Monday 2 September 2013

Have you checked...?

So you’ve worked away at your UCAS application for weeks, adding fact after fact about yourself. You’ve trawled through GCSE certificates and alike to find the precise details needed for each section, not to mention the hours you’ve spent writing and re-writing your personal statement, only to scrap it all and start again from scratch with a completely different approach.

At last you feel ready to hit send, but don't be too hasty in completing this final step. It’s really important that you check and double check your application, to make sure it’s all tip-top and typo-free. Here’s our checklist of what to look out for:





Have you definitely completed everything? Lots of people think they’re done and dusted with their application, and then they find they can’t click ‘pay/send’. This is usually because one or more of the sections are still in progress. When your application’s ready to go, the checklist on the left-hand side will look like this.

If you’re applying through your school or college, the reference box won’t be displayed. Your tutor will complete it after you send it to them.

Have you included all your qualifications? Remember, you’ve got to add all those you’re taking in the coming year, which includes English proficiency tests, aptitude and admissions tests such as UKCAT and LNAT, as well as A levels (read our blog on how to add these correctly), BTECs and anything else you’re studying for. Make sure all the grades you’ve already got are included and that the dates and results are the same as on your certificates.


Proofread your personal statement! This is where mistakes are most likely to lurk. You might think you’ve read through it hundreds of times, but it always pays to check it again. Tim Wiltshire is Web Editor at UCAS, and with responsibility for everything that’s written on ucas.com, he knows a thing or two about proofreading. Here are his three top tips:
Tim Wiltshire, Web Editor
"Make sure you have time to 
proofread it a few times. It won’t be nearly as good if you’ve 
forgotten to correct any errors.


When you’re checking through, read it out loud or ask someone else to read it to you. It might seem a weird thing to do, but it makes it much easier to hear bad punctuation, overlong sentences or messy wording.

Then see if you can get your family, teachers or advisers to check it too – they might notice something you’ve missed."


Are your contact details correct? We rely on the information in the personal details section when we send your welcome letter, as well as emails about the status of your application. The universities and colleges will also use it to get in touch with you about interviews, offers and so on, so take a few moments to make sure they’re up-to-date and error-free. If you’re applying independently, remember to check your referee’s contact details too – a wrong phone number or email address here could hold your application up if admissions staff have to get in touch with you to get the correct info.

Have you selected the right course and institution codes in the choices section? It seems simple but make sure this section definitely reflects what you want to apply for. Easy-to-make mistakes include selecting the wrong institution where there are two in a particular town or city, and adding the wrong degree type where there’s a choice, i.e. BA and BSc etc.
Once you’ve been through each section carefully, ask someone you trust to read through it for you too. It’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes will spot. And don't forget to send your application before the deadline for your course!

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm an independent applicant and my referee has already submitted the reference letter and indicated any predicted grade. The Referee section is now marked as complete. I've just made some changes in the Education section of my ucas form recently (but I haven't touched the current qualification I'm taking which contains the pending grades nor have I had new qualification which require grades prediction). My question is, does it affect the Referee section? Will I have to re-send a link to my referee requesting her to re-submit the reference everytime I'm going to make changes to the Education section? I want to make sure that once the reference is submitted, I can still make some slight changes in the Education section. I don't want to mess up my application.

I have other questions too.
Do I need to enter my UKCAT score on my UCAS form, even if I'm also applying to BMAT universities? I don't want it to influence the decisions of non-UKCAT universities because they're obviously going to see it...

I haven't taken any English language test yet. I'm thinking about take it once I receive conditional offers from unis, which means I don't know exactly when! Is there a point putting it as a pending qualification on my ucas form? If so, it'd mean that my referee will have to predict my score? Most of my friends never put it on their applicationand everything went well. It was just part of their conditional offer.

Thanks in advance. I'm looking forward to your reply.

Anonymous said...

nor have I add new qualifications that require grades prediction * oops

UCAS said...

You can make changes to the 'Education' section after your referee has submitted their reference, they won't need to submit a new reference again.

You should include the pending UKCAT qualification onto your application. This shouldn't influence the decision of universities who do not use UKCAT when making their decisions.

You don't necessarily have to include An English language test on the application. As you've stated, it's likely that your university choices would include it as part of your conditions if they were to make an offer anyway.

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Unknown said...

Hi,

I am in the process of completing my UCAS application. I have numerous qualifications from governing bodies outside of the education sector.

Is there any way these can be added to my application?

Regards

Michael

UCAS said...

Hi Michael. These can be added onto your application form, they would still go in the Education section. You'd just add the centre where you took these qualifications. You need to click on the option to add a school/college/centre and then click on 'Find'. In the pop-up box you need to state the name of the school and then click on 'Search'.
The name won’t be found and a red link will appear in the pop-up box: 'My school / centre is not listed here'. You should click on this and this will allow you to manually state the name of the school on the form.

If you can't find your exact qualification in the list provided then you'll need to make use of the 'Other' options that are available. To find these you'll just need to type 'Other' into the search bar provided. You'll then be able to enter your information manually.

Unknown said...

Ukcat - please clarify disclosure position.

Should ukcat score be included or do we rely on Pearson vue to supply?

Blog implies let Pearson vue supply but query response above says include?

Very confusing for candidates?

Unknown said...

In addition to above, please provide details on where to show on UCAS form as Pearson not shown as educational establishment. Does it go under current school?

UCAS said...

Hi Claire Morris. We do recommend you include them on your application form aswell. Pearson Vue will inform the universities of your scores but you can include on your application that you have taken the UKCAT. You'd add Pearson Vue as a test centre with the start and finish month the month you sat the exam.

brandon tan said...

Hi, I want to know if it's true that after our academic referee submits my reference that I can change the education part of my application, because I did not include my UKCAT score, I thought Pearson Vue would send it in for me and there would be no need on my part. Thank you!

UCAS said...

Hi Brandon Tan. You should still be able to edit the 'Education' section on your application form. When you login to your account you should be able to make amendments providing it hasn't been sent to us.

futuredoctor said...

Pearson vue is not showing as a testing centre under Education, nor is the actual testing centre that I went to.

UCAS said...

Hi futuredoctor. Hi
You need to click on the option to add a school/college/centre and then click on 'Find'. In the pop-up box you need to state the name of the school and then click on 'Search'.
The name won’t be found and a red link will appear in the pop-up box: 'My school / centre is not listed here'. You should click on this and this will allow you to manually state the name of the school on the form.

Unknown said...

Hi, I am nearly done with my UCAS application. However I accidentally signed up as an individual instead of through my school. I have the buzzword, and I changed in the options setting to connect to the school for my reference. I am still unable to pay and send though? Do I have to wait for my school to accept my request then I will be able to send it off? Or do I have to sign up again?

Unknown said...

Hi I have completed my application form and the reference has been sent but it cannot send because it says my reference section is incomplete yet my referee has already sent the reference.please help.

Unknown said...

Hello! I already filled in all the referee details and e-mail was sent to my referee but on my application site it shows that all the fields for referee contact details are blank and I can't fill them in. So I can't click that application is complete and submit it for payment. What should I do?

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