alt.uk.a-levels FAQ Last updated: 21st September 2003 =================== Introduction ------------ This is the alt.uk.a-levels (AUA) FAQ. Anybody studying for A-Levels and/or intending to go to university in the UK should find it useful. This FAQ is posted periodically to alt.uk.a-levels and is also available at http://www.axeuk.com/aua/. To suggest questions or answers to add or change in this FAQ, please reply to this thread or email alex@axeuk.com. Here are some things we need Questions and Answers on: - new UCAS info about "apply" - UCAS Extra - clearing If you've read a previous version of the FAQ, "What's New" information appears at the bottom if you don't want to read it all again. The Questions (and Answers) --------------------------- The Questions are divided into six sections. The basic idea is that they form a roughly chronological layout corresponding to the various stages of doing A-Levels and going to university. I. A-Levels, AS-Levels and alt.uk.a-levels An introduction to the A-Level system and the newsgroup II. Studying Something you should be doing throughout... III. Applying to University Something you usually do in the Autumn of Year 13 (Upper 6th form), though ought to be considering beforehand IV. Exams and Offers Summer of Year 13 - taking exams and meeting your conditional offer(s) V. Going to university All the stuff that's fit to worry about VI. At University Day to day life, and beyond I. A-LEVELS, AS-LEVELS AND ALT.UK.A-LEVELS --------------------------------------------- Q. Er, what's an A-Level? A. AS and A-Level exams are sat by 17 and 18 year olds in England and Wales. They are the most common way of gaining access to university. Grades go from A to E. Students typically sit four or five AS-Levels in their first year of sixth form, and then go on to sit three or four A-Levels in their second year - although the number of AS and A-Levels you may take is largely dependent on your school or college. University offers are only made on the basis of three A-Levels (although some, such as Cambridge and Warwick, ask for STEP papers as well). Although the majority of British students sit the AS/A2 examinations, other qualifications commonly accepted for matriculation at universities in the UK are Scottish highers, the International Baccalaureate, and for some mature students, the Access to Higher Education certificate. Q. How is an AS-Level different from an A-Level? A. AS levels are worth half an A-Level. They're a bit easier than an old A-Level. You add an A2 to an AS to get an A-Level - the A2s are a bit harder than an old A-Level so it makes it all equal and fluffy in the end. Q. What's STEP? How do I prepare for it? A. STEP stands for Sixth Term Examination Paper, and is essentially a more demanding exam, more in line with the style of questioning you will receive at university, rather than "Gurjit and Dipak measure two sides of a triangle and the common angle. Use the sine rule to find the length of the other side." An emphasis is placed on complete answers, rather than "showing your working." Start preparing as soon as you have made your Firm and Insurance choices. Often you will need a little more technical knowledge of the subject, but not much. Then practice, practice and practice. Find as many scripts and example solutions as you can. Past papers and examiners' reports are available from the OCR website at http://www.ocr.org.uk/ http://meikleriggs.org.uk/ contains worked solutions of all the recent Maths STEP papers. Q. So, what's alt.uk.a-levels all about? What sort of things can I post here? A. Alt.uk.a-levels receives posts mainly from A-Level students, university students, teachers and university admissions tutors in the UK. Some posts cover A-Levels and other relevant things, but there's plenty of other discussion on all subjects. The name "alt.uk.a-levels" is often abbreviated to "AUA". You can post pretty much anything - say what you like, as nothing is off- topic because nothing is on-topic, not even A-Levels. Some quick guidelines: If starting a thread, it's usually a good idea to have a clear subject line. If you're trying to sell something put FS at the start of it. If replying to a post, reply at the bottom and make sure you cut unnecessary quotes from your reply. Binaries and HTML are a no-no, as with most other newsgroups. Q. Give me some advice on reading newsgroups. A. Windows comes with Outlook Express, which is reasonable, although there are better programs out there for reading newsgroups. These other programs offer features such as killfiles so you can ignore posts from people you find annoying. Such programs are: Agent: http://www.forteinc.com/ Gravity: http://gravity.tbates.org/ A good idea if you use Outlook Express is to set it not to run JavaScript in messages. AUA doesn't receive many nasty messages that include this, but it's best to be safe, so it is advisable to go to Tools, Options, Security, and then select the Restricted Sites Zone. To use newsgroups, you need to set your newsreader up to use a news server. Your ISP should have one of these, so check their web pages for information. If they don't provide a news server, or if the one they provide is slow or missing messages, an excellent free news server is news.individual.net (formerly known as news.cis.dfn.de). You can sign up for this by going to http://news.individual.net/. II. STUDYING -------------- Q. Honestly, it was my computer, it broke, and I've got to do this coursework by