UCAS Convention 101

Every year, thousands of students all over the UK begin the gruelling process which is to be known as applying for University. For many, this is a really exciting time in their lives, but it can also be a very stressful period. It is not as simple as picking a few names out of a hat and sending off an application to then just sit and hope for the best. There is SO much more to it; sifting through hundreds of Universities, ordering prospectuses, open days, narrowing down your choices to just 5 options, getting the grades to go where you want, personal statements, just to name a few. It can be quite daunting, and being somebody who is in the situation currently, I know just how stressful it can be, however, after visiting the UCAS convention at a local University today, I feel a lot more comfortable and understanding of the whole situation.

The UCAS convention is held all around the country at different Universities and it should be within reasonable reach of almost everyone in the UK at some point or another. Universities from all over the country come together in one place, and present themselves at little stands dotted around a circuit at the location. Each stand will have a few reps from the University in question, who can answer any of your questions about the University, the area, accommodation etc. It is really useful for building your knowledge about the University itself, however, it is not guaranteed that the reps will know exactly everything about the specific course you want to do, so the information that can be given is limited to an extent, although it is very helpful to know what the University itself and life in the area
is like.

The event welcomes everybody, whether you are looking to study at University or not. Even if you are just looking to do an apprenticeship, a gap year or an internship, you will most certainly find something that will be of use to you. The convention includes stands from all different professions, and there are also talks held on useful life skills, such as writing a personal statement, which is a very useful skill to have whether you apply for University or not. You shouldn't limit your options, as it is very easy to change your mind on what you want to do in the future. Come results day, you may have very different ideas about what you want to do, or even in 10 years time, you may eventually decide that you would like to do a degree, and so you should make sure that you are educated on the topic.

Tips and Advice on Attending a UCAS Convention:

• Make sure you have some sort of idea of the courses and Universities that you are interested in. It will be a waste of time to speak to Universities who have no relevance to your future plans because of a lack of preparation, so spend some time in the run up to the convention looking around at different University websites. I did this by looking up the top ranking Universities for my chosen course here, and then researching further into the Universities that took my interest on their websites and different student blogs, to get a reliable opinion and review of the Universities.
• Make sure you take your ticket with you to the event. This can easily be done by simply saving it to your phone from the email you will be sent once you have registered. Your ticket will include a bar code which the University stands that you are interested in can scan so that they can send you relevant emails to give you more information.
• Plan a set of questions that you would like to ask the different Universities. This may seem pointless, but once you are actually at the convention, you will all of a sudden seem to loose all inspiration and thought of any questions you desperately wanted answering. By making a list before hand, you can make sure that you use your time at the convention to the best of your ability and leave feeling confident.
• Take a strong, large bag. As you can see from the picture to this post, I brought home ALOT of prospectuses. Every University at the convention will have a prospectus ready for you to take, and as you begin to collect them, they soon begin to carry alot of weight in themselves. Some stands will give out freebies including little canvas bags, but they are not the most reliable, and so to save yourself any embarrassment or frustration, I would highly recommend taking a strong bag. I brought home a total of 15 prospectuses, despite only initially planning to visit 5, so do not underestimate how much you will pick up.
• Visit the Universities you are most interested in first but do not restrict yourself. You will discover many Universities that you have never even heard of that turn out to sound incredible, so make sure you give yourself time to visit all of the stands that offer your course. 
• Don't worry about not having time to visit the seminars. You will be given a timetable of specific talks upon arrival, but all of these talks will be filmed where they can then be found online. It is more important to speak to the Universities at their stands than the seminars, because many of the seminars will not be generalisable to all Universities, and therefore, there is no guarantee that they will be of any use to you (although they will most likely be very interesting to listen to).
• If you are visiting as part of a group/school, don't be afraid to wander alone. Many people won't be planning to take the same course as their friends, so don't waste time by following your friends round to talk about things that are irrelevant to you. As well as being boring, it is a huge waste of time, so take yourself of alone if you need to to make sure that you use your time to the best of your ability.
• Don't worry about getting lost or not having a map. The stands are all arranged in alphabetical order and are positioned in a one way, snake style system, so it is easy to find your way around and get to where you need to be. 
•  Don't be shy! An event like this is not a place for you to be weary of speaking to new people. The reps welcome as many questions as possible, and are more than happy for you to speak to them for as long as you need to. Everybody will be in the same boat, so don't feel nervous about talking to new people! It will be incredibly useful for helping you decide upon your future, so seize the opportunity!
• Don't worry about the Universities of your interest not being there. There is 99% chance that every University you are interested in will be there. There are hundreds to explore. I came across Universities I had never even heard of, and so whether it is a tiny University that nobody knows of, or one of the most popular Universities in the UK, it is almost guaranteed that it will be there. 
• Don't worry too much about time. My Sixth Form spend around 4 hours at the event, and we all agreed that it was far too much time. It is completely manageable to get round every stand you need to in around 2 hours, so don't put the event of if you feel you wont have the time to go/have enough time to do everything you want to - you will have plenty of time!

So what questions should you ask?

This is especially difficult to think of on the spot when you are standing a couple of metres away from the University of choice, so here are some ideas for questions you could ask, which you should prepare in advance!

• What are the entry requirements for the course?
• How many places does the course hold?
• What modules are involved in the course?
• What is the ranking/pass rate for the University/course?
• How is the course assessed?
• Does the course offer any additional experiences e.g. study abroad, work placements etc.?
• How do the interviews work?
• Is the University based on campus?
• What is the accommodation like?
• What facilities does the University offer on campus?
• What is student life like?
• What extra curricular activities are available?
• What is the city/town like? 
• How far is it to travel from the Y to Z?
• What is the cost of accommodation?
• How easy is it to find employment after graduation?
• What sponsorships and bursaries do you offer?
• Will I have to buy my own equipment for the course and what will this include?

Also be sure to take down any contact details of the Universities so that you can contact them easily if you suddenly think of any questions after the convention.

Hopefully the thoughts from this post will inspire you to take the next step in the journey to your future, whether it be at University or working as an apprentice. I do highly recommend visiting the UCAS convention, as it can be extremely helpful in helping lead the way to whatever it is that you would like to do in the future. There is something there for everybody, and it will most definitely make the whole process alot easier.

To register yourself to attend a UCAS convention and find your nearest event, please click here.

Have you visited a UCAS convention?

What are your plans for the future?