HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• INTRODUCTION
• GENERAL ADVICE
• SPECIFIC COURSES UNIVERSITIES

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• THE BESTUNIVERSITY IS THE ONE THAT BEST SUITS
  YOUR INDIVIDUAL
• NEEDS

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS TO THE UK
• Application through UCAS http//www.ucas.com
• 5 choices these should be for the same (or very
  similar) course and cover a range of likely grade
  offers
• Normal offer will be based on IGCSE/AS results,
  A-level predicted grades, reference and personal
  statement.

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• Most courses are 3 years in duration.
• Many engineering course offer direct entry onto
  the MEng programme important for professional
  body accreditation
• Many courses offer sandwich years after 2 years
  of study you spend a year in industry before
  returning for the final year of your degree.
• An MEng in Civil Engineering with a sandwich year
  would mean 5 years.

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• RESEARCH ESSENTIAL
• PROBLEM OF CHOICE (UK)
• 55,000 COURSES and 340 INSTITUTIONS in UCAS,
  including UNIVERSITIES, HE COLLEGES and FE
  COLLEGES
• City centre/rural Campus/Multi campus
• Collegiate Large/small
• Facilities/Accommodation
• Teaching quality Research
• Staff/Student ratio
• Entry requirements
• Assessment Progression prospects
• Student views

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• Degree options
• Single honours Economics (L100)
• Joint honours Economics and Maths (LG11)
• Major/minor Economics with Maths (L1G1)
• BA/BSc some courses offer both e.g.
  Geography or Psychology
• BSc will be have a strong quantitative/Maths
  element.
• Sandwich courses/overseas study (not just
  languages)
• Degree profile courses studied in each year and
  core/optional split many courses will allow a
  student to study one course outside the
  department (a language is a good idea!).

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• Engineering a huge subject area with many
  subsets
• As a general degree, with specialisation coming
  later (H100)
• In one of the broad areas Chemical, Civil,
  Mechanical.
• In a more specialised area Acoustic,
  Aerospace, Biomedical, Design, Electrical,
  Electronic, Forensic, Geophysical, Hydrology,
  Industrial, Lighting, Mechatronics,
  Nanotechnology, Petroleum, Quantity Surveying,
  Robotics, Sports Materials, Telecommunications,
  Welding.

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• OFFERS These may be based on A-level grades or a
  points offer based on the UCS tariff ( A 120, B
  100, C 80, D 60, E 40 with half the
  points for the AS grade).
• Most offers are based on a standard 3 A-level
  offer, although some universities may ask for a
  fourth subject at AS. Some will accept two AS
  grades in lieu of a third A-level. There is a
  minimum matriculation requirement of two full
  A-levels.
• ECONOMICS (L100)
• Warwick AABb, with at least grade B at Maths
  A-level
• City BBB, with no prerequisites
• Portsmouth 240 points (CCC or BCD or BCdd)

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• LEAGUE TABLES
• The Guardian
• http//www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2009/may
  /12/university-league-table
• The Times
• http//www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/ed
  ucation/good_university_guide/
• The Times Higher Education Supplement (for World
  and North American rankings)
• http//www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/
• US News
• http//colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/coll
  ege/national-search
• Overall ranking based on an index of student
  satisfaction, research quality,
• student/staff ratio, entry requirements, career
  prospects, value added, etc.
• Ranking by subject.

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• Oxbridge At least 6 IGCSE subjects at A and
  the others at A, AAAA at AS (and achieved
  easily). Wide-ranging interest in subject of
  study.
• Medicine At least 6 IGCSE subjects at A,
  including Double Award or single sciences. Chem
  and Bio normally required. Minimum offer AAB.
  MUST have exposure to a primary healthcare
  environment.
• Oxbridge Medicine require interviews. These
  may be in KL or the UK
• Oxbridge Medicine Law have additional
  entrance tests (BMAT/UKCAT, LNAT, etc)
• YOU WILL NEED TO REGISTER FOR BMAT/UKCAT SOON

