UCAS Applications
The application process begins in the September of the year before a student intends to start their course – this is normally the beginning of their final year at school or college. There are several key dates that students should be aware of to ensure their application is submitted on time and that they meet all of the deadlines required of them.
Some schools/colleges also set internal deadlines that students will be asked to adhere to. This is to give teachers time to check over each application and ensure that everything is correct before submitting the final draft to UCAS. You should be aware of these milestones and encourage your son or daughter to be proactive with their application to help avoid any last-minute panic.
What you need to know
1. All applications are completed electronically via the UCAS website.
2. Students have a maximum of five choices (these can be the same course at different institutions or multiple courses at the same institutions).
3. One application is submitted to all five choices so we recommend choosing similar courses to ensure the application can be as focussed as possible.
4. At this stage, they do not need to rank their choices in order of preference.
5. Each university will only see the application made to them; they will not know the other institutions a student has applied to.
Completing the form
The UCAS application is split into seven sections which can be completed in any order and revisited to make changes at any time before it is finally submitted. All sections must be completed correctly, without any spelling or grammar mistakes.
The final section of the application is a reference, in most cases this will be completed by a teacher(s) at your son or daughter’s school. If they feel another person is more appropriately placed to write a reference then they can request this. We do not recommend that a reference is written by a relative and wherever possible it should be completed by someone who knows the student in a professional context.
Processing an application
Once submitted, UCAS forward the application to the chosen universities. The universities will carefully review all of the sections and consider whether or not to make the candidate an offer.
Admissions selectors generally look at a range of criteria including GCSE grades, predicted A Level/BTEC grades, the subjects being studied at school/college (some courses require qualifications in certain subjects), and evidence of enthusiasm and commitment to the course in the personal statement and the reference.
At this stage the university will also consider any mitigating circumstances that may apply to the student. Examples include a disability or specified learning difference, those who come from a care background or those who may have suffered an illness that has affected performance at GCSE level.
If any of the above does apply we would strongly recommend that this is included in their application, it will not be considered as a negative mark and being fully informed of a student’s circumstances will help admissions teams make fair and accurate offers.
Understanding university decisions
Once an application has been reviewed the university will notify the applicant of their decision – this will initially be via the UCAS Hub (which updates each day) and will be followed by confirmation in writing. There are four different decision types that a student can receive.
1. Conditional Offer: The university is offering a place on the chosen course on the condition that certain criteria are met. This is usually linked to achieving the stipulated grades from their current studies or gaining an additional qualification, for instance, resitting a GCSE.
2. Unconditional Offer: This means the student has definitely been accepted on the course. Often reserved for students who have already completed their qualifications, know their final grades and are taking a gap year. Some universities make unconditional offers to students in their final year of school/college. If so, we would advise careful consideration as many have caveats attached.
3. Change of Course Offer: An offer of a place is made but on a similar course to the one they originally applied for. This happens when a university feels the candidate is not suitable for the degree that they applied for. This could be due to the entry requirements being academically beyond their reach, or an indication in the personal statement that suggests the subject content will not match a student’s aspirations.
4. Unsuccessful: Due to the sheer volume of applications received it is not always possible for a university to make offers to everyone.
What happens next
Once an applicant has received decisions from all of their university choices it is time to make a decision as to which is their Firm (first choice) and which is their Insurance (second choice). This is a crucial decision and should be considered carefully. Once made, any other offers made will be retracted and cannot be reinstated.
The Firm choice should be the university they most want to study with. The Insurance should act as a back-up option should they not meet the conditions of their firm offer. Ideally, the entry requirements for the Insurance choice should be lower than those of the Firm. If this is not possible we would advise students to still select their preferred university as their Firm choice.