What is UCAS?
UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is the centralised admissions service that UK students use to apply to university.
How do I register for UCAS?
Go to www.ucas.com and register for an account. You’ll be asked basic questions such as your date of birth, address, email address, and your preferred password and security question answers. Make sure to add the buzzword your school/college gives you to link your application to them.
How many universities can I apply to?
You can choose up to 5 courses to apply to, you can apply to multiple courses at the same university or to five different universities. The universities won’t see where else you’ve applied to until after you reply to their offers. You don’t need to rank them by preference, UCAS will just put them in alphabetical order. Make sure the course code is the right one!
How Do I Choose a University?
Picking which universities to apply to is a daunting task, three years is a long time to be living somewhere and studying a subject you hate.
When choosing a university there are lots of things you need to consider; the course itself, the university, the location of the university, how the course/university ranks in league tables, student satisfaction and job prospects, etc.The most important thing to consider when looking at universities is what YOU want. Whilst listening to teachers and parents is important, you’re the one who’ll be living there for at least three years. Make sure it’s where you want to be. Find out more about choosing a university here.
One of the best ways to decide if a university is for you is by attending an open day. You get to meet with current students and explore campus buildings and facilities to work out if you can see yourself there. To find an open day browse through our university open day calendar. Visiting universities around the country can be very expensive, it's important to remember that lots of universities offer travel bursaries to prospective applicants coming to open days.
What is a Personal Statement?
A Personal Statement is an essay about why you’re the perfect student for the university. This is your opportunity to stand out from the crowd and let the university know why they should give you an offer. In the statement you need to talk about why you're interested in studying that course and what classes / work experience / volunteering you've undertaken and what skills you've developed from them that make you a suitable candidate.
How much does applying to university cost?
Your application fee depends on how many universities you apply to. If you only apply to one it’s £18, if you apply to more than one it’s £24. What happens after you've submitted your Personal Statement?
After you’ve submitted your personal statement your teachers will add your provisional grades to the application. They will also provide a reference which talks about your work ethic and suitability for higher education/careers. You can decide which teachers provide a reference, but you CANNOT ask your friends or family.
A few months after the application deadline universities will reply to you with a rejection, a conditional offer, or an unconditional offer.
What is Student Finance?
Student Finance gives all students a tuition fee loan regardless of your parental income, and offers maintainace loans based on income.
When submitting your application you can sign up to receive an email notifying you when you can apply for Student Finance. Student Finance is run by Student Finance England and NOT by UCAS.
