Articles
Something new every week!
Search all articles
“Go to university!” they said. “It’ll get you a good job!”
Perhaps university will get you a good job, and perhaps it won’t, but one thing is for sure: if you think that university study alone will land you your dream job, you are going to be very disappointed in a few years time.
I have appointed more than a hundred people in my career, and not one of them got their job on the basis of their university study alone. They got their role because of the knowledge and experience they had, the skills they could demonstrate, the motivation they showed, and their aptitude to learn.
Falling in love... with learning
It’s nearly November, and those of you in your final year at school will be right in the thick of it with your university application process. You might be super-organised, and have applied already. You might be finalising your Personal Statement and refining your final choices. Or you might just be taking the first baby steps towards working out what on earth you are going to apply for!
Whichever stage you are at, you are not alone; there are thousands of others in the same position.
All of you (except a few super-human students), will be going through the same doubts: Am I doing the right thing? Is university for me? Will I enjoy the course? Will it be worth it?
And so now is actually a really good time to ask the essential question of yourself: Why go to university? And in particular, why are you looking to apply to university?
How to get feedback on your UCAS Personal Statement
So, you’ve had a go at writing your UCAS Personal Statement. The school deadline is looming, and you have no idea whether what you have written is any good.
This is where you need to start looking for some specific help and support. The great news is that there are almost certainly people around to help you.
However, getting feedback is not simple. Knowing who to ask (and when) is not simple. And knowing who’s input to take on board is not simple.
But never fear, I have a few ideas about how to maximise and make the very most of the feedback you can receive, by getting the feedback in a planned manner.
How to avoid becoming a drop-out statistic
OK, so I really don’t like the term ‘drop-out’, but I wanted to get your attention, and ‘non-completion rates’ or ‘students leaving their degrees’ just didn’t cut it as a headline. I promise I won’t use it again.
But here’s the thing… recent data released by the Student Loans Company has revealed that the number of students who are not completing their degrees is on the rise, up around 28% over the last five years. (See this BBC article).
This is not good.
In human terms, that’s nearly 42,000 young people who left their degrees last year uncompleted, carrying with them their student debts, and doubtless a whole load of other unwanted baggage.
We need to talk about The Russell Group
Have you heard of the Russell Group? If you’re just at the start of your decision-making journey, you might not have. But rest assured, as you start to investigate your university options, it’s going to crop up!
The Russell Group, you see, is a group of 24 universities regarded by many as being the top universities; the most prestigious universities; the universities that the best students should be applying to.
They formed in 1994 as a group of 17 research intensive universities after a handful of informal meetings at the Russell Hotel in Russell Square*. They now have a membership of 24, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Manchester, Southampton and Liverpool, amongst others.
University admissions interviews: What they’re for, what they’ll include and how to prepare for them!
Potentially one of the most intimidating parts of the whole university selection process is the admissions interview.
Most advice I’ve seen on interviews tends to revolve around what questions you might be asked and what to wear. I’ll get to these a bit later, but I’ll start by looking a little deeper into why you are being interviewed, what structures the universities might use, who might be involved in these, and what impact it could have on your admissions. The more you know about this, the more sense the whole process will make, and the better you can prepare yourself.
The world is changing. What does that mean for jobs and the skills you need?
Every couple of years, the World Economic Forum publishes their Future of Jobs report, which looks at the impact of world-wide issues on jobs and the skills needed by employers. The latest version came out in May this year. It’s quite a piece of work, the fourth of its type in a decade, and based on a large-scale, world-wide survey of employers.
It is an absolute gold-mine of information, data and insight into the future of careers, and as you make important decisions about your future studies and career, you are going to want to know about it!
However, it’s 300 pages long, so you’ll be delighted to know that I’ve read it, so you don’t have to.
Preparing a portfolio for Art and Design
Firstly, I’d better make clear that I am not a specialist in art and design. While I have been at the sharp end of making admissions decisions on applications for a variety of subjects, I have not been an admissions tutor for art or design subjects.
What I have had, however, is the opportunity, to work with some amazing art teachers and lecturers (most notably at Loughborough University and the University of South Wales). I have listened to them talk about what they like to see in portfolios, and watched them discuss individual portfolios with the students who created them.
I have attempted to distil what I have learned into a simple guide to preparing your portfolio. You’ll soon realise, however, that it will take more than a short article on a website for you to fully understand what an amazing portfolio will look like specifically for you. So take this article as just the beginning, a jumping off point if you like; a solid platform from which to start your journey.
Just who are admissions tutors anyway?
This newsletter is all about you making better university choices, and of course, making a great application. But what of the universities? They make decisions too, and most specifically they’ll decide whether to accept your application and offer you a place!
In this article, I’ll give you a bit of insight into how universities make decisions, who makes the decisions, and the processes they use.
Just how ambitious should you be with your initial five UCAS choices?
