Our Progression and Employability team are here to provide students with advice and guidance on their next steps after college. Whether that is the world of work, an apprenticeship or university they will ensure students have a plan for their next steps.

Supporting Students with their Next Steps
Our team of experienced advisers can help support all students with planning their next steps after college; whether this is applying for university, gap years, apprenticeships, full time work or another college course.

If your son/daughter/young person needs help deciding what to do at the end of this year please ask them to come along to a drop in session. These are based in our Progression Hub in the Ground Floor of the Tower Building from 12:00 – 14:30 on Monday to Friday so please encourage them to come along and see us.

We can also offer one to one appointments for careers advice. To find out about this service you can contact us on 01392 4000330 or progressionteam@exe-coll.ac.uk

Has your son/ daughter applied for university to start this autumn?

If so, they need to apply for Student Finance by 31st May 2018.

You can support your son/daughter/young person to complete their application for student finance. Students may need help with this and they need to apply now, even before they have had all their offers and made a decision about where they are studying. Sometimes the process can take a few months to collect and process your household income details. It is worth doing the application together and you will receive an email from student finance to complete your income information, so they can assess the application.

Beware – If the application is received after 31st May then your son/daughter/young person may not have the finance in place when they start university in the autumn. To start the application process, please click here.

Need extra support at college? Apply for Disabled Students Allowance [DSA].

If your son/daughter/young person has had extra support with learning or exams or getting to or around college they could be entitled to extra help at university. However, they need to apply before they go to get this organised. Check eligibility and apply for Disabled Students Allowance here.

Budgeting for University

It is also useful to have a conversation with your son/daughter/young person about budgeting and finance for university, before they accept their offers or organise accommodation to make sure that they can afford to go to their first choice university.

Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert offers a lot of support to students and parents with explaining student finance and budgeting for university. Read more here.

UCAS: What happens next?

Replying to Offers

Second year students who applied by 15th January 2018 should have received offers from their choices via UCAS Track. They need to select their preferred choices by 6th May, using the UCAS Track system. Students opt for a CF (Conditional Firm) – their first choice institution – and a CI (Conditional Insurance) – a lower grade offer as a back-up if they don’t get the required grades for their CF choice.

If students do not reply to UCAS by 6th May all offers will be cancelled.

If students haven’t received any offers, or want to change their subject choice they can do this by using UCAS Extra.

Late Applications

Students can still make a late application to UCAS until 30th June 2018.

Did you know that Exeter College also offers university level courses in partnership with local universities? These can give you access to high quality teaching and resources and with lower fees too. Find out more here or contact us on 01392 400909 to speak to our dedicated Higher Education adviser.

Applying for University in 2019?

How you can support your son/daughter/young person with making choices about courses and institutions

• Support students with going to open days and also with checking choices are a good fit with the student’s longer term goals.
• Check student’s personal statement – does it make sense? Are there any obvious spelling, grammatical errors, etc, that need correcting?
• Remind students to make full use of support available and encourage them to speak to their Personal Tutor, or the Progression Team, if they are unclear or unsure about the process or what to do next.
• Registration for UCAS will happen at the beginning of September and the Progression and Employability Team will support tutors and students with the application process.

Upcoming Events >>>

27th March: 1st Year Parents’ Evening, 4.30-7.30pm

Careers’ Talks – Tower Lecture Theatre

• Inspire Your Future presentation, 5pm and again at 5.30pm, delivered by Moj Taylor from ‘Push’ – inspiration for your next steps in college or for your longer term future and career goals.
• National Citizen Service presentation, 6pm and again at 6.30pm – Learn more about how young people can boost their CV, self-confidence and more with this nationally recognised activity programme.

For more information and in order to book your place, please visit here.

Advice and guidance also available from:

• Progression and Employability for all careers advice
• Next Steps South West for those aspiring to university study
• Apprenticeships Team
• National Careers Service for more on boosting CVs and confidence with their free summer programme

29th March – STEM Careers Fair, 10am-3pm, Maths and Science Centre

Nearly 30 different STEM-related workshops available – please encourage students to book their place in order to hear from a variety of guest speakers from STEM backgrounds and careers. Further information will be given to students shortly.

STEM Careers Exchange running between 12-2pm

Thursday 19th April – Exeter College Expo, 4-7pm, Exeter College Sports Hall

Discover what the college has to offer from its wide range of full time courses and apprenticeships all under one roof! For more information, please visit here.

The Progression and Employability Team will be based in the Expo Advice Zone, along with the College Advice Team and Learning Support. Please join us for information about next steps, whether considering another college course, an apprenticeship, Higher Education at Exeter College or elsewhere and for support in planning for your future.