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Lessons learned from April's UCAS Media Insight Newsletter

Fri 16 April 2021 - 12:16

By UCAS in UCAS advice

If knowledge is power, then insight is the key to the kingdom. 

 

There is great potential in the petabytes of data and statistics generated within the higher education sector, but interpreting them in a way which serves the end user is where the magic happens. Universities may look for different insight to employers, who might in turn seek different answers to brands and retailers. 

 

We have launched a UCAS Media Insight Newsletter designed to put some context around student behaviours. Each month, we’ll issue a snapshot roundup of the previous month and compare it to recent and annual trends. The aim is to equip providers and agencies with the insight, the keys, to more effectively communicate with their student...

A long year of entertainment and information overload

Thu 8 April 2021 - 07:37

By Nicola McClymont in UCAS advice

On January 2 2020, Netflix’s share price was hovering at £237.

Just 377 days later, it peaked at £421.

That 77% increase, and record high, is one part of the entertainment industry’s total transformation, brought about by monumental and global changes in consumer behaviour. The COVID-19 pandemic has, at one point or another, confined most of the world to home and, stripped of our ability to pursue hobbies and interests, we have turned almost exclusively to our TVs for virtual comfort.

Or social media, for virtual companionship.

Podcasts,...

Working together we can provide the guiding light of information and advice that leaves no student in the dark

Thu 25 March 2021 - 10:44

By By Clare Marchant, Chief Executive, UCAS in UCAS advice

Access to careers information and guidance on pathways to higher education should never be reserved for those ‘in the know.’

It is UCAS’ ambition to be the ’go to’ place for post-secondary education, independent, trusted information and advice, levelling the playing field for all those that are interested in staying in education or training after school or college at the age of 18. The choices students are faced with are vast, so personalised support to help them navigate is vital to enable every student to have equal opportunity to make the right choices for them.

But if we place ourselves in the shoes of students, the landscape is uneven and difficult to charter.

Our new report ‘Where next?’, published today (25 March), reveals that two in five students say that had they been provided with better information and advice they would have made better decisions in school. One in five students told us that they felt that a door had been closed to them,...

12 months of social distancing, a year of distant social.

Wed 24 March 2021 - 12:18

By Courteney Sheppard in UCAS advice

Generation iPhone, Millennials, Gen Z, Covid-cohort – all names synonymous with the ‘younger’ generation who are intrinsically embedded in the culture of social media.

When Apple released their first iPhone in 2007, it was a true revolution in every sense of the word. It changed the way that society consumed information, but even in its innovation none of us envisioned how powerful the smartphone would become, and chances are we are still in the infancy of this technology.

With all of this connectivity comes myriad opportunities to digitally connect with others, and many of us can raise a guilty hand and admit we do this too...

Tech changes, for the tech generation, in the year of tech.

Wed 10 March 2021 - 18:29

By Rebecca Hopwood in UCAS advice

 

[Screen time weekly report available.]

You averaged 4 hours, 36 minutes of screen time per day last week.

Up 21% from last week. 

This was the message greeting me on almost every Monday of 2020. It was up and down, but mainly up, as I turned to my smartphone and tablet more and more as the year went on. I dread to think what it would say if it was tracking my laptop and television too.

I’m at the upper end of Millennials by most accounts, and in that sense I’m a digital native. My childhood was tech-free, but my teenage years were permeated by the explosion of the internet. Crucially, I can remember what life was like before. The current crop of undergraduates cannot. They’re Gen Z, plugged in from birth, and ambidextrous with every form of tech. 2020 would have been a strange year for them then, when big changes in the tech world were...

Interpreting student behaviour in a global pandemic

Tue 2 March 2021 - 09:57

By UCAS in UCAS advice

Dr Katie Bell, UCAS

More change to come as students remain passionate about changing our future.


I have worked in education for more than a decade, and before that another decade in the world of corporate global marketing. They share many of the same requirements: a firm finger on the pulse, and a keen understanding of the way that consumer behaviours develop. It doesn’t take a psychologist or an economist to diagnose the big dynamic shifts of the market, but understanding them at a micro level (not just Gen Z, but students within Gen Z, for example) requires a deeper social study.

And that is,...

How to ace a job interview

Wed 25 November 2020 - 14:22

By Anna in Applicant

Nobody likes them. Everyone has to do them. Dreaded job interviews: the joyful prospect of sitting across a table from a future employer, being grilled on questions you’ve never thought about before, trying to smile without crying and praying that you’re saying all the *right* things.

The key? Preparation. That’s where this post comes in. This isn’t just for grad jobs – it can be applied to part-time work, uni, or work experience interviews/chats too. I’ve probably had around six interviews in my time, for jobs in everything from a swimming instructor to a waitress in the grubbiest restaurant going. They’ve all been completely different – for one, I had to wait for an hour to be interviewed whilst I waited for the manager to finish chatting to his mate – another...

Five ways to stay productive during lockdown 2.0

Tue 17 November 2020 - 08:31

By Sophie Gibbons in First year

The first lockdown, which probably seems like a lifetime ago, was a time filled with adjustments and frustrations concerning a new routine we would have to follow for the foreseeable future. When that lockdown finally ended, I remember the relief I felt knowing that life would soon return to normality. Now lockdown 2.0 has arrived, I can imagine the feeling of dread is felt by more people than just myself.

Try not to think of lockdown as a time where the world stops spinning, rather focus on the fact that now you most likely have time to focus on the things you never had time to before.

Here are some tips which I found useful…

1) TO DO LISTS

This has got to be my favourite thing to help keep motivated that I recommend to a lot of my friends at university. Whether these are daily, weekly or a to do list aimed at a looming upcoming deadline you know you have, this will help you keep up to date with what you have to do rather than...

Preparing for interviews at a University

Wed 11 November 2020 - 12:33

By Tabitha Hempshall in Applicant

The prospect of having to do an interview is nerve-wracking. For many it involves singing your own praises, answering unknown questions on the spot and having your personal statement pulled apart, all of which push people out of their comfort zone. Here is a list of a few key ideas, which I have found helpful in preparing for interview and that have made me feel more confident!

- Research questions based on topic

Just Google “interview questions for [insert course]” and you will find questions that cover key topic areas. I found the best way to use...

Ticking the Box – How we use the information about care experience at Kingston University.

Tue 10 November 2020 - 08:20

By Beth Taswell in UCAS advice

Ticking the care experience box: what happens next?

Some students are uncertain about ticking the care experience box because they don’t really know what happens to that information once they submit their UCAS application. In this case study from Kingston University, Beth Taswell, Access and Support Advisor, explains how they use this information to connect prospective students to the support and information they may need to help them make a successful transition to higher education – and right through to graduation.

'For many applicants with experience of local authority care, going to university can be a fresh start. They may be moving to a new area as well as a new learning environment where nobody knows them or anything about their past. On the UCAS application form there is an opportunity for applicants to disclose that they have spent time in local authority care, but many choose not to because of the uncertainty of what is done with...

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