tomorrow, so can somebody here do this question please? A. No. And I suppose you're aware somebody from UCAS or your exam board could be reading? Things could get quite nasty. We don't believe you. Don't be a lazy bastard. Do your own homework. Q. OK, but I am having trouble with this Canine Molecular Differentiability Equation. It seems if I use a value of 4.27.... A. Yes, yes, feel free to ask specific questions like that. You might get a useful answer. Allowing you to do the question. That's much better. Q. Tell me some good revision techniques. A. Obviously, reading old notes through, and condensing them. Plus: - look at past papers - lots of them - look at examiners reports - lots and lots of them - talk to your teachers and ask nicely for things - showing that you'll put some effort in in return - use active revision techniques - hell, do a http://groups.google.com search on alt.uk.a-levels and you'll find shed loads of them. Really weird people even talk to themselves. - try making notes of some key things that you've got to memorise (e.g. for Law you might make a list of cases for each topic) and stick them up in prominent places. For example, the back of the toilet door, or by the mirror in your room. Q. You say to look at lots of past papers above, but under the new AS/A2 system there are just two! A. You can still practice well by looking at past papers from old or other syllabuses similar to the one you're doing. III. APPLYING TO UNIVERSITY ---------------------------- Q. I want to apply to Oxford/Cambridge. I've heard that I'll get instantly rejected by my other choices if I do this. A. For one thing, don't be absurd. For another thing, why would any university want to reject a good applicant? Plenty of people who apply to Oxbridge don't get in, after all. For a third thing, a recent change to the UCAS system means universities can't see where else you're applying. Q. Give me further Oxford/Cambridge advice! A. http://www.oxbridge-info.co.uk contains experiences of past applicants plus many Oxbridge-related FAQs. Q. I want to apply for subject X for entry this September, which is only Y months away for some value of Y less than six months! I realise I'm not actually likely to ask a question in precisely this fashion, but is it possible for me to go to uni this year? A. Got, or likely to get, the grades? If so, contact the AT at the uni you want to go to, and discuss it with him/her. If successful, then put in a late UCAS application. Otherwise, wait. You can still apply to university without going into clearing up until 30th June (12th for Art & Design Route B), but it's in the lap of the gods (or ATs as they're usually called) whether or not you actually get a conditional offer. If you submit your form after this date, you'll automatically become eligible for clearing, which starts at 00:01 BST on A- Level results day and ends about 4 weeks later (20th September this year). If you don't have a form and you order one online, delivery can take 5 working days within the UK and 14 days outside the UK. It can also take UCAS around 10 days to process an application. Other than that, good luck! If you have already applied but want to change course late in the applications cycle, you could decline all offers and apply through UCAS Extra. If you have already confirmed your choices, you'll need to write to your Firm and/or Insurance unis and ask them VERY nicely to release you. They are certainly not obliged to do so. This is easier do if you want to apply to a different course at your Firm uni - they may replace one offer with another. Q. How expensive is it to study in London? A. Quite. You get an increased student loan, which should make up for the higher rents. For other things, shop around - groceries will cost you the same as elsewhere if you shop sensibly with a national supermarket chain (Tesco, Sainsbury's, etc.), but more if you go to the smaller London-wide chains (Europa, Harts, etc.). The student union will have decently priced drinks, but if you go to a posh pub or a club, expect to have to sell your internal organs. Q. I need help filling out my UCAS form. A. Go to http://www.scintillae.org.uk for information on this, plus more info on Oxbridge admissions and student finance. Q. How do I apply to UCAS if I'm no longer at school? A. See if http://www.ucas.com/ helps. Q. I got three A's and an E for my AS-Levels. Can I get rid of the E? Or should I just keep quiet about it? A. On your UCAS form you're obliged to tell them about everything, even "poor" grades and failures. You could decline your grade though if you really don't need it. But, if you've got three high grades, no admissions tutor is going to reject you for a fourth bad grade, as offers are only made on the basis of three grades - and your supposedly bad grade may mark you out as a more "rounded" person, if it is in a subject that isn't related to those you did well in. Q. I want to do a Computer Science degree. Are ICT and Computing good A-levels for this? What about Maths? What about General Studies? A. A-Level Computing and ICT don't really cover the same ground as a Computing degree. The best A-Level to take if you want to do Computing is Maths. Here's what some of the unis say: Note: these are the specific requirements for Maths and General Studies A- Levels and AS-Levels, as part of an offer for Computer Science. Generally all universities make offers based on three A-levels. ABERYSTWYTH No information. ASTON Maths A/AS