Banff Academy

UCAS 2022/23

Making the right choice for you - No wrong door

  • University and College Websites

  • University and College Prospectuses

  • SDS Career Advisers

  • Guidance Teachers and Class Teachers

  • Family and Friends


Important Dates & Deadlines for Applicants

  • Deadline for completion and submission of UCAS form if applying for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, Oxford or Cambridge Universities - Saturday 15th October 2022

  • Entry application deadline for most UCAS Conservatoires music courses - Monday 3rd October 2022

  • Pupils to complete First Draft of UCAS Personal Statement (for all other applications) - Friday 30th September 2022

  • Deadline for completion of online UCAS form - Friday 2nd December 2022

  • College applications open - Mid November

University & College Open Days

How to Apply to UCAS

STEP 1 - REGISER WITH UCAS

Register in the UCAS Hub and complete the registration questions – confirming that you want to start your studies in 2023 and are interested in undergraduate level of study. You’ll then be taken to your UCAS Hub dashboard, where from 18 May you’ll see a tile called ‘Your application’. Simply click ‘Start’ to begin your application.

When completing your application – make sure you enter your first name and middle name(s) exactly as they're stated on official documents, such as your passport, birth certificate, or driving licence. If you only have one name, enter it in both the first name and last name fields on the application.

STEP 2 - LINK YOURSELF TO THE SCHOOL

During your registration, you will be able to associate your application with Banff Academy and your Guidance Teacher. You will be asked for a 'buzzword'

Your buzzword is: Banff2023

Guidance groups have been created. You should select your Guidance Teacher as they will be writing your reference and checking your form:

    • Dr McCabe

    • Mr Eager-Wright

    • Miss Paton

    • Miss McRae

    • Miss Massie

STEP 3 - COMPLETE YOUR DETAILS

    • You must complete all mandatory questions and you can’t skip any sections. These must all be complete before your application can be sent. But you don’t have to do it all at once – sign in and save your progress at any time.

    • Make sure that your email address is always up-to-date – so you don’t miss important updates on your application.

    • You will be asked for your residency status – if you’re from outside the UK and need clarification on this, visit the UKCISA website for detailed information.

    • There are questions specifically for UK students – these are about your ethnic origin, national identity, and occupational background. These are mandatory questions used for monitoring purposes. This information will only be shared with universities and colleges after you have secured a place and will not influence any decision regarding your application.

    • You are asked for information about personal circumstances – such as your parental education, if you’ve been in care, or involved in widening participation activities, so universities and colleges can form a more complete understanding of you as an individual. While this information is optional, it can help universities and colleges better understand your background, and provide support.

    • If you’re applying with the support of a school and you didn’t enter your buzzword during registration – you can do this at any time from your application. This will link your application to your school or college, so they can track your progress and provide support, including adding your reference.

    • You will be asked how you plan to fund your studies – but we do not manage student finance applications. Find out more about funding and finance.

    • You can give a parent, guardian, or adviser nominated access – if you'd like them to be able to speak to UCAS on your behalf. UCAS will be able to discuss your application with them, but for security reasons, UCAS can't share your login details (for example, if you need to change your password).

STEP 4 - ADD YOUR EDUCATION HISTORY

You must enter all your qualifications from secondary education – whether you have the result (even any that were ungraded) or you’re still awaiting exams and results. This helps universities and colleges to understand if you meet their entry requirements. However, sometimes a university or college will make you an offer even if you don't meet the exact grades they're asking for. If you have any questions about entry requirements, speak to the university /college before you apply.

If you have pending qualifications, your teachers will be asked to give your referee (your guidance teacher) your Predicted grade, which will form part of your reference.

STEP 5 - COMPLETE YOUR EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

If you've had any paid jobs – full-time or part-time – here's where you can enter details for up to five of them. Include company names, addresses, job descriptions, and start/finish dates.

Any unpaid or voluntary work shouldn’t be included here – mention that in your personal statement. If you’ve not Had any paid work experience, just leave this section blank, and mark it as complete.

STEP 6 - COMPLETE YOUR CHOICES

You can choose up to five courses. There’s no preference order and your universities/colleges won’t see where else you’ve applied until after you reply to any offers you get.

Remember that you can only apply for undergraduate courses, not postgraduate.

STEP 7 - WRITE A PERSONAL STATEMENT

This is the only part of the application where you can write in your own style – it’s your chance to tell universities and colleges why you’d like to study with them, and what skills and experience you have.

It’s got to be at least 1000 characters long – but you have up to 4000 characters/47 lines – whichever comes first.

We recommend you start in Microsoft Word (or something similar) and paste it into your application as the application doesn’t have a spell check – while you’re in your application, hit save regularly to avoid losing your work. As you would with any important piece of work read and re-read and preview it before you mark this section as complete.

STEP 8 - SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

Once you’ve completed your application, you’ll be shown your full application – make sure you review it and make any edits.

Your guidance teacher will complete your reference and do final checks with you before your application is sent to UCAS.

STEP 9 - PAY YOUR APPLICATION FEE

The application fee for 2023 entry is £22.50 for a single choice, or £27 for more than one choice.

You can choose to pay by card at the time of submitting your application or pay the application fee to the school. If you are paying in cash to the school, you must pay before your form is submitted to UCAS. Anyone needs help with payment, please let your Guidance Teacher know.

What are Admissions Teams Looking for?

Here are the top things admissions teams will look for when reviewing your application:

    • qualifications

    • content of written personal statement displaying passion for the subject area, while demonstrating motivation, enthusiasm, and the skills and experiences that will enable you to succeed at university

    • content of reference

    • knowledge of, and commitment to, the subject discipline

    • good attitude to learning and personal development

    • ability to articulate yourself fluently and accurately in writing – it is a sign of what's to come for tutors

Need Help?

Please make sure that you have taken time to read all the information. If you need advice about the right pathway for you, please see your Guidance Teacher as soon as possible. They may be able to help you directly or suggest that you meet with our Skills Development Scotland adviser, Kay Oluwaremi.