The basic principle behind the UCAS system is that it balances the need for students to have a range of choices when they apply, with the need for universities to have some kind of predictability in working out how many offers to make. So, for many years, students have been able to make up to five choices. Any more, and the universities will simply be swamped with applications that are not realistic or necessary. Any less and you could run the risk of not getting an offer of a place that suits you.
The system works reasonably well most of the time, provided students are realistic with their applications, and provided universities are transparent with their entry criteria, and consistent with their offers. This year nearly 79% of A-level students secured their firm choice (ie. their first choice course), while 12% got into their insurance choice.
So, how do you make sure the system works well for you? How do you turn all that research, all those possible choices, into a list of five courses on your application form that gives you the best chance of getting into a course that you really want to do? Is it as simple as listing your five favourite courses? I’m afraid not. But neither is it some dark art where you need to have some amazing insight and specialist knowledge to get it right. Just read on, and I’ll try to make it as simple as possible.
Things to see, do and ask at a University Open Day
Off to an open day soon? With over 100 such events in September and October, it’s certainly a good time to be going!
Open days were always one of my favourite parts of working at a university. I loved seeing everyone arrive on campus - all with a sense of excitement and anticipation about what this intriguing place might hold in store for them in their future. I loved working with a team of staff and student ambassadors, doing our very best to show off our university, and giving future students just a small glimpse into what their next steps could look like.
Of course we tried to show our university in the best possible light, and it's for that reason that I’ve written this; a few tips on how to understand what they are showing you, and when to ask for more, or to see things a little differently.
Applying through a Student Recruitment Agent
Last week we looked at how you might go about choosing an Independent Education Counsellor. This week, we look at recruitment agents. Sometimes it might not be obvious to you, as an applicant, who are independent counsellors, and who are agents. Sometimes you might find the same company is offering, in effect, the two models together. But we need to be clear, the business models are quite different, and this matters.
Top 10 things I learnt at the University of Cambridge Open Day
A few days after I’d been to the University of Oxford Open Day I had a message from a long-standing friend that he’d be attending the University of Cambridge Open Day with his son the following week. Did I want to meet up?
I thought for at least half a second before replying a very positive “yes”. After seeing Oxford, what better than to see their nearest and dearest rival on equal terms. And of course to catch up with an old friend who I hadn't seen for a couple of years (you know who you are!)
So off we went, on a beautifully sunny day to visit the University of Cambridge!
How to choose an Independent Education Counsellor
Last week, we looked at how best to work with your school’s university counsellor. Many of you will have one at your school or college, so if you do, please have a look at last week’s article.
Many of you, however, won’t have access to expert advice and support in your school or college. This will mainly apply to those currently at schools outside of the UK, but even some of you in the UK might feel that the support you are receiving is not quite enough for you.
If this is you, then read on.
Top 10 things I learnt at the University of Oxford Open Day
At the start of the summer, I was staying with my brother in London, and his niece had booked to attend the University of Oxford Open Day. “Would I like to go along with them?” they asked.
In my 30+ years working in universities, I’ve visited Oxford numerous times, and I’ve shared a stage with University of Oxford admissions tutors even more often. But I’ve never been to an Open Day there, and I’ve never been right inside any of the individual colleges. I couldn’t resist the opportunity!
How to work best with your university counsellor
Depending on where you are in your journey, you may or may not yet have worked out that UK Higher Education is complicated. And if you haven’t already, you are soon going to find out that the same is true of the application system. So naturally, you’ll want to find someone to help you navigate it, right?
Your first port of call should be your school or college…
Having a last minute change of heart? How to change your course after results day
A-level results come out on Thursday, and alongside the results, UCAS Clearing will get into full swing. Clearing, as you’ll doubtless be aware, is the process by which applicants without a university place can quickly secure a place on one of the many courses still available.
You might be surprised, however, to know that Clearing is not just for those who didn’t make their grades. Last year around 20,000 students made the decision to go into Clearing themselves, declining their firm choice place and finding a new course. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to. If this is you, read on to find out how to do this, and some of the risks and pitfalls you might want to consider.
Warren Buffett’s advice on finding your perfect career
In a recent shareholder letter, Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most successful businessmen, wrote about regular talks he has with university students. "I have urged” he says, “that they seek employment in (1) the field and (2) with the kind of people they would select, if they had no need for money.”
“When they find that sort of job” he goes on to say “they will no longer be working”. He recognises that “economic realities may interfere with this quest”, but urges students “to never give up on the quest.”
Embrace the chaos: Nietzsche and choosing a university
Ever read any Nietzsche? Nope? Me neither! But I have read a little bit about Nietzsche, and one of his ideas particularly resonated with me when it comes to choosing a university. The quote that caught my eye was this:
“You must still have chaos in you to be able to give birth to a dancing star”.
Careers, courses and ikigai
I, along with many westerners, first came across ikigai as a career decision-making tool; a Venn diagram with four overlapping qualities in the ideal career: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. I’ll come to the Venn diagram in a minute, as it’s brilliant, but I would like to start with an explanation of what ikigai really means to the Japanese.