Reach for Excellence Guidelines for Applicants 2018/19 Online Application Form
Guidance for Applicants to the Reach for Excellence scheme: This guidance will help you to complete the Reach for Excellence (RfE) online application form. You will be required to enter your personal details such as your GCSE results, so it s a good idea to be prepared and have all the information that you might need ready. Please note that you will also need to provide details of a referee in support of your application. This might be a teacher, tutor, or careers adviser. Make sure that you inform your referee of your intention to apply before you submit your application, so that they are aware they will be asked to provide a reference. Note: Before you apply, please consult our website to check that you meet the scheme s eligibility criteria The Reach for Excellence (RfE) application form is available online here: https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/reach-for-excellence-1819-entry You do not have to complete the application in one sitting. There is a Finish later button at the bottom of each page of the application form, located below the Next button. If you wish to save your responses and return to your application at a later date, then click the Finish later button and either bookmark the URL web address or enter your email address, to receive an email containing the URL, so you can return to your application at a later date. We recommend that you do both. Click Here! Bookmark this URL to return to your application at a later date. WARNING: If you need to return to the form at a later date you need to ensure you have accurately entered your email address or bookmarked the URL web address. The application form does not save automatically and we cannot unite applicants with their unfinished application form if they have lost their finish later link. You will have to complete the whole application form again! ALL parts of the application must be submitted online by 12pm on Friday 16 th November 2018.
Guidance: Section 1 Personal Details Please fill in each section, including phone number and a valid email address. You may also wish to specify a Preferred Name that we will use in our correspondence with you. For example if your name is Victoria but you prefer to be called Vicky when we write to you, put that in the preferred name box. Top Tips! Pay close attention when entering your postal address to ensure that you enter the correct information in the corresponding box. It s important we have an accurate record of your address. Do not attempt to type out your full address into any one of the boxes. The red Required symbol next to a question means that you must answer that question as part of your application. You will not be allowed to navigate to the next part of the application form until you have completed all the required questions on the current page. It is very important to inform the Student Talent Spotting Team if you change your email or postal address so that we can keep you updated on the progress of your application. Please include details of any disability or medical condition you have. This section is not compulsory, but if you require extra support when attending events on the University campus, please let us know so we can make the relevant arrangements for you. Section 2 How did you hear about the scheme? Please select the appropriate option to let us know how you first heard about the Reach for Excellence scheme. For example this might have been through a talk at your school or college, via the website, or perhaps through a friend. You are allowed to tick as many options as you like, as we realise more than one option may apply. If you heard about the scheme through an option that is not listed, select the Other option and write in the box that is provided below. Likewise, if you have previously participated in any events at the University of Leeds then let us know. You must fill in the other box if you have selected other to be able to move to the next part of the application form. Just because it isn t listed above, doesn t mean we don t want to know!
Section 3 GCSE Qualifications Summary Use this section to record which GCSE subjects you studied, and the grade you achieved for each one. There are dropdown boxes for you to select the qualification type, the subject studied and grade achieved. We have used information obtained from the previous cohorts of Reach for Excellence students to ensure that we have listed most of the possible GCSE options. When you click on the arrow, the dropdown box menu will appear and you will be able to select from a range of different subjects, listed in alphabetical order. Likewise, you can select from a range of different qualification types (GCSE, BTEC) and achieved grades. However, if you have studied a qualification that isn t listed, simply select Other from the dropdown box, select the correct grade and qualification type and then send an email to the Student Talent Spotting Team to let us know what subject you have studied. Make sure you clearly state your name and email address so we can match your qualification to your application form. The Reach for Excellence email address is: reachforexcellence@leeds.ac.uk There are fifteen boxes provided, but don t worry, we don t expect all students to have studied fifteen different qualifications so leave any extra boxes blank if you don t need them. Section 4 Applicant Statement You must write a minimum of 1,500 characters in your statement and a maximum of 6,000 characters. This equates roughly to a minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 1,000 words. We recommend that you write and save the statement in a separate document, before pasting it into the box on the form (as whilst you can save your application form, it s easier to check your character count and spelling and grammar on MS Word). It s important to pay attention to the character count as the application form will not let you submit a statement that exceeds 6,000 characters. If you are using MS Word, you will find the character count function under the Review tab and it will bring up a window as below:
