The Brilliant Club is a UK-wide charity working with the PhD community to support less advantaged students to access the most competitive universities. Join the Dots is a student transition programme designed to help students prepare for the transition to university and share top tips on how to be successful at it.
What is Join the Dots?
Join the Dots is split into two parts:
- A series of university preparedness sessions running throughout your final months of school or college, which aim to help you develop your university level study skills as well as giving you the chance to hear from current undergraduate students.
- Support from a PhD coach who will support you to further develop the university level study skills needed for your subject area, will support you with your coursework, and be there to signpost you to any university based support that you need.
How does it work?
Your place on the second part of the programme, where you will be matched with a PhD coach, will be confirmed after results day once your place at one of the participating universities has been confirmed. Please note that places on the programme at each university are limited, and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
Which universities are taking part?
The University of Sheffield, The University of Bristol, The University of Manchester, The University of Kent, Goldsmiths University of London, Leeds Trinity University, and The University of Essex are taking part in the programme. You need to have applied to one or more of these universities to take part, but you do not yet need to have received an offer from them or have yet chosen one as your firm university choice.
How to join the programme?
- If you are applying independently of your school or college – please complete this registration form. You will be asked to nominate a teacher or other member of school staff to take part with you, though this is optional. Once this form is complete, you will receive confirmation from The Brilliant Club.
- If applying on behalf of students at a school or college – please complete the expression of interest form and a member of the team will get back to you with more details. Please note that places for students are capped at each university and are allocated on a first-come first serve basis.
One student who took part in the programme in 2022-23 told us that the programme was….
‘More than anything a student would want in the first year […] I think the programme overall was amazing and it increased my confidence’. Another commented that ‘I was able to speak to my coach and just reflect on my uni experience and how I feel, and explain how I feel overwhelmed, and get help with managing that.’
The evaluation from Year 1 of the programme shows a statistically significant increase in students’ academic self-efficacy over the course of the programme as well as increases in students’ use of study strategies and sense of belonging.