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• DEADLINES
• 15th September 2009 Oxbridge (KL interview)
• 15th October 2009 Medicine/Oxbridge (UK
  interview)
• 15th January 2010 All other UCAS applications

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS TO THE USA
• you apply directly to each university, although
  many use the online Common Application Form
  http//www.commonapp.org
• You will have to submit an SAT score and may need
  to sit 3 subject tests (the old SAT II). You
  need to register for these at the College Board
  website http//www.collegeboard.com
• There are a large number of universities that do
  not require an SAT score http//www.fairtest.org/
  
• I recommend registration as it sets up an
  account for you and keeps you up to date with
  your applications. Deadline for normal decision
  applications will be Dec 31 2009/Jan 1 2010

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• AMERICAN DEGREES
• Generally, a full-time, four-year course of study
  at a liberal arts college leads
• students to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of
  Science degree.
• Loren Pope, writes that at the liberal arts
  colleges he lists in Colleges That Change Lives
• The focus is on the student, not the faculty he
  is heavily involved in his own education. There
  are no passive ears students and faculty work so
  closely together, they even coauthor
  publications. Teaching is an act of love. There
  is not only a mentor relationship in class but
  professors become hiking companions, intramural
  teammates, dinner companions, and friends.
  Learning is collaborative rather than
  competitive values are central there is a
  strong sense of community. They are places of
  great synergy, where the whole becomes greater
  than the sum of the parts. Aspirations are
  raised, young people are empowered."

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• CREDIT BASED, GPA PROGRAMME. MAJOR DECLARED BY
  END
• OF SOPHMORE YEAR? CORE COURSES ELECTIVES
• 4 YEAR PROGRAMME
• FRESHMAN
• SOPHMORE
• JUNIOR
• SENIOR
• Credit given for A-levels (101 courses) grade C
  or above
• BOSTON UNIVERSITY OFFERS 250 PROGRAMMES OF STUDY

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS TO AUSTRALIA
• Most universities will start their new academic
  years in late Jan/early Feb 2011. Therefore you
  do not need to apply until after you have
  received your A-level results. Some universities
  have a July intake for some courses. For most
  courses, admission is based purely on A-level
  grades.
• I advise applying through IDP
• http//www.idp.com/malaysia

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS TO OTHER COUNTRIES
• HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA,
• CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, KOREA
• Refer to Mr. Ellis

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• USEFUL WEBSITES
• UK http//push.co.uk/
• http//www.ucas.co.uk/
• http//education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide
  
• www.ukcosa.org.uk
• www.ukcoursefinder.com
• www.whatuni.com.
• www.unistats.ac.uk
• http//www.prospects.ac.uk
• http//www.oxbridge-admissions.info/index.php
• USA http//www.macee.org.my/
• http//www.collegeboard.com/student
• https//www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.asp
  x
• http//www.educationusa.state.gov/
• http//members.cois.org/directory/HED.aspx
• http//www.petersons.com/
• http//www.fulbright.co.uk/study-in-the-us
• AUSTRALIA http//studyinaustralia.gov.au

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• DESTINATIONS AND COURSES OF FORMER GIS SIXTH FORM
  STUDENTS
• ACT, Adelaide, Bath, Boston, Bristol, British
  Columbia, Cambridge, Cardiff, Chicago, Cornell,
  Durham, Edinburgh, Harvard, Hong Kong, Imperial,
  King's, LSE, Manchester, Melbourne, MIT, National
  University of Singapore, New South Wales,
  Nottingham, Oxford, St Andrews, St Martin's,
  Stanford, Sydney, UCL, Utrecht, Warwick
• Accounting Finance, Actuarial Studies,
  Aeronautical Engineering, Anthropology,
  Architecture, Art Design, Artificial
  Intelligence, Business Management, Chemical
  Engineering, Dentistry, Economics, English,
  Engineering, Food Science, French, Geography,
  History, Interior Design, Law, Maths, Medicine,
  Multimedia Production, PPE, Philosophy,
  Psychology, Speech Therapy, Urban
  Palnning,Veterinary Science

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS TO OXFORD OR CAMBRIDGE
• This is a very competitive and stressful
  process!
• Applicants per place is around 5, but this is
  much higher for certain subjects applicants per
  place for Economics and Management at Oxford is
  16 and 8.6 for medicine.
• You must be applying for a subject that you
  really do enjoy and show an interest in the
  subject outside of the syllabus. You will be
  interviewed, probably need to sit an entrance
  exam and may need to submit samples of your work.
• Some students find rejection hard to handle!

