Wellbeing tips for completing your UCAS application

Although it's a lot of new information and processes to take in, a stress-free start to your application makes the whole process a lot easier and allows you to focus more on planning and thinking about the more fun new exciting experiences and aspects you’ll be able to enjoy soon in the next step of your educational life. I’ve been in your position not too long ago and so I really hope these tips help you.

Remember you're not alone

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talking to people who have been to your choices of university can help majorly. Tutors, teachers, parents, and friends can all help with your application too. Whether it is getting technical details correct or advice on your personal statement, remember a first-time applicant isn’t expected to know and do everything all on their own and feedback can always be helpful.

I found that it can help to remember you aren’t alone and there is always someone who you can reach out to. Students up and down the country are going through this as well so you won’t be alone in any anxieties you may have. Me and my best friend at my 6^th form college would sit together while we worked on our applications, so that we could ask each other for help or advice about hard bits. If we needed more help, we would ask our college tutor for some extra support and he was always willing to assist when he had the time.

Thankfully there is so much support set up for students along the way. For example, you can always contact the university who are there to make this process as smooth and stress-free as possible. The admissions team at Leeds Beckett can be reached on this number 0113 812 3113 or email.

Take your time

Applying for something as big as higher education can sometimes feel kind of intense, especially as the application deadline approaches. Start looking at places and courses you’re interested in as early as you can and work on your application whenever you get the chance. Doing it in smaller sections over a longer period of time is a great way to approach this. Your personal statement will probably take the longest, so set aside some time for yourself to focus on it. Once I filled out my important details, I tried to work on the personal statement for 30 minutes each day, this made it way less stressful. Tackling it in small sections meant I got to see the gradual progress each day which was really motivating. It’s important that you approach the application at your own pace, and don’t end up having to rush yourself. The more thought you put into the application the better, it’s not a race!

Do your research and keep your options open

Do plenty of research on the universities and courses you’re applying to and take advantage of the five UCAS choices. What subject are you the most passionate about? Which has the best facilities? Which town or city would best suit you? Attending Open Days or campus tours at potential universities can help answer some of these questions and help you make up your mind as well as provide a window into what you can expect life to be like at that university, both inside and out of the campus. Making this your first step in the process means later on, you can cater your personal statement to your chosen subjects. It’s good to use all five choices UCAS gives you to apply if you don’t yet have a specific place, you’re interested in. Prioritise your favourite choices but make applications elsewhere too, multiple options are much safer.

Take breaks

To avoid burnout and stress, the best thing you can do is make sure you’re taking breaks away from your application. Physical breaks away from the screen as well as mental breaks are both very important for your health and help you to retain information, keep a more positive mood and keep your mind cleared for some of the big exciting decisions you will be making. Sometimes just moving away from the computer for five minutes can make a big difference. Make sure you’re taking time to do things you enjoy and not spending every waking moment with your mind on your application, go enjoy your hobbies! This will help you feel less overwhelmed and it’ll let you come back to your application with fresh eyes. I liked to take breaks to go make a cup of tea, to walk my dog or even stop and have some dinner. Keeping myself occupied doing other things with my mind during a break was always helpful and refreshing for me. Sometimes you can get stuck on a single idea or point for too long and just need to interrupt the thought process with something else to get going again.

Planning

Planning out how you want to deal with your application can really ease any stress and make the workload feel less. Find out when there are Open Days and events, organise half an hour with a teacher to talk through what your application needs and think about when will be best for you to have a go at your personal statement. Being able to look at your plan and UCAS Hub page to see how far you’ve come will give you a confidence boost. Some personal advice that helps me is to list everything I have to do, look at, research or write and break the list into small chunks. I keep deadline times in mind but doing a small chunk a day can make it feel like I have less to do and can feel more rewarding when I do it. It keeps my mind motivated.

Most important however is that you relax. Applying isn’t supposed to be upsetting or stressful, it’s supposed to be an exciting time to tell universities all about yourself and prove to them what an awesome student they would be taking on. Go get them! You can do it!