Your university application timeline, self-guided tours, and the games our mind plays on us.
😊 Welcome
Researching and applying to university the UK takes time. Typically around 18 months in fact.
So, starting in spring of your penultimate year at school, a whole system kicks into gear to help you explore your options, visit universities, submit applications, and make your final choices. All with the intention that you have the time and resources you need to make a great decision about your future.
This week we have a close look at how that 18 months will unfold, through a full UCAS timeline, starting now, and finishing next autumn as you start your course.
Secondly, we have a quick look at what to do if you can’t make a specific university Open Day, but want to visit anyway.
And finally, we learn about the games our minds play on us.
✍️ Your university application timeline, with key dates for 2025
Are you about to embark on your university applications for entry in 2025?
If so, this timeline is exactly what you need to help you get your head around the process.
I’ll give you all the key dates and deadlines, suggestions about what you should be considering and when, plus links to loads more advice and support for each stage of the process.
If you know anyone who will be applying to university over the next year, anyone who is a parent of someone about to apply, or any teachers and advisers who are new to the role, why not forward this on to them?
They won’t find anything quite like this on UCAS, or (for that matter) anywhere else!
💡 Did You Know?
If you want to go and visit a university, but can’t make it to their official Open Day, most universities have you covered by providing a self-guided tour that will take you around the key parts of the university, with information about what happens where!
Some of these are just set up as a good old-fashioned pdf you can download and print. Some have put video guides on their website that you can watch while you visit different locations. And others have created mobile apps with audio and video commentary to give you a more immersive experience!
But what they all have in common is that they’ll give you a far better experience than wandering aimlessly around the campus wondering what you should be looking at! 😀
📢 Quote of the week
“Our mind plays this game with us. Our mind tells us ‘As soon as you get X, everything is gonna be great; as soon as we get rid of Y, everything's going be fine.’ And we believe it. And it's not true.”
Mark Manson
From The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Film
Lots of students view university as a destination. If they get into their dream university, they’ll have made it, and everything will be fine. But as Mark Manson says, it’s not true. Getting into your dream university is just the first step in a far greater journey. A journey that will bring challenges and happiness in equal measure.
So enjoy the journey, and embrace the challenges, but don’t kid yourself that university is the main destination.
⌛ And finally…
You may have noticed that I’ve slowed down these newsletters to a fortnightly release. I’ll be sticking to this schedule from now on to allow me to explore other media and other ways to help students make better uni choices.
But I’ll make every effort to ensure that each newsletter keeps on delivering the sort of useful, thoughtful and occasionally challenging stuff that you’ve grown to expect!
Thanks for reading!
Jonathan
🎯 In case you missed it
Last summer I managed to attend both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge Open Days.
If you are planning to attend these, or just want an insight into what they are like, have a look at what I learned:
