UCAS Applications

For those students applying to university courses for the 2018 entry, in Oxford, Cambridge or most courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science, the deadline for application is 15th October 2017. Further details can be found on this link: https://www.ucas.com/advisers/getting-started/application-deadlines

To increase your chances of being accepted, this information in your application could be very helpful!

• Don’t leave off extracurricular activities thinking they are not impressive. Many students leave off hobbies even though they spend many hours a week on independent projects.
• Using a generic letters of recommendation, or selecting a teacher that adds little information to their application. Many teachers simply use a template to write their letters of recommendation so most are very similar which do not distinguish the individual student from others. For example, letters saying you are a ‘friendly student’ or ‘good class contributor’ without giving specific details will not help in the application. You could send your teacher your CV or a letter highlighting your achievements to help your teacher write this.
• Writing a Cover Letter that is too generic. Every student has attended the subjects required in the entrance requirements and it is useful to distinguish yourself from others. Saying you attended a course without saying what you learnt from it or how this motivated you to apply to the specific university will limit your application’s success.
• Many universities expect the Cover Letter to specifically highlight ‘Why this university?’ or ‘Why this subject?’. To answer these, be extremely specific. Research the university extensively. Look into the course curriculum and projects the course offers to say why this really interests you. For example, if a course offers a project to make an electric bike, write why this interests you! Also you can look on the university website and mention specific professors under whom you wish to study, and link their classes back to your own interests.