Best Female On Screen!

My daughter has been nominated for 'Best Female On Screen' for NaSTA awards 2013!!

Here's her short video compilation.

Kudos to LSTV (Leeds Student TV) for their marvelous performance every week and for providing an extremely encouraging environment for each and everyone to learn and grow! I'm absolutely amazed and highly appreciative, having seen (as a student's mom) the insides and their working, nomination or not.
LSTV, may your tribe increase!!

This was a special post for this very update. I had to shout it out!

First offer...Rejection!

The first Uni to reply was Sheffield. This was amongst my daughter's top 2 choices. Unfortunately I logged into track that morning to find some 'changes' made.

It was a plain 'unsuccessful application'. And there it was, staring back at me, without any change, however long I looked at it. I even tried to log in again hoping there was some kind of error! Well there wasn't. The reply was too quick after months of hard work. Her predicted grades were higher than the asking for that course. And so we tried to get a feedback on the reason for the unsuccessful application. They asked for my daughter's 10th class grades, we sent, but we were still not given a reason.

If the first offer to come is unsuccessful, the idea takes longer to seep in and it may lead to thoughts like 'what if' imaginary rejections! And you start working on the back up plan/s in earnest. 'Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best', an excellent thought to keep in mind.

My daughter was however very 'cool' about the whole thing. There were 4 other offers to wait for and she needed to concentrate on her upcoming final exams, which she (thankfully) duly did. And very rarely logged into track. But I almost hyperactively did!!

Thou shalt wait...patiently

Thou shalt wait patiently...for UCAS to show changes in your application.

Oh the wait..the agonizing wait!
After a whole year and more of researching, planning, choosing, writing, editing and finally hitting the 'send' button, you realize it's no more in your hands. It's been SENT!

Now all you've got to do is wait. Well that's for us parents. The student concerned has to wait, yes, but has to study too. And study really hard without any distractions, if that's possible!

How does one do that when all you can think of is to log in to 'track' and check for any changes. Or may be check in the mail. Here came all my experience as a motivational speaker handy. I used my favourite quotes, pinned a particular poem near her study table (much to her annoyance, then!) and advised her to change her focus for the time being and zoom in to the 12th class exam which was closer at hand.

Easier said than done. If she got into her Universities of choice, Sheffield or Leeds, she'd be on cloud 9 and beyond. If she got into her next choice, Bournemouth, she'd be on cloud, well, 7 or 8. If she got into the others in her order of preference, she'd still be satisfied. But, WHAT IF...? What if she didn't make it to the any of them! There was a back up plan. she had applied to a couple of universities/colleges in India too. Some not so high ranking ones.

However, a 'life altering decision like studying in UK' and 'continuing with your life decision' of studying in India cannot be compared. So though there was a back up plan, it was as good as having no plan!

Yet she needed to concentrate on the exam at hand. Which I think she managed to do very effectively. We, as parents, went about our jobs routinely, keeping a stress free atmosphere at home. In fact we went a step ahead. We watched movies, celebrated birthdays that came during the exams, went for picnics, used up our 'free stay' hotel coupons, come to think of it, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves throughout my daughter's 12th board exams!

Which by the way, lasted for a whole month and half for 5 subjects.

Personal Statement - a clear and shiny reflection of you!

Now this is the tricky part. A lot of what goes into distinguishing and filtering the large number of applications. A good personal statement can easily make it or break it for you.

Having read all this and more, my daughter became jittery and avoided sitting down to actually writing it!

It can be intimidating, yet I think it's a wonderful idea to put 'yourself in words'. Who you are, what you think and why this course, rather than just a name with a set of grades and numbers sent to the admissions office. Especially for international students who won't be facing the actual interview face to face. The personal statement is the personality of the person writing it. I sincerely wish we have something of this sort for admissions here in India too.

Most universities actually mention on their websites what it is that they expect of the students. It becomes fairly easy if you go through and keep those particular points in mind while writing.

Any standard written piece can be dealt with by following CODER. Something I found useful in CBSE books, while teaching English to senior classes.

C - Collect your ideas. (Keep scribbling down ideas that come to you over a period of time).
O - Order of the ideas. (Follow a logical sequence).
D - Draft your ideas cohesively. (Learn and use linking words and phrases).
E - Edit what you have written.
R - Revise (keep revising and editing till it's perfect!).

Another useful way for helping you kickstart your personal statement writing is this UCAS worksheet .  Complete this worksheet and you have something to start working on. Other than this read up as much as you can on other websites too. Just google 'personal statement' and immerse yourself in the gazillion sites. Then DO get down to writing.

Have a captivating opening moving onto a detailed yet crisp middle and a smart closing. I know easier said than done. But try doing it and it will become easier!

