Just as applying for an undergraduate course brought with it a set of challenges and pitfalls, so too does the application stage of making that transition to postgraduate studies. Yes, once again you have to select a place to go, a course to study and the right words to sell yourself on the application form.

In spite of these similarities, however, it’s unwise to think that the process of applying to do a postgraduate course is just UCAS II. For one thing, the timeframe is completely different. While the official UCAS deadline for application went by a week ago, January tends to be the starting point for people to apply for a postgraduate course, with many universities not even accepting applications to them before that point. Hence the timing of this here blog post.

But the differences between undergraduate and postgraduate applications don’t end there. In fact, a different set of dates is the least of your worries if you’re playing with the idea of staying on or returning as a student.

Unfortunately, seeing that the broad brushstrokes of the two application processes seem to be the same, many students approach and execute the task in exactly the same way. But that way lies danger, and probably also rejection letters.

Fear not, though. The leavingschool.co.uk blog has seen and done it all before, and would like to offer you this potted guide to applying for a postgrad course before you embark on this exciting journey for yourself.

Step One: Choose a course

Be honest, when you applied to university for your first degree did you base your decisions solely on academic factors, or did other considerations creep in, such as the quality of the university’s social scene or where your chums were heading? For the majority of people, these non-academic factors will certainly have at least played some role in their decision. And they may have even been the main consideration for some people, who didn’t really know about the specifics of their course at that particular uni until the first day of lectures.

But picking a place to do postgraduate studies isn’t like that. Here, academics is (almost) everything. Postgraduate courses are all about specialisation, meaning there’s a huge difference between one university’s version of a course and another’s. You need to make sure you pick a course that covers exactly what you want to study, which ultimately means you need to scrutinise every module that it offers. And you’ll also need to make sure the university is a leader in your subject,which you can do by consulting our university guides.

Contacting the academic staff who run the course is also a key part of this process, something which undergraduate applicants don’t really do. Not only will they be able to give you a full idea of what their course can offer you, you’ll also be making yourself known to them as an eager and inquisitive student. As will become clear later, this will help you at the next stage of this process.

Step Two: Get writing your statement

But under absolutely no circumstances should you just rehash your old UCAS personal statement, even if the course you’re applying for is in the same subject as your undergraduate degree. Because not only do you need to show a much more sophisticated and in-depth understanding of the subject, but you also probably need to show your ability to write is that of a graduate and not a school-leaver.

There are other important differences to take into account when it comes to writing the personal statement for a master’s or PhD, too. It’s very likely that you will be applying directly to each university, meaning they expect your statement to be tailored exactly to the course they offer. This means discussing specific parts of that course and why they appeal to you. And don’t think about going on at length about your Saturday job or your hobbies. At this level, the lecturers only care about one thing: your aptitude for their course.

Step Three: Look at funding options

This is where the postgraduate application experience really starts to depart from the undergraduate one. While before you probably took out a student loan–possibly supplemented by the odd handout from the Bank of Mum and Dad or a part-time job–it turns out that you can actually get paid to be a postgraduate student. But only if you’re the brightest and most motivated of the crop, however.

Funding for postgraduate studies can come from many sources, but the main ones are scholarships or bursaries offered by the university or an educational foundation linked to it, and award schemes run by government bodies. Examples of the latter include the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council. Amounts covered by all these different options can range from part of the tuition fees to all of them plus a tax-free stipend that is actually more than enough to get by in comfort.

Getting paid to be a student is many people’s idea of heaven; if you’re one of those people then you should make sure you don’t miss out when applying to do a postgraduate course. Remember how earlier we told you to contact the people who run the course and show how keen you were? This is why; they’re the people who will talk you through the funding options for your course and, if you play your cards right, write you a glowing reference for the funding application as well.