<p>I just registered on the UCAS website and I'm a bit confused. It appears I've registered but the system is still set to accept applicants for the 2007 year. Is it too early to start filling out forms for applicants finishing high school in 2008 and planning to attend a university that fall?</p>
<p>yep, you cant apply till september 12th i think.
I wouldnt worry about it, the form takes not very long to fill out, and i can tell you the only bit you need to prepare for is the personal statement which is about one side of A4 typed.
You might want to think about who will be your referee though, and warn them.</p>
<p>What are they looking for in the referee? Should it be someone who knows me academically or knows me more personally?</p>
<p>ideally someone who can do both. Reference should try to be an amalgamation of comments from all relevant people, so you may want comments included in it for other teacher who can say positive things.
It should also cover a bit of extracurricular, but doesn't really need the hyperbole seen in some US references. Remember the brits are famous for their understatement ;) A comment like "bob is an exceptionally strong student" would be a very positive statemtent for a UK reference whilst "In my 206 years of teaching I have never met a student who could analyse the juxtaposition between characters in War and Peace to such an outstanding level before their 11th birthday alongside halving the illiteracy rate in our town" may be a little OTT.
So yer, reference doesn't need to be such a wonderful masterpiece or writing as it may in the US, just make sure it is very positive (not stupidly) and covers a fair amount of bredth.
Might be worth sitting down with your referee to write it together (as much as you can do) and saying which other teachers you would like to have comments in it.
It might also be worth throwing in a few, notable, objective statements (but don't overload it) like "Jane was the top scorer in the final exam on her Honours European History Exam out of a very able group of students" <--- my syntax here is a bit crap, but you get my drift!</p>