I hope you are keeping well and looking forward to showing off what you can do at the end of term.
As I mentioned before, we are looking forwards next week to the biggest university event of the year: next Wednesday 16th November, we will be holding the annual Higher Education Fair in the Lecture Room from 12:00-14:00.
We will have representatives from some of our closest partner universities, representing a wide range of university styles, locations and entrance requirements. This is your opportunity to speak to different university representatives one-to-one, to find out more about entrance requirements and university life, and to ask any individual questions you have.
The universities who have confirmed that they will be there are:
| Birmingham | Bradford | Brighton | Hult | Keele |
| Lancaster | Leeds | Oxford Brookes | Royal Holloway | Surrey |
| Sussex | UWE Bristol | Westminster | York | – |
Now that you are coming to the end of your Application Workshop module and to submitting the portfolio for this (Deadline 14:00 on Thursday 17th November), this is the perfect opportunity to follow up on what you have already found out about the universities and courses, and to get some extra insight which can inform your final portfolio as well as your application decisions.
This event will take the place of your Academic Cultures class next week and attendance will be taken. Please make sure that you ‘check in’ with me during the event so that I can mark you on the register. You do not need to arrive right at the beginning or stay for the full 2 hours, but you must attend and spend some time making the most of this valuable opportunity.
Not only is this an opportunity for you to learn more about these universities, it is an opportunity for you to make a good impression on them. Please treat this event as you would an interview for the universities or for a job. To help you, here are some top tips for impressing universities:
- Do your research. Look at the university websites in advance (links above) so that you can ask good questions and don’t waste time with information already easily available to you.
- Dress smartly. There’s no need for a suit but try to look professional and presentable.
- Allow plenty of time. Don’t try to rush round in 5 minutes: make sure that you can have a proper conversation with at least most of the universities.
- Ask questions. The more you show an interest and some background knowledge of your subject and your university options, the more you will appear as an enthusiastic and diligent candidate.
- Speak to a range of universities. Even if you hadn’t planned to apply there. This will give you more information about the range of options available to you, including some unexpected gems, as well as better contextual knowledge to assess the universities higher up your list of interest.
- Take every university seriously. They all have some great things to offer and any of these institutions could play a valuable role in your application, so look at them in the best light and they can see you in your best light.
Let me know if you have any questions ahead of this event. I look forward to seeing you there.