Top Tips! Briefly plan your applicant statement before writing and delegate a certain amount of characters to each paragraph or section. It is easier to add extra information than it is to cut out important information in order to stay within the character limits. This section is for you to tell us about why you want to take part in the Reach for Excellence scheme. It is a really good opportunity to practice thinking about the kinds of things you might want to include (or work towards being able to include) on your UCAS form. We are interested in you as a person as well as your academic goals, so you could tell us about your wider interests, and also how you feel the scheme might help you to develop them in future. For example you could include details of any hobbies, extra-curricular activities or volunteering that you have done, or that you are hoping to try. Please note: If your studies have been disrupted or if your only higher education option is to attend a local university you must provide additional details of this in the applicant statement. If you have indicated that you would like to study medicine or dentistry at university please make sure that you have read the specific guidance in the red box below, as medicine and dentistry events on Reach for Excellence are particularly competitive, and places are very limited. This means we really need as much detailed information as you can provide. N.B. Applications from students interested in medicine and dentistry: Please note that you may only apply for either the medicine or the dentistry strand, and not both. You must therefore clearly indicate to which of these you are applying. To give yourself the best chance of being able to access medicine or dentistry taster sessions and events please make sure that you use the Applicant Statement to tell us why you should be awarded a place on this scheme in this subject area. You should include your reasons for wanting to study medicine or dentistry, and what has affected or motivated your decision. Think about the characteristics that you believe you have that would mean you would make a good doctor or dentist: can you demonstrate these by writing about your wider interests (e.g. sports, social, community related) to show that you would be a suitable candidate. You may have examples of interests not directly linked to medical or dental practice that still demonstrate aspects of your suitability. For example, hobbies that require you to work with your hands are useful to demonstrate that you have manual dexterity skills which would be useful in dentistry. Similarly, you might have interests that demonstrate you are a proactive person who works well in teams and with all kinds of people. If you have undertaken any work experience, volunteering, or courses that are relevant to any aspect of medicine or dentistry you should include information about these and how they helped to affirm your decision to apply.
Section 5 School and College Information Please tell us where you studied for your GCSEs in the first box, and where you are studying for your A Levels / equivalent in the second box. If you are studying at the same place, do not leave the second box blank. Type the same school and/or college into both boxes. Section 6 A Level Qualifications Summary Please select the subjects you are studying for A Level from the dropdown boxes provided. The format for this section is similar to that of the GCSE section. We do not require your predicted grades. If you are studying for a different kind of qualification, the drop down boxes should accommodate this, for example BTEC, International Baccalaureate, etc. If you are studying for a qualification that isn t listed, simply select Other from the dropdown box and then send an email to the Student Talent Spotting Team to let us know what subjects you are currently studying. Make sure you clearly state your name and email address so we can match your qualification to your application form. The Reach for Excellence email address is: reachforexcellence@leeds.ac.uk. Please note, if you are studying an EPQ then simply tick the box. We do not require an email providing additional details such as the subject or title of your EPQ. Section 7 University Subject Interest Please tell us if you have any ideas about what you might like to study in the future. If you have not yet decided, you might like to think about which subjects you enjoy and which subjects sound interesting, or that you would like to hear more about. Think about what potential career you might like in the future. Don t worry if you re not entirely sure, we want to see what ideas you currently have. Section 8 Eligibility Criteria This section is designed to confirm that you are eligible for the Reach for Excellence scheme. Please tick the box next to any criteria you believe that you meet. If you are not sure which boxes to tick, please give us a call or email us using the contact details provided on the last page of this booklet. Think carefully to make sure you tick all the options that apply to you.
If you tick the box indicating that you are from a household with a gross annual income of 25,000 or below, some evidence will be required. As shown above on the application form, there are three possible ways to demonstrate that you meet this financial criterion: You were in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) during your GCSE studies: In this case, a referee from your school or college can confirm that you were in receipt of FSM during your GCSE studies. or Your school/college can verify that the gross annual income in your household has been assessed for the Discretionary Fund and has been confirmed as being 25,000 or below. or If you do not meet either of the above criteria but your household income is below 25,000: Your parent or guardian should complete a Declaration of Household Income form to verify that the household income is not above 25,000. This form is not available to fill in online as part of the electronic application form. You will need to download this form from our website and get your parent/carer to fill it in and return it to us in the post. The form is available at the following link: https://studenttalentspotting.leeds.ac.uk/rfeapply/ Return to: The Student Talent Spotting Team, Reach for Excellence Programme, Educational Engagement, 18 Blenheim Terrace, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9HD Section 9 Referee s Details You need to fill in the details of the Teacher, Tutor or Careers Advisor who has agreed to act as your referee so that we can check any details of your application with them. You will need to include the following information: School/College Name of Referee Referee s Job Title Referee s email address Telephone number to reach Referee (e.g. this may be the School/College telephone number) LEA (Local Education Authority) Make sure your Referee is an individual who has knowledge of your academic and personal capabilities so they can give the best and most accurate reflection of you.
Contact Us: The Reach for Excellence team will be happy to help if you have any queries or if more guidance is needed for you to complete your application form. Reach for Excellence email address: reachforexcellence@leeds.ac.uk You can also telephone us: 0113 343 8471