UCAS Undergraduate In The 2024 Entry
The journey to starting a UCAS undergraduate degree can seem incredibly difficult for a young person or mature students. However, it’s actually quite straightforward. If you break down each part of the undergraduate process, then you’ll find that it’s a lot easier to understand. Let’s do exactly that.
The UCAS Undergraduate Search Tool
The first thing you’re going to have to do is think about what subject you want to study. Once you have a rough idea, you can start to look at what courses might be available for that subject using the UCAS undergraduate search tool.
You can use the tool to take a look at what entry requirements are needed to study on the course, whether you’ll have to complete any admissions tests, or if you are going to need to attend an interview. International students, particularly EU students, will usually have to take an extra test or two but it’s not an issue.
You will be expected to create a personal statement. Your personal statement is everything you want to communicate about yourself that doesn’t involve your grades. Building a personal statement is often one of the biggest challenges for students.
Picking a Subject
Once you’ve had a proper look at the different types of courses that are available, you will need to choose a subject. This is more difficult than it may seem, but it’s also worth it.
We definitely recommend doing research to figure out what it is that you want to study. If you don’t know, then we recommend following your passions because this is more likely to give you the motivation required to complete three to four years of study.
There are lots of different degrees available. Some of them are traditional subjects like history, and some of them have transferable skills like a psychology degree. However, you could also explore law and it’s more niche skills if you want.
Some people work on employability focused business degrees - it’s an option if you want to guarantee a stable career straight out of education.
Choosing A-Levels
If you’re preparing to choose your A-levels for your college studies, it’s worth looking at the types of undergraduate degrees you want to study now. This means you can choose A-levels that benefit you.
However, this isn’t as important as you may think. You can still get onto most courses even if you didn’t do every recommended qualification, so it’s worth picking things that interest you before tying yourself to an A-level that you’re not going to enjoy.
It’s also worth remembering that some of the things you can study as an undergraduate aren’t available in college. For example, most places don’t have medicine as a subject.
UCAS Undergraduate Applications
To make sure you get the best chance of getting into university, UCAS lets you apply for five different undergraduate courses in a single application. It’s recommended that you apply for five similar subjects because you only get one personal statement.
It’s worth noting that your statement doesn’t have to be about one subject. Lots of people take combined degrees or joint honours degrees, where they study multiple subjects at once.
The only exceptions to these rules are if you are trying to study medicine, in which case you can only apply for four courses, or if you are trying to apply to Oxford or Cambridge - you can only pick one.
During your application, you’ll be expected to do things for yourself like apply for student finance. It’s important to do this to try and save money where you can.
Which Undergraduate Course is Best?
While most students tend to study for a bachelor's degree at university, there are a few different types of undergraduate studies that you can sign up for. Let’s take a look at what you need to know.
The Bachelor’s Degree
The bachelor's degree is four years of full-time study at maximum. These are degrees that let you study one subject or two if you are on the joint honours programme.
The Foundation Years Programme
If you need to build up your knowledge and skill set to complete a full undergraduate degree, you take a foundation year course.
This is essentially a fast-track program to study your desired course if you don’t have the grades or just didn’t take the right qualifications at A-level.
The Graduate Level Apprenticeship Degrees
This type of degree is relatively new. It’s basically like an advanced apprenticeship.
During this course, you get both practical training and education. It combines the best elements of the two.
You can probably expect to find yourself working a lot of the time.
Picking the Right Course For You
Picking the right course for you is all about doing your research. Not every course has the same syllabus, so you need to choose one that is going to be right for you. Take a close look at the course description available through the university, and check out their website.
You should also take a look at what kind of teaching style you prefer. There are different courses that emphasise different amounts of contact time and independent study. You need to choose what works for you.
You should also take a look at some of the different universities and see what you’d prefer. Some of the best universities include the following:
Oxford University
Cambridge University
Ulster University (Coleraine)
Queen Mary University of London (London)
Coventry University (Coventry)
Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge Campus (Cambridge)
University of Liverpool (Liverpool)
Oxford Brookes University Headington Campus (Oxford)
UCAS Undergraduate Applications
The first part of your application is going to be choosing the subject you want to study. Generally, you pay around £20 to apply for a single course and £26 to apply for up to five courses.
There are always deadlines for your application. This deadline will vary depending on what you are applying for. If you’re applying to somewhere like Oxford or Cambridge, then the application deadline is usually in October, whereas for most of the courses, the application is in January.
You need to make sure that you pay the application fees if necessary, because otherwise, this will slow down your submission.
Finding the right University to apply to makes all the difference. You’re going to be spending a long time at this institution, so I need to be the right one for you. We recommend going to open days to check out what’s available and to see more of the campus in person.
Ultimately, this should be your choice, regardless of what anybody else says. It’s important to get advice from people you know and trust, like your parents, teachers, or mentors, but the final decision should always be yours because you’re the one that has to study.
We’re Here For You
If you need help writing a personal statement, we are here for you. We have experience writing for everybody, from college students to mature students.
Whatever you need, we can help create the best personal statement for your needs. Lots of people find their pathway into higher education is blocked because of their inability to write a personal statement. Let us help instead. It’s a tricky endeavour that involves a precise use of the English language - not for everyone.