Your UCAS Application
The Universities and College Admissions Service (UCAS) is an online system used to apply to university in the UK. The UCAS application is all-inclusive and serves as a good representation of your qualifications, skills and potential as a clinician. Dental schools decide which candidates get invited to interview based on the UCAS application. It is a good idea to sort your application out as early as you can because your final year in school can get quite busy! Note that applications for dental school usually need to be submitted by the October of the year before you plan to enter university. Visit www.ucas.ac.uk for exhaustive infomation on how the service works.
What is included on my UCAS application?
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Your personal details (email address, criminal record, special needs, contact details etc.)
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Academic history (your GCSE's & AS grades)
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Qualifications (eg. Music certificates, Dance certificates, any other qualifications you have!)
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Employment/Education history
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Your university choices in order of preference (you're allowed 4 dentistry choices & 1 additional choice: consider whether your backup choice will allow you to transfer into dentistry if you want to!)
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Your personal statement (see below for tips!)
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A reference from a teacher
Your Personal Statement
Writing your personal statement may be one of the more extensive things on your application, but it's the place where you can say whatever you think will make you stand out amongst the crowd. It's a good idea to get a start on it early so that you can review and edit it well ahead of the time your UCAS application should be in. Some important things to include in your personal statement are:
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Why you want to study dentistry
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Your A-Level choices
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What you learnt while on work experience or volunteering
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How your experience with any extra-curricular activities may help you within your dental career eg. dance, sports, clubs... whatever!
Click here for additional advice on writing your personal statement!