level preferred, but not essential. BATH A-level mathematics is required for all courses except Computer Information Systems (G520 and G521). General Studies is not normally included as part of a conditional offer. BIRMINGHAM A Science subject at A-Level; Mathematics or Physics preferred. General Studies excluded. BRISTOL An A-level in Mathematics is preferred for G400/1/2/3, and is essential for GG14 and GG1K. CAMBRIDGE A2-level Mathematics is essential; AS-level Further Mathematics is very desirable (if your school teaches it) and A2-level Further Maths would be helpful. An A2-level physical science (e.g. Physics or Chemistry) is desirable. Electronics, English, a modern or classical language, or a social science would all be helpful at either AS- or A2-level. Some of the Computing A-levels are helpful (the ones which teach the scientific and mathematical side of the subject) and some are not (the ones that emphasise vocational skills); there is no requirement to take any AS- or A2-level computing courses. You may find that different colleges have slightly different criteria. Some colleges may ask candidates to take the Advanced Extension Award or STEP papers in Mathematics. CARDIFF At least AS-Level Mathematics (or equivalent). DUNDEE A science at a minimum of AS-Level. DURHAM For Computer Science, you don't need A-level Maths although we generally ask for Grade A or B in Maths GCSE or equivalent. EAST ANGLIA No detailed information. EDINBURGH Maths A-level at grade B or AS at grade A. EXETER Preference will be given to applicants who offer at least GCE AS in Mathematics and a GCE A-Level in Computing or Mathematics or a Science subject. GLASGOW A-Level Mathematics required, plus Science or Computing - Physics or Chemistry is desirable. HERIOT-WATT A-Levels Mathematics at grade C or AS-Level at grade B. IMPERIAL COLLEGE Mathematics is required. KENT Mathematics and Computer Science: A-Level Maths grade B CompSci with Management Sci, European CompSci: A-Level Maths grade C CompSci, CompSci and Business Admin,: GCSE Maths grade C KING'S COLLEGE LONDON At least one A-Level in Mathematics, Computer Science, Electronics, Physics or Statistics LANCASTER No specific subjects. LEEDS No specific subjects. LIVERPOOL Maths A-Level at Grade C or AS-Level at Grade B. General Studies is taken into consideration and will usually form part of the formal offer. LOUGHBOROUGH Minimum 40 points from Mathematics - i.e. AS Grade B. MANCHESTER A-level Maths required. NEWCASTLE No specific subjects. NOTTINGHAM General Studies welcomed but not normally included as part of the standard offer. OXFORD Required: Mathematics. Recommended: A Science or Further Mathematics. QUEEN MARY Applicants will preferably have a good grade at full A-Level Maths. A-Level Computing is not necessary. QUEENS, BELFAST At least one of: Mathematics, Computing, Physics, Chemistry, Latin or Information Technology. Double Award VCE I.T. is also acceptable READING General Studies excluded. ROYAL HOLLOWAY A mathematical A-Level subject. SALFORD Mathematics A-Level is not required, but a computer-related subject is preferred. General Studies is normally counted. SHEFFIELD A core requirement is an A-Level in Mathematics. You may count General Studies as one of your A or AS level subjects ST ANDREWS A-Level passes in two of the following subjects at least one being a subject marked *: Biology*, Chemistry*, Computing, Economics, Geography*, Geology, Mathematics*, Physics* or another approved science SOUTHAMPTON No info yet available. SURREY (Computer Science & Engineering): Mathematics at A-Level is required. General Studies A-Level is not normally acceptable as part of the offer SUSSEX For Internet Computing, Computer Science and all degrees involving Computer Science with a minor, A/AS levels must include at least one science subject. SWANSEA Require a good GCSE (or equivalent) in Mathematics. Prefers students to have a post- GCSE qualification in either IT/Computing or Mathematics (or both). However they do consider applicants without either CompSci with Electronics and Comp Mathematics: A-level Maths req'd. Physics and Computer Science: A-level Physics required. UMIST No specific subjects. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Mathematics A-Level required. WARWICK Mathematics A-Level required. YORK Required: Mathematics, Physics or Electronics. It is an advantage to have taken two A-levels in Mathematics - it is encouraged but not required. An A-level (or other qualification) in Computer Science/Studies or IT or ICT is not required. They do not count as a mathematical or physical subject within their requirements. Q. How should I go about choosing a university to apply to? How helpful are league tables? A. League tables tell you about the University as a whole. You're going to study a specific topic in a specific department and some departments of real excellence can be hidden away in an otherwise squirrelly university. Likewise, you may be going to a squirrelly department in an otherwise excellent university. You are presumably coming up to 18 and adulthood, so you get to use your own judgement. What would your response be if I said that the CD I was thinking of buying was 50th in one chart and 56th in another? Do you buy CDs/books/videos/ringtones because critics like them or because you like them? It's stupid to ignore the critics, but it's even more stupid to substitute their judgement for yours. If you think you want to apply to