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Options after leaving college

Where can students go after they have left Huddersfield New College?

Higher Education

Application system and UCAS form

All applications to university are made through the UCAS website. Support is given to students through the tutorial system to help guide them through the process. Applicants can choose to apply to a maximum of five courses with the exception of students applying to

medicine, dentistry and vet science

who can apply for four courses. The forms are checked in college and returned to students if any corrections or amendments are needed. The closing date for UCAS applications is 15th of January, or 15th of October for medicine, dentistry, vet science and Oxbridge. College requests the forms from the students much earlier than this to allow for these corrections and to guarantee that the form will be sent to UCAS on time.

Find more info at the UCAS website. Universities set their own entrance requirements for different courses and they can be very different. This site will allow you to search for courses and their requirements. Some universities use a ‘tariff scheme’ where points are allocated for A2 and AS results.

Support parents can offer

Choosing a university course can be a very difficult decision to make. Your student will need support to go through this process and to give them the confidence to make this decision. Help them to find out as much as possible about the courses and universities that they are considering. Encourage them to use the support available in college through the Careers Service or their Personal Tutor. Be realistic about their likely results and the courses that could be open to them. Encourage your son or daughter to attend open days at universities. Remind them of deadlines for application to university. Try to support them without putting them under too much pressure!

Open Days

Visits to universities on their Open Days can help a lot with choosing courses and institutions, and can also help set your mind at rest about where they will be spending the next few years! Universities welcome parents and carers accompanying the students and will often run sessions especially for them covering topics such as student finance and applying to university.

Finance

The world of student finance can seem like a minefield but there is help at hand! There are two areas of finance that need to be considered tuition fees and living expenses. Students can take out a loan to cover both of these areas. As you will have seen, tuition fees are set to rise for students starting in 2012 and universities can now charge £6,000 or £9,000 per annum. The loan is paid back when the student is earning over £21,00 a year . In addition to this, students whose family income is below £42,000 per annum can qualify for a maintenance grant .This does not have to be paid back.

Students who are studying for a health course, for example, nursing or physiotherapy or a social work degree will have their course fees paid and a bursary from the NHS.

Higher Education Jargon Buster

Jobs

Although the employment market for A level leavers is shrinking, there are still some good opportunities available for students who do not want to go to university. Many companies will offer good quality training to new recruits which can take the form of in-house training, or even part time degrees.

not going to uni is an excellent resource to find out more about this.

workabout also has details of local vacancies and help with putting together a good CV.

Gap Year

Gap years can be an excellent way to improve a CV or personal statement. It can involve work experience, paid or voluntary work and sometimes travel. There are many organisations who will help organise gap years in other countries including year out group & project trust