A Comprehensive Guide to the University Admissions Process
University applications can conjure up mixed emotions in high school students. But for those who have the right support, applying for universities can be the rewarding and exciting experience that it is supposed to be.
Today, we’ll look at the typical problems faced by students in the university admissions process, and how BartyED can help you get into the perfect university and guide you through every step of the process.
UK Universities: UCAS and Personal Statements
Anyone who wishes to apply to universities in the UK must use the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, or UCAS. The hardest part of the application process is the Personal Statement, because in just 47 lines students are expected to produce a unique, persuasive, and comprehensive profile of themselves.
The British university application process is rather streamlined, so after grades, the Personal Statement determines whether an applicant is offered a place at a university.
Without qualified UCAS tutors, it can be hard to hit all the crucial points for a great Personal Statement. The difficulty is to articulate ideas in a coherent and structured manner, and to avoid writing cliche and generalised statements. The Personal Statement also needs to be able to apply to all courses applied to (maximum five).
At BartyED, our UCAS tutors provide model structures for candidates to follow in their personal statement that will take the admissions officer step-by-step through personal history, education, subjects of interest, and ultimately the presentation of an ideal candidate for the university.
Oxbridge Admissions
The Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) university admissions process is separate from UCAS and comes with its own set of challenges.
Oxbridge expects its applicants to show persuasive and competent endeavours outside of the classroom that develops the whole of the student, and Oxbridge admissions officers look for a specific style of personal statement which is usually the key to securing admission.
On top of this, students invited for an interview will find that sifting through heaps of generalised advice online is not productive prep.
Consolidating foundational public speaking skills, as well as articulating insightful and nuanced answers to notoriously unpredictable questions, is simply too hard to do without an experienced Oxbridge admissions consultant.
US Colleges: SAT/ACT and Essay Writing
For students looking to go to college in the US, scoring high in the SAT or ACT is key. Additionally, depending on the school, students will also need to submit an admissions essay and use the Common APP (similar to UCAS).
What the standardised test and admissions essays have in common is that they require skills that are not typically taught in schools, and counsellors at certain schools may struggle to offer the best advice.
For SAT/ACT, knowing how to train the crucial analytical and critical thinking skills is challenging without the right guidance, similar to the formal expression and structure required for college admission essays.
BartyED SAT and ACT tutors coach students with a structured approach based on the needs of the individual flagged in an initial assessment session.
Our tutors help plan revision exercises for students to conduct every day, synthesising what they have learned before the next lesson.
Our mentors and admissions consultants recognise that the ACT and SAT tests assess skills foundational for college-level academia, and this is reflected in the expectations we place and the results we secure our students.
Ivy Leage Colleges
Ivy League universities are known to be selective, which can be intimidating for students without the guidance of an admissions consultant.
There are various systems to apply through, which can be confusing in itself: there is the Common App, shared systems application (for CalState, UC colleges), individual college applications, and the Coalition application.
Being able to refine the written elements of your application, such as the personal essay (for Common App) or personal insight questions (for UC colleges), is uniquely challenging.
BartyED’s Ivy League admissions consultants are used to Ivy League applications, and know how to help applicants understand effective essay structuring and use strong evaluative language.
After an initial assessment that uniquely considers each student’s interests, academic skills, and the university’s own application process, we guide students with a bespoke curriculum to help them craft a confident, considerate, and well-rounded application.
BartyED's Bespoke University Applications Counselling
BartyED admissions consultants have close knowledge of the admissions process in many countries, including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France, and more.
We discern the strengths and weaknesses of our students, and take into account a broad spectrum of suitability factors in crafting a shortlist of appropriate universities for candidates to consider.
We take an active interest in the welfare and academic development of our clients and make sure that the university chosen is appropriate, using a variety of objective criteria for suitability.
Find out more about our university applications counselling sessions on our website. Or, if you are ready to work with a BartyED admissions consultant, contact us today at (852) 2882 1017 or enquiries@bartyed.com.