Sixth Form and University Application Newsletter - December

Dear Year 13 Parents,

We would like to wish you and your family all the best for the upcoming festive season. Ahead of the holidays, please see some important updates for you with regards to university applications.

Final days for UK and US applications

At the time of writing, well over 30 applications have been completed for the UK through UCAS, and 40 applications are in process through the Common App for the US. This is an addition to applications through the University of California system. 

Is it too late to apply?

• No. We encourage applications to be in early, to give a more competitive chance for success. However, the absolute deadline for UK UCAS applications is January 15th. Most US university deadlines are in the first weeks of January. 

When will my child find out?

• After submitting UCAS, students may hear as early from some universities as soon as the next week. For example, we have received multiple offers from Bath, Warwick, York, Sheffield, Leeds, St Andrews, UCL and Manchester, to name a few.
• However, some universities may not reply until as late as May 13th. Last year, King’s College London was notoriously late at responding to students.
• In the US, students will typically hear in March to mid-May. Early decision candidates will find out this month.

My child is not getting the offers they want - what next?

• UK Foundation degrees are a good chance for students to enter a university that they would not usually be able to access. This would involve an extra year before regular entry into an undergraduate course. 
  • These can be applied to outside of the UCAS platform
  • Examples that students have applied to before include UCL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/upc-landing and Warwick  https://warwick.ac.uk/study/international-foundation-programme/ 
• Clearing. Clearing is available in the summer, with the peak being in the days after results day on 14th of August. This will allow students to get places in unfilled university courses. This is done through a special UCAS page or by ringing universities. Two years ago, we placed a student at UCL through clearing.
• Gap Years. Gap years are valued by universities and employers as they allow a student time to gain greater maturity. The year can be filled with work, further courses or travel. Students can then apply with all results in place and a fuller personal statement.
  • This year, we are supporting four students who are on a gap year.
• Asia and Europe. Many universities in Europe and Asia have not begun recruiting yet - please see below.

Asia and Europe application season is still warming up

• Hong Kong in particular, is a very popular destination for our students. Hong Kong is generous for scholarships for top students, and has lower costs, with tuition costs of about 30,000 USD/year or less tuition for international students. 
• The Chinese mainland is also growing in popularity, especially the HKUST Guangzhou and CUHK Shenzhen campuses. We have three students there now, and more are applying to these new, high-tech campuses with generous scholarships. 
• The Netherlands, with good quality English language and low cost, is popular, but student housing is a constant headache for students there.
• Studying economics at Bocconi in Milan, Vienna Economics University (WU) and St Gallan in Switzerland are all popular options for Haileybury students. 
• Find out more about European deadlines here https://www.study.eu/article/study-in-europe-when-to-apply-deadlines 

How to spend the holidays?

• Attendance has been very low this last month, and we hope that students use the time to destress and focus on their health.
• Most important for our Y13 students is to revise very well for their upcoming Mock exams in January. Mock results are not shared with universities.
  • However, these are the foundation of the final exams in May and June, and give our students and teachers a base to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
• We encourage our students to make a good study schedule and stick with it over the December holidays.
• Remember, offers for the UK, Asia and Europe are generally conditional on meeting grade requirements in their final exams. 

As ever, if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with the 6th Form Team!

Kind regards from the 6th Form,
Mr Wilkinson, Mr Stockermans and Ms Munoz