Application FAQs

In line with the University’s Admissions Policy, applications are welcomed from students irrespective of race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, disability, religious or political beliefs, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic background.

The diversity and wealth of experience that our students contribute to the life of the University is highly valued. As such the University seeks to widen access to, and participation in, higher education by raising awareness and aspirations of prospective applicants.

Find out more about the University’s Admissions Policy and other supporting information for applicants.

Entry requirements are different depending on the course. For A Levels, BTEC and IB, these can be found on the individual course listings. The University has standard English Language requirements for all applicants and certain programmes may have additional requirements so please read details carefully. For information about other UK qualifications, please see our general entry requirements page or for international qualifications, please see our international webpages.

Some courses will ask for achievement in GCSE Maths, English or Science in addition to A Level or equivalent grades. We need students to reach these levels to ensure that they are prepared for the demands of the course, for example GCSE Maths grade 6/B may be required where students will have to analyse test results and data. If you haven’t achieved the required GCSE grades, you should think about retaking in order to meet our requirements.

The majority of our courses will consider applicants who are re-sitting their exams according to the standard selection process.

We accept a large range of qualifications from the UK and around the world. Alternative UK qualifications are mentioned on each course page, but if you have taken qualifications elsewhere, you can learn more about what qualifications we accept by looking at your specific country.

Loughborough University is committed to widening access to applicants and will consider contextual information as part of the selection criteria. For further information please refer to Contextual Admissions. 

We welcome applications from mature students. For further information regarding the support available on our mature student pages.

As per the Terms and Conditions of Study, should you have any criminal convictions as outlined in our Policy and Procedure for Applicants with a Criminal Conviction, you will be asked to disclose these at the point at which you accept this offer via the firm or insurance route.

We are aware that several universities have introduced pre-exam result unconditional offers linked to applicants making that institution their firm choice through UCAS. We are extremely cautious that this approach places undue pressure on an applicant choosing an institution that is not a genuine first choice.

We are very clear that you should choose your firm choice institution on where is best for you. This may be down to university or school/department reputation, course content, location, open/visit day experience, and many other reasons. Whilst you may be swayed initially by an unconditional offer, we believe that you should always trust in your ability to successfully meet the conditions of your offer, and should follow your ambitions for your first choice of University.

We consider applications from prospective students wishing to transfer to Loughborough University from another university for many of our courses. We will consider applications for first year entry and in some cases, second year entry, but we do not accept applications for entry directly into the third or final year of a course. Please view our website for more information.

If you’ve been invited to attend an interview, this means that we want to know more about you. Please check your email account regularly and let us know if you can’t attend for any reason so that the interview can be rescheduled.

If you have been invited to submit a portfolio, the Department will let you know what content you should include and the format it should be sent in.

We consider each application carefully and on an individual basis, trying to make decisions as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, as we receive a high number of applications, it may sometimes take a while for us to process a decision, so don’t panic if you don’t hear from us immediately. If you apply before the 31st January deadline, we will aim to have made a decision on your application by the end of March.

Your first place to check for updates is on your UCAS application. If there has been no change on your UCAS application and you are anxious then please either call (+44 (0)1509 274403) or email the Undergraduate Admissions Office and we will do our best to help.

Please include your full name and UCAS Personal ID Number in all communications so that we can find your application easily. If you want someone else to be able to contact us on your behalf they will need to be your nominated contact on UCAS Track. Due to data protection we will not talk to anyone about your application apart from you or your nominated contact, and you will always need to quote your UCAS Personal ID Number.  You can have more than one nominated contact on your UCAS application by writing their names and relationship to you in succession, for example:  Nominated Contact – John Smith Jane Smith Mr Taylor, Relationship – Father Mother Teacher.

Sometimes health, family or general life issues can arise during your studies which may affect your exam performance. If you have any personal or mitigating circumstances which may affect your results please do get in touch with us prior to the results being released.

We will be able to note it on your application so that we can take it into consideration when results are published, if needed. We may also be able to point you in the direction of our support services so that you can access help when you join the University.

The University receives A Level results directly from UCAS, along with the majority of IB and BTEC results. When we receive them we will aim to make a decision as quickly as possible.

For other qualifications or if your offer asks you to send copies of certificates to the University please scan and email them to the Undergraduate Admissions Office with the email subject ‘Exam Results’ along with your UCAS personal ID number, including your full name in the body of the email. We cannot accept screenshots, electronic or provisional statements as proof of achievement. If you are unable to locate your certificates, you will need to get duplicates from your exam boards.

It can be hard to decide which course to apply to. If you change your mind during the application process please email the Undergraduate Admissions Office, including your full name and UCAS Personal ID Number, to ask if it would be possible to change your course. We would want to know which course you want to change to, including the course code, and why. We can then consider your request and let you know if we are able to make the change.

If you have changed your mind and want to swap your Firm and/or Insurance choices please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for advice, either by email or by telephone on +44 (0)1509 274403, quoting your UCAS personal ID number and detailing the change you wish to make.

Opportunities sometimes arise for students to take a gap year, go travelling or gain work experience. We will always try to support students who want to defer for one year. If you have decided that you want to amend your year of entry please email the Undergraduate Admissions Office, including your full name and UCAS Personal ID Number, and let us know what you would like to do and why. We will usually be able to process this change fairly swiftly and you will see an amendment to your offer on your UCAS application. We will also send a new offer to you.

We are committed to upholding the principles of fairness and transparency within the admissions process. However, we acknowledge that occasionally, you may have reason to express an opinion to the University about its decision, or about the way in which your application has been handled. Further information about the procedure for making a formal appeal or complaint can be found here.

All applicants will need to have an English Language qualification, even if you have been taught in English throughout your educational studies. Individual course listings show the grade required in GCSE English language. If you have taken an alternative English language qualification, please see our English Language requirements for an indication of our minimum required levels

All students are classified as either UK or international for the purposes of tuition fees. For most applicants, we are able to make this decision based on the original application form. However, in some cases, we may need to request further information and documentary evidence to ensure that the correct decision is made.

Fee Status decisions are taken separately from academic decisions related to the application.

You can find out more about fee status assessment.

Please consult our ATAS webpage.

International applicants will usually require a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies) so that they can apply for a visa. Your CAS will only be issued once all conditions of your offer have been met and your place is confirmed at the University. Please ensure you have emailed a copy of your passport to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. Your CAS can only be produced three months prior to the start of your course. The majority of CAS’ are sent out in August in plenty of time for your visa to be granted.

Please see our Visa and Immigration Advice and ensure you have everything in place to apply for your visa as soon as your CAS is emailed to you.