How much Input does your (your DC's) sixth form colleges have with UCAS applications?

[bookmarket]

I'm trying to gain some perspective of valid expectations.

DC2 is doing a BTEC. Year 13. She got fairly good GCSEs and is getting mostly distinctions. The college has a lot of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Teachers teach and pastoral care is done by separate personal tutors. The students don't have daily or even weekly tutor sessions. They're given a personal tutor who they can contact if they need them and they have fortnightly sessions in a group to cover government mandated PHSE type stuff and some year 13 careers stuff. No-one else in her class wants to apply to uni so the tutor is not going to run anything about UCAS in these sessions. I've had that confirmed by her via email, so it's not just my DCs story of events.

I've written to the tutor to find out how they get support with UCAS (and apprenticeships) and not had much back from her. Vague suggestion that DC makes a 1:1 appointment with careers advisor. I've asked about the UCAS stuff agains and they've come back to me and said if DC has a personal statement they can send it to her! DC hasn't been given any introduction to UCAS at all. Why would she already have a personal statement.

DC1 also went to this college. They did A levels with high predicted grades and were put in the Oxbridge/russelgroup/vet-med group and got a lot of support.

I'd assumed all students get support with UCAS but for some reason my DC's class is not getting any. I don't know if it's just the tutor not being great or if this is more the norm in other 6th form colleges.

The college should be, she'll need references.

I guess if your DD is the only one in the group thinking of applying to uni, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have sessions focused solely on her.

With BTECs, it is importance there is someone who can guide your DD through the process, because it's important she lists her units on UCAS correctly for a lot of courses.

Does she have a subject lecturer/teacher who she gets on well with, or she thinks might be willing to help? If so, perhaps she could contact them and ask for some advice- even if it's not officially their job, usually lecturers are happy to support UCAS applications.

I'd suggest she sets up an application (easy enough to do from home), asks a lecturer for support adding her qualifications, and asks if they have any guidance about personal statements or similar. Likely they will have some advice they can share, and this gives your DD a starting point.

It sounds like the tutor isn't very helpful, so if you bypass the tutor, perhaps your DD will get more support?