Students in military families: applying to go to university

Basic guide by Jake Chatfield

Are you a student or parent/carer of a student in a military family and thinking about applying to university? Then this is the guide for you! As a previous service child, my Dad was in the Navy, I know that applying to university can be a different experience for military families.

This guide provides information on the application process, key dates, and guidance on how you can use your experiences growing up around the armed forces, to strengthen your personal statement.

 

The application process

All students who want to go to university apply through a service called UCAS. You apply to up to 5 universities using the UCAS online application process. The below timeline is a rough guide of the university application process starting in Year 12 (or first year of college) and going into Year 13 (or second year of college).

It is important to note that this is a rough guide to help plan your time over the year. Many of these timelines are flexible and it is OK to be a few stages or even a whole year behind. There are many options if you miss important dates, detailed below.

 

Year 12

Autumn Term
Focus on your studies. Begin to think about what subject you might like to study at university. Start researching universities (Have a look at their website or order a free prospectus to find out information about the university and a list of the courses on offer).

Spring and Summer Term
Attend a Higher Education / UCAS Fair if you can, this will let you see lots of universities in one day and ask their staff any questions you might have. Begin creating a list of universities and courses that you like. Plan to attend an open day if you can – This is a whole day where the university is open to the public. You will be able to see the university for yourself, speak to current students and staff and attend guest lectures to get a feel for what life as a uni student is like. You need to register in advanced on the university website to attend – this is free and you can cancel if you can’t attend for any reason. If you can’t attend an open day in-person, consider a virtual open day.

 

Year 13

September to December
UCAS Applications open! Complete your application – you can start this and then come back to it later as many times as you want. Here you make your 5 university choices – once your whole application is submitted, you can’t change these.

Write your personal statement – this is the most important part of the UCAS application. You will want to draft and revise this many times before submitting. Ask your careers advisor or tutor for help if you can. There is guidance for personal statements in the next section.

January
UCAS Applications close. Read this information about the UCAS deadline, including guidance for if you miss the deadline.

Late Autumn to Spring
Universities will begin to send offers. You can track the progress of your application using UCAS Track.

Easter
Decide on your firm and insurance choices – this is your number one choice for if you get the results you are expecting as well as a backup choice in case your grades are slightly lower. Your other 3 choices are automatically rejected.

May
Deadline for applying to student finance to guarantee payment for the start of your course. It can take up to 6 weeks for your application to process so you will want to apply much earlier than this. You can come back and change details about your application if your situation changes. Read more information about the student finance deadline, including guidance for if you miss the deadline.

August
Results day. Acceptance to either your firm or insurance choice. If you did not make the grades for either choice there is a process called clearing which allows you to apply for unfilled uni places, usually at a lower offer. Read more about clearing.

 

About your Personal Statement

What is a personal statement?

Being from a military family can actually be beneficial for you when applying to university as you will have gained lots of skills. Your personal statement is the most important part of your UCAS application. This is how universities will decide if they want to offer you a place on one of their courses. You will need to display that you have a keen interest in the subject and provide evidence that you have the ability to study at university level. You can, if you want to, use your experiences growing up in a military family in your personal statement as an example of how you would be a successful university student.

As a student from a military family, you may have experienced: disrupted schooling, additional pressures from having a deployed family member, or you may not have had the same opportunities for extracurricular activities as a civilian family. Any of these reasons can make writing a personal statement even more challenging BUT it is important to know that universities understand this, and they WILL NOT penalise you for your family background.

 

Transferable skills

Overcoming the challenges of growing up as a service child can give you a type of skills called transferable skills. These are skills that can be applied in many different situations and universities love reading about them in your personal statement as it shows that you are adaptable, independent, and driven to learn – all important qualities of a university student! Some of the transferable skills you may want to write about are:

  • Your ability to react well to change or overcome difficult situations
  • Being able to pick up new skills quickly
  • Independent learning
  • An ability to work well in groups – potentially with new people with different backgrounds to you
  • Resilience and an ability to cope well with stress
  • Time management and organisation

Here’s what one student said about how transferable skills have been effectively used in a personal statement:

“As a student from a military family, I have had to be adaptable and flexible as roles and routines change in my home regularly. By effectively managing my responsibilities along with my studies I have developed my independent learning, time management and organisation skills. I would hope to further develop these skills by embracing the new challenge of studying a degree in Criminology.”

This example shows how this individual’s experiences as a student from a military family has given them transferable skills that would also make them a successful university student. These skills would also be beneficial in an apprenticeship or job application – that is the beauty of transferrable skills, they can be used in many different situations.

Read more examples like the one above here and check out our top ten tips about writing a Personal Statement.

Whether you’re just considering applying to university or you are in the final stages of your application, I hope this information has been useful in helping you navigate the university application process and helped you get one step closer to achieving your goals or aspirations!

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"As a previous service child, my Dad was in the Navy, I know that applying to university can be a different experience for military families"