Pupils prepare for UCAS applications in June of S5 after the Higher examination diet. In lifeskills pupils are taken through how to write a personal statement. UCAS have both a guide on how to support your son/daughter with their personal statement and a new toolkit for personal statements.
After the summer, all UCAS applicants are assigned a referee. This will be a member of the pupil support staff or SLT. Each pupil will meet with their referee to get one-to-one support with completing their application, choosing courses and overseeing their personal statement. Teachers of the pupils will complete a short reference and pass this to the referee who will bring these together and complete the final reference.
Pupils can choose up to 5 university courses to study on their UCAS form. The careers adviser, pupil support guidance staff and SLT are on hand to meet with pupils and support them with this. Universities offer Open Days to help pupils decide.
| Timeline for S6 | |
|---|---|
| Three lessons on writing a personal statement | June |
| Meeting with referee to complete the form | August – October |
| Early deadline for Oxbridge, medicine etc | October |
| Hamilton College Deadline for UCAS forms | November |
| UCAS deadline | January |
Offers are made anytime from August until March. Some universities will make offers when they receive application forms, so the earlier the application is submitted the better. There are others that wait until February/March before they give any offers; this is the case with Strathclyde Business School. Pupils can track their application once submitted using their UCAS login.
Some courses will require pupils to go for an interview.
When a pupil receives all their offers, they should firmly accept one offer and another as an insurance offer. These decisions do not need to be made until all universities have responded to the pupil.
In the event a pupil is rejected and has no offers, they can put in a sixth option. This opens at the end of February and pupils should see the Vice Principal to support them with this.
UCAS also offers a guide to clearing.
You can watch the video here.
If you live in Scotland, intend to study at college or university and meet our eligibility criteria Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) will pay your tuition fees directly to your institution. Fees paid are non-repayable if you study in Scotland, but you must remember to submit an application every year. We also offer loans and bursaries to help support you with your living-costs.
Our key aim is to ensure that pupils and parents/carers have a good understanding about the funding available to them and how to access it, to enable them to make informed decisions about progressing into higher education. During this workshop, you will receive both our funding presentation plus assistance with completing your application.
Please ensure you have the following things for the workshop:
Following our presentation you will have the opportunity to ask questions to help with your individual circumstances whilst completing your application.
The workshop will be hosted on MS Teams, joining instructions will be sent out prior to the event.