What is the importance of personalised university guidance?

Dr. Paul Ellis, Head of School at EF Academy Oxford, looks at how schools help students make informed choices...

Imagine: you’re in the sixth form, and you can go almost anywhere to study almost anything. What would you do, where? Given that the future is global, would you study at university in the UK, Europe, the US, or further afield? Which rankings are relevant for your needs and dreams? Should the most important factor in your decision-making be reputation, facilities, location, student experience, or value-for-money? Is the university or the course the better future-proofer?

For particular students, particular dilemmas press. Should you take a risk on applying for Medicine now, or is it wiser to apply for a more accessible Biological Sciences degree and hope to transfer to Medicine after the first year; or do both? Might an Engineering degree with a foundation year at a highly-ranked university be better for you than going straight into a four-year master’s in Engineering at a lesser-ranked university?

Post-results, the questions continue: should you apply for adjustment (if results are better than expected), take the insurance offer (if worse), or hold out for a good deal in clearing?

University application is a complex, competitive, and life-changing process for students. So how can schools go about getting it right?

Good schools deploy a range of strategies to prepare students for the process of university application. They arrange trips to university open days or invite in university admissions directors. They hold careers fairs featuring alumni from various universities and courses. They set up academic enrichment activities and volunteering opportunities so that students are in a strong position to write that “stand-out-from-the-crowd” personal statement. They train teaching staff how to write the most positive reference possible. Some schools do more: intensive BMAT and LNAT tuition, SAT tuition for US applications, special “Oxbridge” preparation programmes, or mock interviews by university staff.

The best schools also give a highly personalised kind of guidance that helps students to discern their true academic and career aspirations, and enables them to maximise the value of their academic strengths. Students are empowered to find the answers to their own questions. In a series of regular individual tutorials – or coaching sessions – students learn how to make the most of their future prospects. In other words, the best university guidance is part of the student-centred learning culture of the school and a keystone in the school’s educational philosophy.

Who is best placed to give university guidance? In many schools, this task falls to senior teachers or to careers advisors. In the search for its Heads of University Guidance, however, EF Academy decided to look over the other side of the fence. EF Academy’s students now benefit from the expertise of Heads of University Guidance who have held key positions in Admissions at Oxford, Warwick or Bath universities, or Brown in the US. Non-teaching members of staff with extensive university-sector contacts, they focus on knowing precisely the constantly changing landscape of university admissions. They carefully guide each student according to his or her preferences and aptitudes. They travel to international students’ home countries to better understand parents’ university ambitions for their sons and daughters. The aim is to provide world-class university guidance.

The detail is just as important as the vision and strategy. As soon as a student is enrolled, the University Guidance Counsellors work closely with the (I)GCSE/A-level/IB Diploma programme coordinators to identify potential university pathways. The academic teams analyse preliminary assessment data to help students choose the subjects in which they are likely to succeed, and which will also lead them to achieve their declared university and career ambitions. In some cases, keeping options as open as possible can be just as important. The University Guidance Counsellors also scrutinise each student’s academic progress to check that students are on target for the required grades. They send reports to parents advising on academic progress from the perspective of university entrance options. They work with pastoral teams on each student’s well-being and motivation. They review with Heads of Faculty the support on offer to each student. An Economics applicant might be asked to present in an assembly on a topic relevant to the Oxford University Climate Change forum that she has just attended. An International Relations applicant might be encouraged to join the Model United Nations. Using an approach both bespoke and systematic, the University Guidance Counsellors support students individually on their way towards achieving their university goals.

High-quality university guidance is best done by true university guidance professionals who case-manage and encourage each student, seeing him or her as an individual, and helping to ensure that all is set for university success. It’s an approach that guarantees that students make the most of what they achieve in their sixth form years.

Dr. Paul Ellis is the Head of School of EF Academy Oxford (for more information see their profile on School Search). Previously, he was a Deputy Head at Stonyhurst College and a Head of Department at University College School, London. He was educated at University College London. Dr. Ellis has written for a variety of publications, been a recipient of Arts and Humanities Research Council funding, and was a Schoolteacher Fellow at St Hugh’s College, Oxford.