In the season of goodwill think of the admissions' tutor!

Two thirds of UCAS forms are received by universities in December and January.

If you are in Year 13 and are planning to submit your UCAS form before the 15 January deadline, please bear in mind that this is the busiest season for those receiving your form. At University of Plymouth yesterday I heard that their Architecture admissions' tutor receives 1500 UCAS forms per year.

It's therefore in your interests to brighten up life for the admissions' tutor by writing something that stands out, in a positive way, from other forms in the pile. So please write concisely and structure your thoughts in paragraphs, as there's nothing more off-putting than being faced with rambling prose that's been squashed into the maximum character count. Remember to focus on evidence rather than producing a series of general statements unsupported by evidence; and to mention what you have learnt from an activity rather than just parading a list of what you've done. Look at Steps 30 and 31 on this website for more details.

If you're in Year 12, aim to apply before the December-January rush and catch the admissions' tutors while they are fresh. Get out and visit unis. and start researching possible subjects by looking at uni. degree programmes at module level (See Steps 11-14 on this website). This was the message given to Year 12 students yesterday at the excellent event organised by staff and students at the University of Plymouth, whom I congratulate on offering a good insight into uni. life and the application process and on avoiding the hard-sell of their own uni. with reference to dodgy league table rankings.