Route B - choice or chance? (UCAS - any good?)

Member Name: oopsy-daisy

Product:	UCAS - any good?
Date:	03/07/01 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: First choice usually always allow interviews

Disadvantages: Third choice is usually doesn't happen!

Art and Design Route B via UCAS can be either a very easy way to get into university, or it can be hell.It doesn't always deal with talent, as sometimes you have to be lucky to get your first choice.

Route B has three choices, compared to Route A's six choices.You have to arrange your choices wisely in order to have a good chance of getting into your first choice , or sometimes getting into any university at all. I've picked up some information from my experience that may help:

First choice.
- This needs to be realistic to you, if the university you apply for is way out of your league and you know it, it will not help you.
-You first choice is usually the top of your list, and you will automatically get an interview for this choice( Don't worry about interviews, they really are much easier to deal with than you think.But i'm sure you will hear that a lot.)
-You will get an interview for this university between late march and early may.The results of your interview, unconditional, conditional or rejection will arrive within a days up to a month. ( i had to wait three weeks, and they were three very long weeks!)
-It's good to see how many places your 1st choice has, as this could affect you getting in. The more places equals a bigger chance you will get in. It's good to see if you can work out how many people applied last year, to the number of places.
- if you are rejected or do not accept the place, you will be put through to the second phase.

Second choice
- Your second choice needs to be a less popular/competitive university or course than your first choice.This choice doesn't have to offer an interview but in my experience sometimes does.
- You also need to find out if this university usually takes second choice applicants. You can do this by either phoning the university, or researching a little. I managed to find out the stats from the year before via my college. They told me
how many people had apllied 1st,2nd and third choice. Also how many people were accepted 1st,2nd and 3rd choice. This let me see which universities were more likely to accept me as a 2nd choice applicant if my first choice fell through.
-IT'S IMPORTANT YOU FIND OUT IF YOUR SECOND CHOICE ACCEPTS 2ND CHOICE APPLICANTS, BECAUSE ITS UNUSUAL THAT YOU WILL GET TO YOUR THIRD CHOICE, AS MOST COURSES FILL UP WITH 1ST AND 2ND CHOICE.
- These interviews start any time from early May.

Third choice.
- By now your quite unlucky. Most people at my college left the third choice of their green UCAS slip blank, so that at a later date they could apply for any left over places before the mad rush of clearing.But if your college don't allow this, then it's advisable to put a choice in that you wouldn't mind going to but isn't going to get very many offers.
- If you are unlucky and there are not any spaces left onto your third place, start phoning around to see who to apply for through clearing.

When applying via Route B you can't afford to be pretentious, as you may not end up getting into any of your choices if they are all high. It's worth phoning around to universities to find out info, and asking your art schools and colleges to provide you last years application statistics, as they are a big help. Alot of people secure their first choices but i have encountered a few who don't, and if you havn't planned you have to rely on being lucky. Hopefully this may help some of you applying to Art courses through UCAS. Good Luck X

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