one of those. The days of straight As and a middle-class background guaranteeing a place are drawing to a hasty end.

Forget about the money. The government may currently be hell-bent on raising tuition fees again, implementing two-year degrees and boxing everybody into their local universities. Just don’t, it’s little more than scaremongering to avoid loaning as much money through student financing as possible. You’ll (hopefully) graduate with £20k worth of debt unless your family is blessed with a large disposable income, but that figure is broken down so much it’s unnoticable. You’ll not pay a penny of it back until earning over £15k a year and even when you do, it will be scaled to your wage and taken directly out of it. You’ll never see the money ‘disappear’ because you will never see it after graduating.

The simple fact is nobody can afford to go to university, but that’s all part of the fun. Once you’re in, set a bit of your own money aside for fresher’s week and just run with the momentum. You’re young and these are your final three years of being supported financially. So long as there’s enough left in the overdraft for a quick trip to the supermarket and to cover the rent, run with it. Mr Osborne will at least be grateful his money is being injected straight back into the local economy.

Finally, and most importantly, see it for yourself. You may have loved Sheffield when you went on a primary school trip but living there may be a whole new kettle of fish. Go to all the open days of everywhere you’ve been considering. Try and find people on your course and bleed them dry of information. Go for an explore of the city; if you can’t picture living there then strike that university off your list right now. No course is worth three years of misery. Every combination of degree and city will offer a new experience and there are a plethora of options at your disposable, so find your perfect line up. Just don’t set your heart on somewhere and make sure you’re as comfortable with your insurance as your are with your firm. With 661,000 applicants for September 2010 entry and up to 200,000 set to miss out, competition is stiff. Also, if you have no intention of going somewhere then simply don’t apply. There will be thousands grateful for an easier application ride.

It’s a terrible time to be moving into higher education in terms of maximising potential, but it simply isn’t going to get easier. With the economy so unstable right now, a gap year of casual labouring may do you more harm than good. Riding the wave is more difficult than ever, but why sink when you can swim?

Just make sure you know how.

Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk