Are there any common weaknesses or omissions you've seen in Access to HE applications that we could help our students avoid?

Common pitfalls we are seeing in applications are students not knowing what the profession is and what the professional does, not having relevant transferable skills or demonstrating them, skills just being listed without examples being provided to demonstrate them, applications not being made to be unique, and also using AI so the personal statements are not personal, which they should be.

If students take the time to research the profession properly, give real examples of their skills instead of just listing them, and make their statement personal rather than generic, then they’re already putting themselves in a much stronger position. And I think your point about AI is important too – universities want to hear the student’s own voice, not something written by a machine.