Things for students to consider after making their university application

After students have submitted their UCAS application, it’s time to start homing in on the finer details of their university choices. The following checklist will guide you through the ways students can best prepare for their university journey following submission of their application. This will help them form an idea of how their time at university will look.

Once applications have been made, their progress can be viewed through the Applications Tab, which will be marked as either submitted or acknowledged, followed by an offer or a message that the application has been declined.

Students will be presented with a conditional offer, which will depend on their results, or an unconditional offer immediately securing them a place on a course. Once all offers have been received, students can then appoint one firm and one insurance choice; their firm choice will be their preferred course, whilst an insurance choice will generally have lower grade requirements as an alternative option. It is important to note that if a firm choice is successful, UCAS does not allow students to select their insurance choice instead.

Offers made by universities must be accepted by the first week of May.

Whilst students are waiting for offers, it is useful to start looking at accommodation in order for them to be prepared when applications open. There are a wide range of accommodation types, featuring a mix of shared and en-suite bathrooms and catering choices, which are available to view online as well as through university campus tours.

One benefit of selecting a university as a firm choice, is that accommodation will often be guaranteed, however, this can vary for each university as some also allow insurance choices holders to submit accommodation requests. Furthermore, universities always try their best to accommodate those who opt for their insurance choice or select a course through clearing, placing them on campus, providing information on rented housing or even reserving rooms in hotels.

At Swansea University, if you are a new full-time undergraduate student, have placed Swansea as your firm or insurance choice and apply for accommodation before the 30th June you are guaranteed accommodation for your first year.

In order to aid the decision-making process, universities offer Applicant Open Days to students who have received offers. At these events, applicants can find out about content specific to their course by speaking with academic staff and attending example lectures.

There is also information available about student life, as current students will often be available to share their experiences and provide campus tours. These Open Days can be found on university websites and students are normally required to register prior to attending these events.

Finance is an important part of a university application, and although primary support is provided through Student Finance, scholarships are a great way of securing extra funding.

Universities offer a range of scholarships to reward success and encourage ambition, often recognising academic achievement through excellence scholarships, which commend exceptional A-Level results and are activated automatically.

Scholarships can also be awarded in extra-curricular fields such as sport and music, which aim to provide financial support for the training and exams involved with these activities. Deadlines for these can vary from pre-results to post-results, so it is advised to research each scholarship individually.