Three ways of applying for a higher education course in the United Kingdom

You can complete a traditional paper application form or you can apply over the internet. How does the system work?

If you want to study for a degree or higher national diploma anywhere in the United Kingdom, you should normally apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). This allows you to make a single application for up to six different courses and to keep track of what is happening in each case. Each university and college makes its own decision on whether to offer you a place but the UCAS procedure guarantees that the system works efficiently to a strict timetable. Last year, over 55,000 people from overseas applied through UCAS to study in the United Kingdom.

You would normally make your application some nine to twelve months in advance of the start of your chosen course(s) and you will find that computer-based systems play an important part in the UCAS application procedure.

There are now three distinct ways of applying for a full-time undergraduate course in the UK:

1. Online, using the web-based apply system
   
2. Electronically, using the PC-based EAS (Electronic Application System)
   
3. On paper, sticking with time-honoured tradition

Each system offers certain benefits and you must pick the approach that works best in your particular circumstances.

1. Apply
This is a secure, web-based, online application system. It looks certain to grow in importance as more and more of us find ourselves permanently online with high-speed broadband connections. To access apply, you will need to know the buzzword held by the co-ordinator in your school, college or local British Council office.

Apply will have no appeal whatever for those convinced that the internet is a porn-addicted, virus-infected hotbed of iniquity. For the rest, these are some of the benefits:

• You can use apply absolutely anywhere that has internet access, at any time of the day or night
  
• It automatically checks important details such as date of birth and course codes, alerting you immediately if they are not valid
  
• It asks you to confirm information at each stage of the process, allowing you to correct mistakes on the spot
  
• You can copy and paste pre-written text such as the personal statement and the reference
  
• You can verify your application with a teacher or adviser before sending it on to UCAS
  
• You can print as many copies as you like of your completed application
  
• Each online application can normally be processed within one working day
  
• You can choose from a range of payment methods, including online payment by debit or credit card

2. EAS
The Electronic Application System is now established as the most numerically significant of the three UCAS routes. Many of its benefits are the same as those listed for apply above, with the added advantage that you don't need to be connected to the internet. You can use EAS on any computer that has the software loaded, although you do have to work out how to transfer the completed application from the computer to UCAS. One option, of course, is to go online when you finally have all the required documentation available.

3. Paper
A preference for paper is not necessarily an indication of backward-looking technophobia - you can, after all, complete an application form anywhere without needing a computer or the internet - but there is a greater danger of allowing silly mistakes to spoil the impact of your application. Before the advent of EAS, for example, seven per cent of all applicants did not appear to know their date of birth! The benefits of your best efforts to choose the right course at the right institution can be destroyed in an instant by carelessness in completing the form. Poor handwriting, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors can all conspire to weaken what might otherwise be a reasonable application.

The paper forms are usually readily available all over the world but processing times can be considerably longer than for apply or EAS, especially during busy periods, because the forms have to be checked carefully for accuracy before being scanned and photocopied.

Keeping you informed
Whichever application pathway you decide to use, UCAS will offer a similar service, confirming that your application has been received, forwarding the relevant data to your selected universities or colleges and relaying decisions made by admissions staff.

You should bear in mind the following key points when considering higher education options:

• 2003 is the first year of the new 'blind' application system, which means that rival institutions will not know where else you are thinking of studying. While this should not have any effect on the way your application is made, we do know of candidates with amazingly elaborate but totally unnecessary strategies for matching institutions against each other, especially in the most popular and competitive areas of study.
  
• Applications should be made early. The closing date for most courses starting the following September or October is 15 January, which tends to lead to a glut of Christmas applications. This is best avoided, as the Christmas/New Year period (25 December to 1 January) is a major holiday in the UK and almost all schools, colleges, universities and offices are closed.
  
• Applications to Oxford or Cambridge universities, or for courses in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science must be made, in any case, by 15 October.
  
• Art and design applications can sometimes be regarded as exceptions. For courses listed by UCAS as Route A, you apply in the normal way between 1 September and 15 January but UCAS recommends applying by mid-November to allow the universities and colleges time to see your portfolio of work. For Route B courses, applications must be made between 1 January and 24 March (preferably before 8 March).
  
• The four Scottish art colleges have now joined the UCAS Routes A and B system. The Scottish courses are four years long, incorporating a general first year similar to the foundation year offered elsewhere in the United Kingdom. You may need to decide whether to apply for the first year or seek exemption following successful completion of a foundation course elsewhere. (See our article on foundation courses in this issue of The Indian Student).
  
• Your personal statement, in any of the three application pathways outlined above, is your best chance to win over admissions tutors. "Many students fail to put anything on their form about their interest in the subject," says Stephen Dudderidge, admissions co-ordinator at Nottingham University. "Failing to show academic interest can make the difference between getting a place and not getting one."
  
• Outstanding marks from one of the two Central Boards (CBSE or ICSE) or their equivalent or the first year of an Indian degree programme are usually required for direct entry into an undergraduate programme in UK.
  
• For most courses and universities, Indian students are required to take the IELTS (International English Language Test), which is regularly administered by the British Council. Some universities may accept TOEFL as an alternative. Some universities may waive IELTS if your studies to date have been in English and they are convinced that you are proficient in English.

For further information
If you need to know more, visit the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com or call +44 1242 227788.

You might find it useful to purchase copies of 'How to Complete Your UCAS Form' (UK price £9.99) and 'The Complete Guide to Art & Design Courses' (UK price £14.99), both available from UCAS on +44 1242 544610.

Try to visit an international higher education fair. UCAS usually has a presence at fairs in India and is able to give first-hand advice.