university X, go and visit the place, talk to staff and students, look at their Web site and their brochures. If you like it, go for it. If not, if the place gives you bad "vibes", for whatever reason, steer clear. It's three or four years of your life; it means nothing to the journalists who compile the league tables, usually on the basis of incomplete, obsolete and misleading information. Other sources of intelligence are: - the research rating (don't forget that you won't be able to understand the cutting edge research until at least your final year) - the admissions tutors (see elsewhere) - Which guides and such - people from your school who've gone before - AUA - alternative prospectuses Alternative prospectuses are produced by the student unions and aim to give an impression of student life as the students would tell it, rather than the glossy impression the university itself tries to give in its official prospectus. As such, it's often a good idea to check out the alternative prospectus of the universities you wish to apply to, but, as with the official prospectus, bear in mind that nobody will be able to give a 100% accurate impression of university life to you - your time at university is what you make it. Here are a few links to alternative prospectuses. If you know of others, please reply to this thread or email alex@axeuk.com. Oxford: http://www.ousu.org/main/ProspectiveStudents/ Cambridge: http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/publications/altpro/ Robinson College: http://www-stud.robinson.cam.ac.uk/rcsa/alt-prospectus/ Imperial: http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/media/ap/ There is a site where students can submit comments about their universities at: http://www.realuni.com/index.php?page=altprospectus Q. Teach me about cashing in AS-Level grades before obtaining a full A- Level. A. If you cash in an AS grade, you'll get a nice shiny certificate showing it and you'll be obliged to declare it on your UCAS form. If you want to re- take any units, you can decline the AS grade, but you don't have to. So, to decline or not to decline? Decline (don't cash): If you cash in an AS, and decline the grade, then the situtation is as if you never cashed in the AS in the first place. You therefore can retake units (a maximum of one retake of each) and cash in when you're ready. Bear in mind in this situation you will not be able to put your AS grade on your UCAS form under "Completed Qualifications", since you don't officially have it. This isn't necessarily a good thing, since ATs can ask themselves "Why?" in case you're doing it purely to cover up bad results - but you can mention your grades in your personal statement. Not to Decline (cash): If you wish to retake AS units, and are continuing the subject to A-level then you don't have to decline your grade - you can cash in your qualification. This means you can retake AS units even when you've offically got your AS certificate. Note that is not automatic - you have to request it. Certificates are issued twice a year. Following the retakes the new UMS marks (or best mark, providing you've done less than two retakes) will go forward to form your A-level grade. However your AS grade will remain unchanged. In this situation you must put your AS grade on your UCAS form. So, it may generally be a good option to cash in your AS-Level on the way to obtaining a full A-Level, and not to decline it even if the grades aren't brilliant. AS units are basically quite a lot easier than A2 so even if you do cash in it might not be a bad idea to resit a weaker AS unit to ensure the overall mark is as high as possible. There is no charge for cashing in if you request it in October for the January series or in March for the summer series. If a cash-in request is late, there may be a charge. Q. Screw the system! I want to see what was written in my UCAS reference, and if nobody tells me I'll scream and scream and scream! And then I'll sue! A. Under the Data Protection Act, you can ask UCAS to tell you everything they know about you: http://www.ucas.ac.uk/getting/how/data.html IV. EXAMS AND OFFERS ---------------------- Q. I got rejected by Oxford - is my life over? Or... I don't really like the look of the Cambridge course, but I got accepted - would I be completely bonkers to turn them down? A. The answer to both of these questions is "absolutely NOT"! Try not to get sucked in to the silly thinking which says that there are only two decent universities, and all the others aren't anywhere near as good. This is just plain wrong. There are plenty of excellent universities which have courses which are just as good as those that they do at Oxford and Cambridge; there are plenty of excellent applicants who get turned down by these universities every year and go on to excel elsewhere; and there are plenty of people who, well, want a good education but just want to get it somewhere else, for example in London. Q. OK, I've filled out my UCAS form and sent it off, but now I have questions about what happens next, what happens when offers come in, etc... A. Again, http://www.scintillae.org.uk will tell you all you wish to know. Q. Exam... day... feel... sick... bleuuuugh. Will the examiners mark me up if I send them a sick note? A. An important thing to note is that the examiner themselves will never get to see your plea. The plea goes to the exam board and then they may adjust the mark for the paper afterwards - it will be marked as a standard