What to do in February

What can I be doing in February?

Year 13.

Student Finance : will be opening towards the end of this month / March. If you require a student loan it is best to register early. It does not matter if you change university, the loan is not dependent upon which university you attend, rather upon the state of your and your family’s finances. For more information :Student finance in England - Everything you need to know

Sign up to Student Finance England’s mailing list to find out when you can apply.

If this is your first time applying, you can use Student Finance England’s guide to help you understand how student finance works.

If you have received all your offers: Most have until 6th May before you need to actively choose a firm and an insurance choice. There is nothing to be gained by making these choices on UCAS until you are absolutely sure. You might like to wait until you have a better idea how high / or low to pitch your insurance choice.

Top tip : You must want to go to your insurance choice. It is no use putting it down if you don’t want to go. Put down a choice you want to go to, and if you don’t reach the grades you can always apply through clearing. However, your insurance choice must be lower than your firm choice.
Note you don’t get to choose which offer you receive. If your firm choice university accepts you, ie you get the grades or very close, then that is what you are offered. You have no rights to choose the insurance, or vice versa. In August you receive one offer. The other is rescinded.

If you are sure, then do accept via UCAS since it is possible it might help your accommodation get sorted more quickly. Each university has different statements about how accommodation is allocated, so you need to visit individual websites to find out more.

For those without offers : If you have not received any offers from your five choics, you may be eligible to use UCAS Extra when it opens on 26 February : Find out more

o It’s not too late to apply. You can apply until 30 June 2026, after which time you will be entered into Clearing.

If you need to change your application: you will need to contact the university directly : What they need to know.

Plan your Revision

o Make a revision plan now and stick to it as best as you can. It’s best to start revising a little and often than leave it all to the last minute. The hard work on Uni applications has been completed. You now need to focus on achieving those offers. Hard work now will pay off later.

Year 12

Start to think strategically about how to have the competitive edge. How do you show your passion for your subjects and for possible future courses? Here are some ideas.

o Keep a journal of topics that catch your interest, and think about how you can further that interest, maybe watch a documentary, ted talk, or complete a MOOC or read an article (Google Scholar recommended), to extend your interest

o Engage in some voluntary work or work experience to show transferable skills if you are looking for a more practical course, such as healthcare, education, caring, hospitality,

o Complete an online MOOC or sample lecture on a topic that interests you

o Many schools have work experience week in June after mocks. Start being proactive and find out when this is and see if you can arrange something. Sometimes going in person is more effective than sending an email.