What you should be doing now – May

 Y13 Students

9 May is the deadline for applicants to reply to offers received by 31 March.  There are three options: firm acceptance, insurance and decline.  It is important to reply within this deadline otherwise the offer will be automatically declined.  If your son or daughter hasn't yet applied at all, there is still time until 30 June but they will need to check with the universities whether or not there are any places left on their chosen course.

If your son or daughter has not been successful in their applications first time round, a safety net called 'Extra' will kick in automatically and he/she can consider other remaining courses one at a time.  Please click on the Extra link for more information about this. 

Should your son or daughter need to change any of the details in their application, it is very simple to go on the UCAS website to do this.  Click here to make changes.  If your son or daughter is going on holiday over any relevant dates, such as results day, make sure they have registered you with UCAS as their nominated contact in case you need to ring on their behalf.

Students should also be making their applications for financial support as soon as possible.  The deadline for new applications is 31 May.

If your son or daughter has not yet visited the institutions they are interested in, now is the time to do it at open days.  Every university is different and it is essential to experience the atmosphere of a place as well as to research the academic opportunities. Look into the travel situation if your son or daughter will be commuting, or the accommodation if they will be living there.  Meet the staff, explore the facilities for the subject area and, very importantly, talk to current students – they are the best source of information possible.  Click here for University of Huddersfield Open Days.

Y12 Students

Your son or daughter will be able to apply to university from the beginning of September 2012.  Now is the time to do the research: start thinking about courses, considering universities, and visiting them and their websites for information.  Remember that every university is different so it is vital to go to open days to get the feel of a place before applying.  University open day dates can be found on their websites and via the UCAS website, and now is a good time to plan when to go.  Some will be in term-time, some at weekends.  Another good way of getting information is via careers fairs held by schools.  Now is the time when a large number of local universities and colleges are invited to attend local events in order to promote their institutions - see if your son or daughter's school/college is doing this. 

Additionally, UCAS fairs have begun: this is where large numbers of universities gather to exhibit on a regional basis and schools/colleges often organise attendance for their students.  In this area there are fairs in Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds.  See the UCAS website for details of these and other fairs.

You can get more information, hints and tips from the other parents/carers pages of this website.