Application guidance
Why go to university?
- Dive into studying something you're truly passionate about.
- Gain invaluable experience by putting theory into practice, build on key, in-demand skills and make yourself more appealing to employers in the area you're interested in.
- Find your new home – you could be living away from home for the first time, based in a new city with new friends. There are so many opportunities to socialise, make life-long memories and reinvent yourself.
- Progress onto your chosen career path - if you have a particular career/job in mind such as becoming a nurse or lawyer, respectively you will need a specific degree in Nursing or Law.
- Enjoy unique opportunities such as travelling abroad to deepen the knowledge of your discipline with and get access to award-winning careers advice through our Careers Team.
Find out about all the courses on offer on the , and view the full list of courses offered at Æß²ÊÖ±²¥.
Choosing the right university for you
Everyone will have a different idea of what their ideal university offers. Watch our advisers run through key things to think about when choosing the right university for you:
When you research universities, here are some key questions worth asking yourself:
- Which courses am I interested in, and which universities offer these courses?
- Do I need an accredited course for my chosen career path?
- Can I gain work experience on the course?
- What extra-curricular opportunities do I want, such as trips abroad, or a placement year?
- Where do I want to study? Close to home, far away, or in a certain location?
- Do I like the city? How much does it cost to live there?
- Does the city offer the things that are important to me - like transport links, music or comedy scenes?
- What is the student lifestyle like? What have other students said about the university?
Open Days
University is your new beginning. Choosing the right one for you is an important decision and visiting us at an Open Day is the best way to find out what we have to offer. You can speak with our supportive community of academics and current students about their experiences, explore our award-winning campus, see our accommodation options that are all within walking distance, and visit the multicultural and vibrant student city of Leicester. Check out our Open Day homepage for more information about what you’ll be able to do on the day and book your place.
Contextual offer
Here at Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ we welcome all applications, no matter what your background. It's our goal to help you reach your goal, by ensuring you have the best opportunity to go onto higher education.
To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades – we take into account any challenges that you may have faced in your education and the potential effect this may have had on your qualifications. To do this we’ll look at contextual information from your UCAS form. To help us better understand your circumstances we do encourage you to send us any additional information you would like us to consider via email to admissions@dmu.ac.uk.
Contextual Offers will be offered to candidates who are in receipt of Free School Meals, who are Care Leavers or who live in areas deemed low HE participation neighbourhoods (POLAR Quintiles 1 and 2). Participation of local areas (POLAR) classification groups areas across the UK based on the proportion of young people who participate in higher education. Quintile 1 shows the lowest rate of participation and Quintile 5 shows the highest rate of participation.
Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ is committed to helping you find your people, your purpose, your place in the world and so if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer.
If you are an applicant or offer holder and you want to make us aware of anything you would like us to take into consideration, please contact admissions@dmu.ac.uk.
If you are care experienced or estranged from family you may wish to contact the Transitions Team for further advice.
How to approach your personal statement
Your is your chance to sell yourself, and prove that you deserve a place on that course!
In it, you should talk about your choice of course, your skills and achievements and your wider interests. Include things like sports teams, hobbies and jobs. You can think outside of the box too – tell them about a trip you've taken or why you took apart and rebuilt your PC last weekend. It doesn't need to be strictly academic to be relevant to your course application.
Here are some tips about writing your personal statement from UCAS experts Jamie and Ben.
If you are applying through your college, you might have an internal deadline to submit your personal statement (usually before Christmas). This is so the college can write and attach a reference and your predicted grades to your application ahead of the 15 January UCAS deadline.
If you’re unsure of something, don’t be afraid to get in touch. There are no silly questions and we’re here to help you at each step of your journey! You can call, email, message us on or on social media.
What happens after you’ve submitted your university application?
After you’ve narrowed down your university choices and sent off your application, this is what you can expect to happen next. For international applicants the process is a little bit different. If you are an international applicant, read about what to do next after you’ve made an application to Æß²ÊÖ±²¥.
For UK applicants:
- Your application will be reviewed - universities will receive and consider your application and make you an offer, based on your predicted grades and personal statement.
- You might have an interview, audition or make a portfolio - as part of the application process, some courses or universities may invite you to an interview, audition or request a portfolio before you are made an offer at the university - this will be updated and reflected in your UCAS track.
- Check your offer status - once your application has been reviewed, you may receive an offer from your university choice. This can be one of the following:
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- Conditional offer – you will be accepted on the course, provided you meet the entry criteria.
- Unconditional offer – your offer may be unconditional if you’ve already met the requirements or your predicted grades exceed the entry criteria. An unconditional offer means that you’re guaranteed a space with your university if you make them your firm choice.
- Alternative course – based on your qualifications or personal statement, the university think you’re a better fit for a different, but similar course.
- Unsuccessful – the university has withdrawn your application choice as you do not meet the entry criteria. The reason for this will be shown in your UCAS Track or university application.
- Student finance - once your application is submitted you may want to start thinking about , as applications open around February or March. Getting your student finance sorted as early as possible gives you enough time to submit all the required documentation and deal with any potential issues surrounding it, as well as guaranteeing you receive your money as soon as you enrol.