With January 15th quickly approaching, it can only mean one thing. You have just a couple more days to get your applications in before the UCAS deadline to be guaranteed consideration for an undergraduate course. Of course many deadlines have already come and gone so hopefully you’re not just starting to contemplate your application now, and you’re already aware of which course you wish to do and where. But even if you haven’t actually made a start on your application, you can still get one in on time. If this is your situation, take a deep breath and focus on these aspects of the application.
First and foremost in order to meet the UCAS deadline, make sure you have referees and that they’ll be able to get your application ready in time! Most teachers will have quite a bit of experience writing reference letters, so it shouldn’t actually take them very long to do this. But of course, most teachers also have a big list of other things that they need to be getting on with. So while it’s still possible that they’ll be able to find the time to be your referee, you need to get in touch with them now and see if they can find the time to do it. It’s not a bad idea to contact a few people so that if someone doesn’t have time you’ll have already started out the process for someone else to step in. And remember to always thank your referees, especially if they’re writing your reference at the last minute.
Get your personal statement written (we’ve done a few posts in the past on how to organise and cut down on personal statements so check those out if you need some pointers). You’ve not got a huge amount of time left before the UCAS deadline, but you can still pull this off too. When writing, focus on your motivation, your educational and work experiences that have prepared you for the course to which you’re applying, extracurricular activities and how the course fits in with your career aspirations. Things to keep in mind when writing your personal statement are to not get too bogged down in detail. For example, with educational or work experience try to consider what skills you picked up along the way rather than providing a play-by-play of everything you did at each meeting that you attended. Try to get someone else to read over your statement as well, as this will help you find any awkward sounding bits and ensure that the reader understands what you’re saying.
Lastly, even though we’re getting close to the UCAS deadline, don’t cut corners with your application. Above all don’t be tempted to copy a personal statement from your friend or from a text you found online. Not only will this statement not be personalised and will therefore not really provide the details that you want it to, but the chances are that you will get caught, damaging your chances of getting into any programme.
So spend the next two days focusing on completing anything you need to do for the UCAS deadline. But even if you don’t quite get an application passed in on time, don’t panic. There will still be university opportunities available to you, and we’ll explain it all to you in the next post.