How to choose your 5
UCAS
Universities
A CRIMSON EDUCATION PUBLICATION
How to choose your
5 UCAS Universities
When it comes to applying to UK
universities on the University and Colleges
Admissions Service (UCAS) platform, there
are three things we know for sure!
1. You can apply to a maximum of
five courses.
2. You are applying to a specific course at
any university (this means for example
you could apply for five courses at only
one university or college, or a different
course at five different universities or
anywhere in between!)
3. You can apply to Oxford or Cambridge -
but not both!
With these limitations in mind, what criteria
do you use to narrow down on the seemingly
endless number of UK study options?
Crimson UK strategist and Oxford graduate,
Abbigail Colwyn, has supported numerous
students in their successful applications to
ABBIGAIL COLWYN
Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Imperial, King’s
College London and more. As such, she has a Abbi graduated from the University of
unique insight as to how students can make Oxford with a BA in English Language
meaningful choices while maximising their and Literature. While at university, Abbi
chances of admission. completed internships with non-profit
organisations, Non-Violence Uganda
Below Abbi reveals the Five Key Areas and Kids Club Kampala, researching
students should consider before deciding the educational system in Uganda and
upon their 5 UCAS choices. recommending innovative ways of
curbing school drop-out rates and
Ready to get started? tailoring services to the needs of
students. Abbi is currently studying a
Master’s in International Social and
Let’s go!
Public Policy at the London School of
Economics, specialising in non-
governmental organisations.
KEY AREA 1
Make Sure Your Selection
Is Well-Rounded
When choosing your 5 Universities, you
want to use your predicted grades and
academic progress to help you decide
what you are likely to achieve in your
final school results. With this in mind,
you want to aim for One Match, Two
Target, and Two Reach Schools.
I help my students create a provisional
list in April of the year of their application
cycle, keeping in mind we can be open
to changing some choices later in the
year once their predicted school grades
have been released. It is always better to
start the research early!
What is a Match, Target or Reach School?
MATCH SCHOOL
A Match School is a choice that is low risk. Entry requirements
should be slightly lower than your target school and certainly
lower than your predicted grades.
SAFETY SCHOOL
A Target School is a choice that is achievable. Entry requirements
for these should be lower than your reach schools and reflect
what you are working at now.
REACH SCHOOL
A Reach School is a choice that is aspirational and this would
have the highest entry requirements of all your choices. This
should be the same or only slightly above your predicted grade.
In building the above lists you must also keep in mind particular
entry requirements for individual subjects.
KEY AREA 2
Choosing Your
Course Options
When choosing your courses, there
are five things to keep in mind!
01.
Your 5 UCAS choices need to be targeted
to the course and your unique interests just
as much (if not more) than the university.
You will be studying this course for 3 or 4
years (longer if you are applying to study
medicine!), and it is important that you are
genuinely interested and passionate about
the modules available to you.
02.
It’s also important to make sure you consider both single and joint honour courses,
as there might be combinations of subjects that perfectly align with your interests
that you have not considered before.
03.
Do you prefer a course with more flexible options or more rigid parameters? This is a great
question to ask yourself given courses themselves are made up of compulsory, optional, and
sometimes discovery modules (allowing you to choose topics from other departments).
Some students may prefer a more rigid structure - especially if they love all the compulsory
modules. However others may prefer to specialise and follow their own particular interests
through optional modules, or to keep their studies broad through discovery modules.
04. 05.
Compare your courses!! Be aware that not all courses are identical.
Questions to ask yourself may be: For example, not all courses titled Business
Is there the opportunity to study Management offer the same modules; some
abroad or do a work placement are more heavily focused on economics while
integrated into the course? others more focused on finance, marketing,
and entrepreneurship. Similarly, though
Do the compulsory modules on the
titled differently, some courses can actually
course seem interesting to you?
be quite similar. Finance, Economics, and
Are there optional and discovery Business or can oftentimes provide similar if
modules available and if so do these not the same modules with only slight
seem relevant to your interests? variations on optional modules. (NB: You
How is each module assessed? really need to research the similarities and
Which type of assessment suits differences between courses, and note any
your particular learning style? changes in entry requirements. This will allow
you to strategize your final 5 choices.)
KEY AREA 3
Do Your Research
When choosing your universities, it is
important to do research and not
make too many assumptions. This
research needs to be smart — meaning
it should be targeted and thorough.
For example, league tables help you
refine what is important to you when
choosing a university. The Complete
University Guide Table offers a useful
breakdown of universities for each
subject. Take particular note of
research quality and graduate
prospects for your subject.
But be proactive. Don’t stop there. Think about what else is important to you when
choosing a university: the location, transport connections to particular countries or
cities, city or campus university, historic background, LGBTQ+ societies and stance
of university, quieter/secluded or louder social scene, reputation for particular
sports or societies, etc. This can help refine your options and avoid universities that
may not be the right fit for you.
KEY AREA 4
Cost Per Degree
It is perfectly understandable that many students and their families wish to
consider the costs of different universities — both accommodation costs and
living costs — before making application decisions. For example, studying in
London often increases living costs while more rurally based campuses may be
a little more affordable.
All universities and colleges at Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham, will have
information of the range of accommodation costs on their respective websites.
This can give you an estimate of the funds you will need.
You can also look at the financial support and scholarships available at each
university and whether or not you will be eligible for these. Some scholarships
specify high academic achievements to qualify while others focus on
extracurricular abilities, such as outstanding music or sporting performances
and achievements. Oxbridge colleges can also offer financial incentives but they
are rare for international students.
KEY AREA 5
No Regrets
When deciding on your final 5 choices, make sure you will not look back in a
few years and wish you had applied to your dream university. You have 5
choices, so you do not have to play it safe with all 5.
You ultimately do not need to achieve all 5 offers as you will only be able to
choose your ‘Firm’ and ‘Insurance’ courses once all 5 have responded. (Your
‘firm’ choice is your first choice – the place you most want to go to. If you accept
a conditional offer and meet the conditions, you’ll have a confirmed place here.
Your ‘insurance’ choice is the choice you’d want if you didn't meet the
conditions of your firm choice. If this is a conditional offer, you’d need
to meet the conditions for your place to be confirmed.)
Finally, If you have the grades and ambition to study
at Oxford or Cambridge, for example, then do not let fear
of rejection stop you from applying! Yes these are very
competitive courses, and yes not everyone who is capable
of studying at Oxbridge gets offers (there simply may not
be enough spaces!), but you never know unless you try!
Good luck!
Abbi
This guide was written by Crimson Education. For more information
or free resources about getting into a UK university visit:
CRIMSONEDUCATION.ORG
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