When I was 16, I didn’t think I was going to definitely go to university. But my other plans were derailed, and I started to consider applying for universities on the suggestion of my Geography teacher. I was the first in my family to go to university. My parents have the equivalent of three O Levels between them. So, we needed great guidance and support from the teachers at my school, and we were really lucky to have that support.

I was lucky enough to be offered a place at Oxford to read Geography, and since then, in my teaching career, I’ve been really fortunate to be involved with UCAS and Oxbridge admissions for a number of years across a whole range of schools. I’ve supported candidates for Geography, Earth Science and similar disciplines – together with broad candidates from other areas – and my university advice has been some of the most impactful and meaningful work I’ve ever done.

But what if you’re a teacher who wants to support candidates, and you don’t know where to start? I’ve specifically tailored some advice here to the Oxbridge application process, but it supports a lot of Geography candidates for all universities, too.

I want to signpost some resources that are helpful for all students considering university applications first:

• Overview of UCAS Advice
• Support for Decision Making
• Advice on Personal Statements
• Helping to choose locations
• Personal Statement Worksheet

Hopefully, in this series of posts, I can give you some ideas and support – and you can always drop me a DM if you want to chat further.

I’ll look at:

1. Raising aspirations – and thinking about how and when you start encouraging students to consider Geography at university, or at Oxbridge.
2. Becoming a serious candidate – what are the timescales?
3. Laying the groundwork – scholarship in subject
4. Preparing the personal statement
5. Making the application – all of the other bits
6. Preparing for admissions tests
7. Preparing for interviews
8. Coaching and approaches

Let’s have a look at what each of these components might be.