paper by the examiner themselves. Unfortunately, exam boards get literally thousands of these "sick and sorry" notes, and on the whole rarely take many into account, unless the papers done in the period in question are seriously out of line with the candidate's other marks in that subject. So, give it a go - tell somebody as soon as possible and, importantly, don't worry about it so much that it affects any other exams you take when you're feeling better. Q. Talk to me about retaking modules. Can my school stop/make me retake? A. You can retake each module once - the best mark always counts so if you screw up it shouldn't matter. It costs squid loads to enter an entire year group for a whole bunch of modules though, and some exam centres have strict rules about retakes. If you offer to pay it really shouldn't be a problem. Talk nicely to people and you'd be amazed what you can get. You can only sit a module a third time if you first cash in the qualification to which it relates. From JCGQ (http://www.jcgq.org.uk): "Any unit can be re-sat once before the qualification is cashed in. There are no exceptions to this rule. Optional units and options within units are treated as separate units, and so students are permitted to have two attempts at each. Once a qualification has been cashed in, the student is entitled to start it again. This allows the student up to two further attempts at each unit, but only the results from the two most recent attempts will count towards the final aggregation." Q. Has anyone had any luck with re-marks? Occasionally, but not often. Q. If I get a re-mark and then meet my offer, do the university who rejected me for missing offer have to take me? A. I think they will take you, but you might have to wait a year. It would depend on how long it took for the re-mark to get processed. (Hope a resident AT chips in here.) Q. Is it OK to phone up admissions tutors and ask them what's happened to my application? When they're not having their enooooormous holidays, these lazy buggers are just sitting in front of their computers making cups of tea and laughing at personal statements, aren't they! A. Yes, it's fine to ring up Admission Tutors. They love it. They pine for your phone call, whimpering pathetically if no one rings asking if ICT is OK for Computer Science. Don't ring if you're not clear what you want and make sure you've read the prospectus carefully. Be polite - remember it's a buyer's market in that each place you want has a number of candidates to fill it. Don't get your horrible parents to ring up because the admissions tutor will think you are a weak pathetic excuse for a human bean. Q. Picture the scene. It's a sunny day, and I'm nervously opening an envelope with my A-Level results in. I read the slips of paper and I see ominous clouds - I've not quite got the grades I needed. If I phone the admissions tutor, will he be able to tell me if it's going to rain? A. Well, you know what a British summer's like, don't you? You might be better off looking out of the window until the mail arrives. Some admissions tutors don't want to be phoned up by people who've just missed the grade. Since they often will be seeing to applicants going through the clearing process, they want their phone lines clear so they can get through - they don't want it blocked by someone telling them a long and involved story about how their cat got run over on A-level day etc. If you believe your A-level result may have been affected by something that took place at exam time, tell your admissions tutors straight away - they may well assume it is just an invented excuse if the first time they hear it is after the A-level results come out and you haven't made the grade. Some may prefer that UCAS's advice was "Don't phone admissions tutors if you haven't got the grades asked for, they will make their decision and let you know". However, that doesn't stop you phoning the university itself - they will at least be able to tell you if you've received an offer. Q. Tell me about UMS. A. OCR have the full gory details at: http://www.ocr.org.uk/OCR/WebSite/docroot/candparents/system/ums.jsp V. GOING TO UNIVERSITY ------------------------- Q. Is living at home OK for university? A. It is perfectly satisfactory and has these advantages: - cheaper - not scary - good meals cooked for you - access to homies who haven't gone to uni - quiet and study-friendly BUT it does have some disadvantages: - claustrophobic - not where other studes live - easy access to gits you hoped you'd escaped from. - club-, wild sex- and dope-unfriendly - it's hard to get to know people in the same way that you can if you're living with them - it's harder to get to and from socs/student nights, etc, particularly if they're in the evening, and you become more isolated than most people - you spend half your life travelling (although pretty much everyone at university in London does that, so it makes little difference if you're there) - all your old schoolfriends come back and talk about their great new mates/experiences in hall, etc, and you've not got that much to compare it to - it's a big old embarrassment Don't be a big girl's blouse - moving away from home gives you the chance to grow up and learn about paying bills and cleaning toilets and sex and other fluffy stuff. Q. I'm considering buying this enormous beast of a computer for my room in halls. A. Bear in mind your room may be just about big enough to swing a prematurely born stick