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• OXBRIDGE HELP
• Cambridge applications podcasts
• Cambridge Engineering
• Cambridge Emmanuel College interview examples
• Emmanuel College advice
• Cambridge interview process talk and powerpoint
• PODOXFORD

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS FOR MEDICINE (UK)
• DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 15 2009
• 29 Medical Schools average applicants per place
  10
• Minimum offer is AAB, with Chemistry at grade A
  essential and Biology
• preferred.
• Most require an additional entrance test BMAT
  or UKCAT
• Promising applicants will be interviewed some
  schools interview in KL but
• others interview in the UK.
• It is very important for a student to show
  evidence of exposure to a primary
• health care environment
• ALTERNATIVES Biomed Science degree, then grad
  school Ireland
• Malaysia IMU or Penang Australia

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS FOR MEDICINE (UK)
• USEFUL WEBSITES
• BMAT - http//www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessm
  ent.org.uk/adt/bmat
• UKCAT - http//www.ukcat.ac.uk/
• GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL - http//www.gmc-uk.org/st
  udents/index.asp
• BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION - http//www.bma.org.u
  k/careers/becoming_doctor/index.jsp

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• APPLICATIONS TO IVY LEAGUE OTHER TOP US
  UNIVERSITIES
• HARVARD, STANFORD, BERKELEY, MIT, CALTECH,
  COLUMBIA, PRINCETON, CHICAGO, YALE, CORNELL
• These institutions received at least 10
  applications per place and from students in the
  top 5 of the student academic profile. Admission
  will be based on a holistic view of a student a
  combination of external exams, SAT scores, school
  and teacher references, and at least one
  motivational essay. Many of these colleges will
  ask for additional information.

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• COSTS OF STUDYING
• UK - 10,400 (ARTS, HUMS, SOC SCI) - 13,300
  (ENG) TUITION
• ACCOMMODATION, TRAVEL AND LIVING EXPENSES -
  10,000 (SOUTHAMPTON)
• UNIAID HELP MANAGE YOUR MONEY AT UNIVERSITY
• http//www.studentcalculator.org.uk/
• USA - 30,000 - 50,000. THIS SHOULD COVER
  TUITION AND FEES,
• LIVING COTS , BOOKS AND TRAVEL. PUBLIC
  UNIVERSITIES ARE
• CHEAPER THAN PRIVATE ONES
• AUSTRALIA AUS20,800 (ARTS, HUMS, SOC SC),
  AUS29,100 (ENG) TUITION
• AUS20,000 FOR ACCOMMODATION AND LIVING EXPENSES
  (MELBOURNE)
• THESE ESTIMATES DO NOT INCLUDE INSURANCE AND
  TRAVEL TO/FROM THE
• COUNTRY.

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• FINANCIAL ASSITANCE
• UK MANY UNIVERSITIES NOW OFFER SOME FINANCIAL
  AID TO
• INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. FOR SOME, THIS WILL BE AN
  AUTOMATIC
• AWARD (BASED ON A-LEVEL GRADES OR THE COURSE
  APPLIED FOR)
• OR WILL NEED TO BE APPLIED FOR.
• US INDIVIDUAL COLLEGES HAVE AID PACKAGES. THE
  COUNCIL OF
• INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS (www.cois.org) PROVIDES A
  REVIEW OF THE
• ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY SPECIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
  LESSER KNOWN
• SCHOOLS MAY BE MORE GENEROUS TOWARDS GOOD
  STUDENTS

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HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

• ANY QUESTIONS?