can anyone advise about UCAS forms for Scotland uni's?

[ssd]

hi, ds is applying to some uni's in Glasgow, this is the first time for us so am unsure of the process.

does he apply to ucas and need a personal statement and a reference?

also how many courses/uni's does he apply for? he is interested in politics but isn't sure what with, does he apply for 5 courses or is that rubbish?

also (sorry!), does he do 3 different things in the first year, eg politics and 2 other things, how does he choose these things?

sorry to be so thick, I know ds will be learning about all this in S6 but he's bloody murder to get info out of, so I'm turning to MN instead!

many thanks!

I have been trying to make sense of the UCAS website but most of it seems to apply to England, so a bit unsure of what happens here in Scotland

The school should be taking him through this step by step. I realise some schools will be better than others.

Five courses I think is correct. Politics at five different universities perhaps?

He submits a personal statement. Hopefully someone at school will help him/look over it. It should include why he wants to apply for Politics and list his achievements (non-curricular), interests, any employment, any extra he does at school (prefect duties, buddying etc) and any volunteering he has done. Sports too. Importantly, he should be able to link all of this to showing that he has the skill set to achieve in chosen field.

The reference will be written by someone at school.

Not sure about your question about taking Poilitics along side two other subjects. Sorry.

It says in Year 1 he will study 3 different subjects, including the chosen subject, I just wonder what this could mean. He wont be applying to 5 uni's, we cant afford for him to live away from home..so maybe 5 different courses within, say 2 uni's maybe?

Hi. It's great that you're supporting you son with this.

Is your son at school or college? They should be having briefing sessions for the pupils and potentially for the parents as well.

UCAS have a special part of their website aimed at parents. You can also sign up to get monthly updates. UCAS covers the whole UK so I'd suggest you assume things apply to Scotland unless it specifically says different.

Key points for your son and you:

You can apply for up to five courses.

You can apply for more than one course at a single University if you are interested in going to a particular place.

The deadline is in January unless you're applying for certain courses (eg medicine) or universities (Oxford or Cambridge).

There are advantages to applying earlier - you'll be getting offers through while friends are still stressing over their choices.

You apply via UCAS and the school or college provides predicted grades and a reference.

Re course content and whether you'd combine politics with other subjects. You can find all this info in the prospectuses and websites of Unis you're interested in.

This is a great time to be choosing as most universities will be running open days during the autumn. Go to a few - this is the best way to really see what each place is like. And also to hear about important things like student housing.

GOOD LUCK

thanks!

will check out the parents info bit on the UCAS site! x

Why can't he look elsewhere. He'd get a loan towards maintenance and can work. I can't imagine Politics will have masses of contact hours, and with no tuition fees he wouldn't have that much loan debt.

he wants to stay at home

Scotland here with 2 DC so we have been through one round of UCAS applications and getting ready to do it again.

You've had all the right info from other posters re the application stage. The difference with Scottish courses is that the main subject/subjects don't take up the whole course and there is an opportunity to take further study in many different options.

For example my DD is hoping to study International relations with a language and since she is musical she will also be able to take some music courses to make up credit points in 1st and 2nd year. Her final degree will only name IR and German, but she'll have had the opportunity to study her other interests as well. It's a very flexible system and gives students a broad Higher Education.

There is a good book that I bought on the UCAS system but I presume they are printing a 3rd edition as the 2nd edition is out of print.
I agree the whole of the UK has the same UCAS system. Each course has a different number. He can apply for up to 5 courses. If he looks at the uni websites the details of courses available, the course numbers and entry requirements are there. At the moment it's going to open days, emailing admissions tutors with any queries and narrowing down the courses. Going on The Student Room under the particular uni or under politics degrees can give lots of info too, although Scottish students don't seem to bother with TSR as much as English ones and boys use it less than girls.
Unistats is useful to compare different courses

John Curtice an academic in the politics dept at Strathclyde was excellent during the independence referendum when I heard him speak. The Strathy politics degrees are quite flexible (13 to choose from looking at the website)and highly rated. My son is at Strathclyde (engineering) and loves it

"It says in Year 1 he will study 3 different subjects, including the chosen subject, I just wonder what this could mean."

Usually he'll do 3 modules per semester one will be one that he had to do for his degree subject and the others he can just choose.

"He wont be applying to 5 uni's, we cant afford for him to live away from home..so maybe 5 different courses within, say 2 uni's maybe?"

Separate courses from the same uni count as choices, yes.

brilliant info, thanks so much

2rebecca, thats good to hear!

The employability stats aren't as good for Strathy politics in the complete uni guide though although it has climbed a lot of places in the last year. St Andrews looks like the Scottish place to go for job prospects. Open days may clarify the job prospects thing. I'm never sure how accurate the statistics for all these tables are.

he went to the strathy open day and liked the sound of the politics degree, TBH I dont think he has a clue what he wants to do, so employment stats might not mean a lot to him just now and we cant afford for him to go to St Andrews and live away from home.