 'The student room' has some examples of actual personal statements, by subject, with reviews and constructive comments from experts which really helped a lot.

After my daughter had written the first draft, she and the rest of us in the family read, re-read and re-read for a month before she finalized it. Very satisfied that it was over. However, realizing just as soon that she had used much more than the character limit on the actual form. Resizing after an almost perfect PS proved to be even more difficult. She went back to reading what is expected and chose carefully the more important parts and with a heavy heart, cut out the rest!

So it takes patience. And commitment. Besides language skills. A few qualities even the admissions tutors are looking for in suitable candidates. A personal statement, after all, does speak about you!

Please feel free to leave your email in the comments to ask for more details of what went into my daughter's personal statement.

UCAS - Application Time

With the 'research' done and the 5 unis chosen, now came the time for the actual application.

UCAS, United Colleges and Asmissions Service, or the organisation through which you apply to the higher education courses in the UK. A centralized application system for the entire nation. Now that is something worth writing about.

It's unimaginable how this organization is actually so well organized! We have unequivocally been raving about this entire application procedure to our family and friends. Physically we didn't have to move more than just a few fingers - for typing, that is. And that's actually it!

Each and everything is given in detail, not just for reading but youtube videos demonstrating, directing, holding your hand and taking you through the entire procedure.  Hats off to you guys!

Do please keep the following few things in mind before applying:

1. The application dates and deadlines. All clearly stated on the website. The registrations are now open for  admissions in September, 2013. That means the students of class 12th and final year undergraduates should now be neck deep into the procedure.

2. Ask your teachers to write down 12th finals predicted marks for you on a school letterhead, subject-wise with each teacher's signature. This is not normally done in Indian schools, so you will have to explain exactly what you want. Also you will require a letter of reference (LOR) from either your present class teacher or a subject teacher. Find someone who really likes you! These letters should be signed by your principal with the school seal at the end. (Please feel free to ask me for more details, in the comments box.)

3. When registering for UCAS note down the password and username clearly in the same diary you were maintaining for tables and notes (as suggested in my previous post). You can register and save. Come back when you have all you material ready for application. You needn't do everything in one go.

4. Go to the chosen university websites and note down the university code as well as the subject code. Double check. Even if you're taking someone's help for applying, you must ensure these are filled in correctly. We took the help of an authorized consultancy here in Delhi. Back then we weren't too sure it could all have been done ourselves.

5. Prepare to write the most important aspect, if you haven't already -
your PERSONAL STATEMENT.

Questions to UCAS can be asked here

Some international student FAQs can be found here

You can always get in touch with them by calling - 0044 871 468 0 468 (for international calls). Timings - Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 6:00 pm UK time.  We spoke to them a couple of times during the application procedure and were always met with genuine help.


NEXT - ADVICE ON WRITING PERSONAL STATEMENT 

NOW - Featured in UCAS Connect!

My enthusiasm has doubled and my zeal's tripled. The roller coaster ride continues as I very proudly now continue my journey associated with UCAS.

Read more parent blogs here and click here for student and UCAS adviser's blogs. Highly informative and based on personal experience, each one will certainly ease the path and answer a lot of queries any new university applicant may have.

All the best to everyone who's applying!

WHICH university-2-the final five

The final 5 universities my daughter chose, in order of preference, for her under-graduation in Journalism were:

1. University of Sheffield : Subject - Journalism Studies (BA) Accredited by PTC, NCTJ, BJTC.
2. University of Leeds : Subject - Broadcast Journalism (BA Hons). Accredited by BJTC
3. Bournemouth University : Subject - Multimedia Journalism (BA Hons). Accredited by - BJTC, PTC, NCTJ.
4. Nottingham Trent University  : Subject - Broadcast Journalism (BA Hons). Accredited by BJTC.
5. University of Westminster  : Subject - Journalism (BA Hons). Accredited by BJTC

Generally speaking each had an entry requirement of around 85% going down to 65% overall in 12th standard, CBSE. Plus an IELTS score of 7 to 7.5 or above and/or 85% and above in 12th standard English specifically for Broadcast Journalism.

BJTC- Broadcast Journalists Training Council. Find out more about what it is and which courses are accredited.
NJTC - National Council for the Training of Journalists. To find out more, look up their website.  

In this list, the top 2 are highly ranked in the league tables and amongst the topmost in UK for Journalism.  Bournemouth is not so highly ranked overall but is excellent for the subject. The last two had lower entry requirements (than my daughter's predicted) and even though are not ranked so high in the league tables, they are quite well known for this subject and a host of others. So this final 5 list was kind of balanced. Whether she scored well or lower than expected. That actually removed a lot of pressure off her for her 12th board exams. All this was done by August-September of 12th standard.

Now that the 5 Universities were identified we started with the actual application procedure. 

NEXT - UCAS and the application process