Higher Education & Careers
Applying to UK universities and colleges
UCAS
In the UK, students must make their higher education applications through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. UCAS has an extremely comprehensive website, which has a lot of useful information alongside the actual applications portal.
The area of the UCAS website with information specifically for parents and carers is www.ucas.ac.uk/parents
They have a number of helpful booklets and guides; the following are most relevant for our students:
Important Dates for 2012 Entry
Scottish Guide for 2011 Entry (2012 pending)
Student Finance
Fee Status
To explore whether a student will be charged tuition fees at the “Home” or “Overseas” rate see the following guides:
Students planning to study in England, Northern Ireland or Wales
Students planning to study in Scotland
Student Support (loans, grants etc)
For British students, your support will be provided by the national administration for the area in which you normally live: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales:
Student Awards Agency for Scotland
For students from other EU countries studying in England, Northern Ireland or Wales:
For students from other EU countries studying in Scotland:
Student Awards Agency for Scotland
For students from countries outside the EU, for finance purposes you are classified as an international student:
UK Council for International Student Affairs
Applying to USA universities and colleges
Research and Applications
In the USA, students make their higher education applications either directly to each institution or through an application service.
The largest application service, The Common Application supports over 450 institutions. In addition, The College Board, the organisation that owns and runs both the Advanced Placement (AP) qualifications and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) has a number of useful research resources, including their Application Calendar and College Search.
In the State of Texas, the local service, Apply Texas , is for all public institutions within the State of Texas, and all Texas institutions (private and public) are listed in the Piper Compendium of Texas Colleges
Student Finance
Federal Student Aid provides a wide range of free publications online and their FAFSA4caster is a useful tool for a quick estimate of possible fees and support.
Additionally, the State of Texas has their own website, which includes information about scholarships within the State.
Tests
Normally, colleges and universities require students to have taken, either the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) or the ACT Assessment Test (ACT). This is in on top of their IB Diploma. BSH students normally join a special class in the autumn of their Year 12, and then go on to sit the test in the following spring. If your student is considering applying to universities and/or colleges in the USA and is about to enter Year 13 but has yet to take the SAT or ACT, please contact Mrs Foxwell as soon as possible.