insect in. A laptop may be your best option - you can take it home with you on the train quite easily too. But think carefully about the cost if it breaks or if you want to upgrade - if the connection to your screen breaks because of the weak-point at the hinge, it'll be one costly repair. Q. Tell me about student loans. A. No, let the government tell you: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/formsandguides/gui_guides.shtml Q. So, I'm off to uni. What should I pack? A. Half a term's worth of underwear, your teddy bear, and a conversation piece (be it a box of flavoured condoms or a huge bean bag). Everything else is optional and the amount of Stuff That Can Be Bought There infinite. Phone cards to ring your parents - they can pay for them in advance. (Another option is to grovel to parents and get them to pay something towards a contract mobile with free minutes). Also: - clothes hangers - loo cleaner (if by some chance you have an en suite bathroom) - extension leads and 4-in-1 socket adaptors - washing up bowl to collect plates and cups and transport to far away kitchen - can also serve as vomit receptacle - alarm clock - mugs, and probably something to put in them - sticky plastic wall hooks - pillow, duvet etc. (if needed - some unis/halls provide them) - passport photos - several of, for union cards etc. - blu-tac - washing powder If you're feeling studious... - paper - files - hole punch ... if not, your university will have a shop somewhere selling all these tedious items. Q. Right, so I've packed my suitcase - now, what sort of knowledge should I load my head with? A. It's probably a good idea to know how to: - load a washing machine - boil an egg - cook: - beans on toast - scrambled eggs - spaghetti bolognese - attempt to live on a budget (obviously you will have much more of an idea as you progress through your years of uni, but it may be a good idea to give a little thought to it beforehand) Q. Great! I'm off to do no work, smoke loads of drugs and have my wicked way with women/men. That's the best frame of mind, surely? Oh. Well, what's your philosophy then, titboy? A. Don't try and be the 'big man' - it doesn't wash. Be yourself. You have to live with the people you live with for the best part of a year. University is not *just* about sex, alcohol and partying. Work hard, play hard. If you don't like your course, you might be able to change. Don't buy a round during Freshers Week... you're unlikely to speak to 90% of the people again. Q. Which student bank account? Can I have more than one? A. http://www.support4learning.org.uk/money/banks_student.htm has an overview of the available student bank accounts. It's probably advisable to carefully consider the amount of interest-free overdraft you can get, which may be up to £1500 but could be rather less with some banks, rather than paying more attention to the various freebies on offer, which will probably not be worth much more than £50 to you. As for the second question, yes, have as many accounts as you like. You won't usually be allowed to have more than one account with an overdraft though (although there's no law against that - but if you tell a bank that you have an overdraft from another, they probably won't give you another overdraft to play with). Q. Is it a good idea to get a credit card? A. It's probably a good idea to get one just in case of an emergency should you max out your overdraft. It's good for ordering online as well due to security issues with some debit cards, plus your rights under the Consumer Credit Act mean you're less at risk of being ripped off - if the seller is in breach of their contract and you've paid more than £100, the credit company is liable. Don't go mad with it though, and pay off the full balance each month, as this will mean you won't pay any interest. Q. How to "budget" effectively? How can I be sure that in Freshers Week, I won't blow on alcohol all the money I should have spent on bread throughout the rest of the year? Should I keep some kind of note of my expenses or just play by ear, and try not to go bonkers? Won't I have to buy hundreds of pounds worth of textbooks? What if, after my rent has been taken into account, I have minus three pounds to spend each week? A. Put your money into your bank account. Do not touch until you have worked out when your next wadge of moolah (NWM) arrives. Pay whatever accommodation bills you have immediately. Take 10% of your balance and decide what your going to waste it on - you're going to waste money because you've got lots anyway, so set yourself a limit and piss it away. There. Feel better now? Good. Divide the amount you have left by the number of weeks before your NWM arrives. This is how much you can spend per week. Now - listen carefully (I shall say this only once). IF YOU SPEND MORE THAN THAT IN A WEEK YOU HAVE TO SPEND LESS SOME OTHER TIME. There is no money pump (other than the Caring Parents, of course - see below). Classic causes of running out before the NWM arrives are: - Buying CDs (boy, does that mount up) - Eating out when you can much more cheaply cook unhealthy fatty food chez vous. (I mean, how difficult is it to cook an omelette, slice a tomato and cut bread?) - Buying unnecessary textbooks too early. - Simply forgetting how many weeks to the NWM. A word about the Caring Parents. Ring them up. You don't want to. I know that. But every time you ring then up just to talk to them you have credits in the duty bank. If you ring