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University Roadshow 2024 Roundup!

As this year's University Roadshow comes to a close, we saw a trail of excitement, newfound knowledge, and promising futures across schools in Northern Ireland. This annual event, which brings universities from England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland and prospective Northern Ireland students together, reached students at over 70 secondary schools. The roadshow not only provided insights into choosing a university but also tackled crucial aspects of the application process, like UCAS personal statements, and offered guidance on navigating student finance options.

This year, The University Roadshow travelled to approximately 70 secondary schools across Northern Ireland and 20 Universities participated. The University Roadshow is a brilliant way of reaching a large number of students in a short space of time, as the 2-hour event is designed to increase accessibility for higher education providers to meet Year 13 and Year 14 students who are thinking of the next step in their educational career.

From exploring a variety of courses in detail to understanding financial aid options, students gained insights that are hard to get online. While many students are familiar with standard degree programs, this year’s roadshow also highlighted emerging fields. From environmental science and cybersecurity to global design engineering and degree apprenticeships, students learned about degrees they may not have previously considered.

For many students, funding university is a significant concern, and understanding student finance is often one of the most challenging parts of planning for university. This year’s roadshow tackled this by providing information specifically devoted to financial aid, including tuition fee loans, maintenance loans, and the repayment structure. University representatives also provided information on scholarships and bursaries, providing students with plenty of information to put any concerns or queries over student finance at ease.

The roadshow also highlighted the UCAS application system, as well as going in-depth about the personal statement section. Many students feel overwhelmed by the task of presenting their experiences, goals, and passion for their chosen field in a concise and compelling way, this was fully explained at the roadshow and students were provided with personal statement guidelines to make the process that bit easier. Students were also given information about the Republic of Ireland CAO university application process, another route for students to consider as they progress onto further education.

The University Roadshow 2024 wasn’t just about information—it was about inspiration. Many students left the roadshow feeling a new sense of direction and purpose in their university plans.  From traditional to emerging fields, the diverse courses made it clear that there is a pathway for every interest and career ambition.

The feedback from this year’s roadshow has been overwhelmingly positive, with students, and teachers praising the clarity and depth of the information provided, teachers commented:

“I think it is a model that has been tried and tested and works well, everything was excellent!”

“Informative - Engaging – Empowering…”

The team at ER&M thoroughly enjoyed this year’s University Roadshow as always, and we hope every student and teacher did too! We wish every student the best of luck as they progress through the UCAS application for this year.

ER&M