EDUCATION UNIVERSITY APPLICATION
UCAS application advice
Why strong predicted grades alone are not enough to impress admissions tutors, by Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Oxford
W
ith a 23 per cent rise in applications this year and limited growth in available places, it is
hardly surprising that there has been intense speculation over the university admissions process in the media. Every week there is another article bemoaning rising entry grades and suggesting sinister admissions tutors are utilising contextual information to socially engineer their intake to meet (mythical) government quotas. First, the good news – tutors are primarily
motivated by a desire to have highly enthusiastic, academically successful students on their degree programmes. Notwithstanding the substantial increase in applications, I have yet to meet a tutor who wants to admit a student who is not engaged by their subject over a talented and enthusiastic candidate seeking to develop their ability through their chosen course. What has altered, however, is the environment in
which a candidate has to compete. Years of outreach activity, commitment to widening participation and a drive to attract the best possible candidates to apply, irrespective of background, means an increase in the number of students who aspire to secure a place at courses and universities that were already oversubscribed. How can an applicant submit a competitive
application? Excellent predicted results are not enough. Tutors will be looking for evidence of aptitude and engagement with the subject applied for, particularly where it is clear that the candidate is developing this interest on their own initiative, rather than being spoon- fed material and activities by their school or parents to enhance their application. On its own, an ability to get a string of top grades does not make a student special in the eyes of an admissions tutor who may have 15 candidates all expected to achieve at that level competing for every place. This can be a bitter pill for a student who has always excelled academically to accept, particularly if within their school or college they have been held up as a
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shining example for others to emulate. Students should focus on identifying
and researching the courses that most appeal
to their interests. Given that a student can apply to up to fi ve universities, they should ensure that all are suitable, rather than focusing all of their research into one university. It is probably helpful to draw up a list of key factors, encompassing both academic and non-academic considerations, and use this to select courses and universities. Many universities provide details
of the selection criteria that tutors will use to differentiate candidates. A student should identify these at an early stage, not least to ensure that if there are any defi ciencies, they have time to address them.
The personal statement section of the UCAS
A common mistake is for candidates to spend their personal statement expounding their extra- curricular activities
application allows a good candidate who is able to martial their evidence to demonstrate that they fulfi l the published criteria and have the skill set to excel in their chosen course. Tutors particularly want to see evidence of engagement that goes beyond that expected to complete the requirements of the post-16 curriculum. An English literature applicant who has only read the fi ve books required for their A-level doesn’t suggest the commitment to engage in a degree that expects students to read fi ve texts a week. A common mistake is for candidates to spend their
personal statement expounding their extracurricular activities to demonstrate a checklist of achievements. Tutors do not realistically expect a candidate to represent their country in an Olympic sport, play a musical instrument to Royal Philharmonic standard and rescue children from a burning building, particularly if they are still – aside from all that – a mediocre biologist or historian. Outstanding extracurricular achievements do not compensate for second-rate suitability. Overall, candidates have to be realistic. If you apply
for fi ve courses, all of which are accepting less than 20 per cent of candidates, you cannot presume to get an offer from them all. Rather than assume that this is due to the bias and prejudice of the admissions tutor, acknowledge that being unsuccessful is part of the process, and celebrate your successes. There are no cast- iron guarantees, but the only sure way to ensure you won’t secure a place is not to apply in the fi rst place. %
SUMMER 2010 FIRST ELEVEN 33
PHOTOS: ISTOCKPHOTO, ASHWIN KHARIDEHAL ABHIRAMA
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