them up for the first time just before Christmas asking for money they will not be wrinkly pleased people. But if you have engaged them merrily every fortnight with tales of dinners and gowns and sunlight streaming through the misty spires as you pace thoughtfully through the quad they will stump up for the massive gambling debt and the huge mega-beast of a computer you bought while drunk. And for the doctor's bills. You know it makes sense. Don't overspend. It will ruin your life. Nothing is more claustrophobic than having people you owe money to laying siege to your bank account. If you don't have enough to live on go and see your personal tutor immediately. Also talk to the student finance people. They've seen it all before and most universities have hardship funds which you can access. Q. I'm going to be kicked out of halls after my first year. Any advice on seeking accommodation? A. Go and see your students union, most union run an accomadation service that lists houses and landlords and normally provides some sort of checks to make sure you're not being ripped off. Start early. Research prices/distance/transport (if necessary). Sort out how many and who you want to share with. (Don't go for the people who may seem the most interesting, cool or whatever. Much more important is: Will they pay their fair share of rent and utilities? Do they replace any food they steal? Do they do the washing up *before* the last piece of crockery in the house is covered in grease and congealed ketchup. Do they remove tidemarks/hair/ummm stuff (your fridge message) after they've used the bathroom?) VI. AT UNIVERSITY ------------------- Q. Do I have to pay for prescriptions/false teeth/wigs when I'm a student? A. Probably not. Pick up an HC1 from a doctor, dentist or optician and send it off to see if you qualify for free prescriptions, specs and other NHS goodies. Once assessed, they may tell you you're entitled to free treatment or may stipulate a certain amount that you have to pay towards the different forms, e.g. £5.00 for each dental appointment, full prescription charge, etc. If you live in Wales or at uni in Wales, and are under 25, you get free prescriptions and free dental check-ups with no forms to fill out. Q. Will I need a TV licence? A. If you have a telly... YES. They do check, and you don't want a fine. You can find some handy information and maybe a bit of propaganda straight from the horse's mouth here: http://www.tv-l.co.uk/tvlic/licence/licence_students.html. Big Brother is watching you, watching Big Brother. Q. Can't cook, Won't cook! But takeaways are expensive and I fancy an omelette/fried egg sandwich/lasagne/roast chicken. What are some tasty, idiot-proof recipes that I can follow using ingredients that I might have a realistic chance of ever buying? A. Buy a Delia book. Or Jamie Oliver - his stuff is easy to do. Be motivated, learning how to cook is a sure way to pull whether you're man, woman or the Zargon Garglebeast of Snarg. Omelettes are easy. Two eggs per person, tablespoon of oil or butter in a frying pan. Get it really hot. Whisk up the eggs and add a big pinch of salt at the last moment. Pour the eggy muck into the hot pan. With a frok (or undeed a frock if you have one sharp enough) lift up the sides and let the uncooked eggy muck on the top slip down onto the hot surface. Turn the heat down and check now and again that the bottom isn't an interesting black colour. Using a fish slice or spatula lift one half of the omelette onto the other by folding. Take the pan off the heat. Eat with sliced tomatoes and bread and butter. You can bung things in like sliced cooked ham or, even better, slice some bacon and fry it, then leave it in the pan when you add the eggy muck. Knockout. Q. Some bastard keeps pinching my milk! A. This is annoyingly common when you live in halls. The best thing to do to the milk pilferers before they move onto higher levels of criminal activity is to wait until you've only got a few centimetres of milk left and dilute it with water until you've got half a bottle full (looks surprisingly convincing). Next, take your 1kg tub of table salt and pour it in until you can't be bothered any more. Shake it up a bit. Taste it if you dare... I did this and a friend of mine, who I had suspected of stealing my milk anyway, said to me that my trick had made him horribly sick after taking just a sip of tea. I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. Q. Woops, I've just graduated and now I've got to find some sort of a job or something. The rest of my life begins here - any tips? A. First thing is you shouldn't be looking after graduation. Start before. Most of the blue chip jobs go in the period from about May to August, so start in April. It's no big deal. You get a CV together and send variations of it to employers who want graduate trainees. Advice on CVs is similar to that on PSs. Don't lie, do exaggerate. Show enthusiasm. Talk specifically about the target firm. Don't think it's an employees' market. It really really really isn't. You can be the best candidate on the list and if the firm doesn't get you, trust me, they won't care. Don't make spelling mistakes: do make it conventional and tidy. Interviews. Don't be a fashionable twat; the kit you wear clubbing is totally inappropriate for business. Be smart in the way other ppl (like your parents, I'm afraid) judge smart - not the way you do. It's only for a few hours. In the interview know something about the