As another new year begins, many of us take the opportunity to re-evaluate our lives and make plans for the coming year. And this applies just as much – if not more so – to our kids.
It may be that your son or daughter has always wanted to go to Uni and has already chosen and applied to their preferred universities. But in other cases you may find that your son or daughter suddenly decides that they want to go to Uni, having shown no interest at all up till now. They may even have already left school or college and are currently working, but now want to return to education.
In this article we explain how the university application process works, so that you can have the best information to guide your son or daughter in their decision. We will also take a look at how much going to university will cost, and who foots the bill!
The first thing your son or daughter needs to do to apply for Uni is to register on the UCAS Hub. They will then be able to choose up to 5 universities and course choices to apply for.
The early entry deadline – for Oxford and Cambridge and most dentistry, medicine or veterinary science applications – was 15 October 2022, so has already passed. But the general entry deadline for applying for an undergraduate course in September 2023 is 25th January.
If your son or daughter wants to go to Uni but has not yet applied, be aware of this deadline, and also any internal deadline from your child’s school or college.
But if they miss the January deadline, all is not lost. UCAS Extra opens in February, which will enable students who have applied but not yet had an offer to add an extra choice, one at a time, until an offer has been made.
If your son or daughter is too late to do this, they may be able to get a place for September through the UCAS clearing system. This opens on 5th July, and students can apply for a course that still has places if they are not already holding an offer from a university or college. More clearing places often become available after A-level results day (17th August) when existing offers are accepted, rejected or withdrawn.
You can find more details about clearing on the UCAS website.
Every university course will have its own entry requirements, which vary from course to course. So, they will need to check the specific requirements for the Unis and courses of their choice.
Most courses will have a minimum requirement in terms of exam grades. These are often converted into UCAS “tariff points” which are a method of adding up the value of all their qualifications to evaluate whether the course is suitable. Most courses also expect your son or daughter to have certain specific pre-16 qualifications, such as GCSE English and maths, or equivalent.
If their course application is accepted, they could get either an unconditional or conditional offer.
An unconditional offer means that your son or daughter has already met the entry requirements for the course. This is particularly the case if they already have their A-level results or if their predicted grades are good enough for the Uni to want to offer them a definite place. An unconditional offer means that, whatever happens, the place is theirs if they want it.
A conditional offer means that your son or daughter needs to achieve certain grades to be accepted. So, everything hinges on Results Day, and students with conditional offers will not be able to make final plans for September until after that.
Another key aspect of going to Uni is how much it is all going to cost? And who pays?
The two main costs are tuition fees and living costs:
UK tuition fees are typically up to a maximum of £9,250 per year for an undergraduate degree. Government loans are available to cover tuition fees up to this amount, and are paid directly to the university to cover the cost of the course.
As with any other path in life, students need to pay for accommodation and day to day living costs such as food, transport and entertainment. Maintenance loans are available to cover some of these costs, and are paid directly into the student’s bank account in three termly instalments.
The maximum maintenance loan is currently £12667, and the average is around £5820 a year. The exact amount each person will get is dependent on various factors including their family income and where they are studying.
Many students find that whilst at Uni they need to find part time work to top up their income.
Of course, the downside of taking out a loan of any kind is that it will need to be repaid. The combined costs of tuition fees and maintenance loans could leave you in debt of around £40,000 or more.
There are different repayment plans for student loans depending on the student’s nationality and dates of study. In general, a student’s loan repayments will begin the April after the end of the course, if their income is above the threshold for the plan they are on.
You can read more about student finance on the Gov UK website.
We hope that the above information helps you to support your son or daughter in their decision about whether to apply to Uni.
If nearer the time you need some extra funds to get them off to a good start, remember that Munzee Loans offer 24 month loans which may be able to help.
Good luck! And remember to check back here soon for more lifestyle and financial tips from Munzee Loans.
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