target firm. Be positive. Look the interviewer in the eye. Smile occasionally. No matter how nervous you are remember that the interviewers really couldn't care less. This is a business deal. They have to judge whether they would be happy to have you working with or for them. Always ask a sensible question at the end when they ask you "Do you have any questions?" SOLAR... Smile Open stance Leaning slightly forward Attentive Reactive Clothes. It's a clean, pressed suit and tie for males, smart dress or suit for females. Clean your shoes. Q. Can students claim Jobseeker's Allowance A. Technically, as a full time student you can’t claim Jobseeker’s allowance, however for a few months between school and university you aren’t classed as a full time student by the Inland Revenue. You should be entitled to income support which currently averages out at around £40 per week (after tax) and is paid fortnightly by Giro. Of course, the usual JSA restrictions apply: you'll need to sign on fortnightly; you’ll need to make a declaration that you're unemployed, and of course, if you get a job, taxed or otherwise, you should stop claiming. Q. Do I have to pay tax for my holiday earnings and, if so, can do I claim it back? Yes and yes. As a student you will have loads of tax exemptions on your finances (your student loan for example), but typically students pay tax on two things: earnings from a job (and JSA) and savings. When it comes to summer work you are liable to pay tax if you've actually found a job that pays more your 'personal allowance' which currently stands at £4,615. Most students won't earn anything near that, but you might see a tax deduction on your pay slip anyway. This happens because although most student jobs only last the duration of your summer break you are often paid using annual salary scale. If you look at it from the perspective of the Inland Revenue you are liable for tax: they don't know you're only there for the summer. If you have worked before you might have been given a P45 form by your last employer. If so its important that you give this your new employer to enable the Inland Revenue to correctly calculate how much tax you should be paying in your new job. If you don't have one it’s not a problem and in that case your new employer might ask you to fill in a P46 form. Again, like the P45, this form helps the Inland Revenue decide how much tax you should be paying in your new job. If you don't fill in a P46, again, its not really a problem: you'll simply be placed in a high, temporary, tax bracket and its up to you to claim back any excess tax you happen to have paid. Claiming back tax might seem daunting. You can wait until the end of the tax year (early April) to see how much has been deducted and if you think you've paid to much you simply ask the tax office to assess your income and send you a cheque for the excess tax. However, its likely you will have finished working in September or October and won't want to wait until April to get your hard earned money off the taxman. In that case you can fill in the nice and short P50 form whenever you finish work. If you promise you won't earn more than the allowance in the remaining tax year then you will get your tax back early. To avoid this hassle altogether you could consider filling in a P38(s) before you start paying tax, but if you're sure that you will earn less that the personal allowance. Once you've done that you won't pay any tax on your earnings from your job. All these forms are available from your employer, your tax office and (except for your P45) http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk along with supporting information. Another thing to note is that as a student you, like everyone else, have to pay tax on your savings. If your bank isn't already doing this for you the Inland Revenue will send you a letter telling you to arrange it or face a bill at the end of the tax year. The amount of tax you are liable for is usually nominal so many people simply wait to be billed. VII. APPENDIX -------------- If you need to get further information about A-Levels, please go to the websites of the examination boards: http://www.aqa.org.uk/ http://www.edexcel.org.uk/ http://www.ocr.org.uk/ http://www.wjec.co.uk/exams.html where you should find the specifications, specimen papers and mark schemes for all subjects administered by these organisations. VIII. THIS FAQ -------------- Q. Who is responsible for all this information/misinformation I've just read? A. The following have contributed so far: Alex Warren Becky Loader Ray Pang Becca Taylor Ian Ford Jez Rachel Berry JHP Ginnie Redston Jess Stuart Williams Matthew Huntbach Andy Walker Martina Y Cheesy Chris Aonghus Heatley Brian Sloan Peter Lloyd James Gregory If you have any questions (and, ideally, answers) you can contribute, please reply to the newsgroup or email alex@axeuk.com. What's New in this version of the FAQ: - UMS - apparently some unis provide pillows - re-sits - getting a job after graduation - Q&A about late applications to uni - Q&A about accommodation - Q&A on tax and Job Seeker's Allowance by Aonghus Heatley - rewrote the advice on using a newsreader and news server. - updated some links - updated Q&A on choosing universities / league tables - answered question on cashing in AS grades - Q&A about getting information on yourself (e.g. your reference) from UCAS - Q&A on entry requirements for Computer Science - probably some other things I've forgotten about