UCAS Extra is a new service available from 25th February to 4th July 2017. The service is primarily for students who have rejected or been rejected by their previous five choices. There’s no limit to how many times you can apply to a course in Extra, but you can only apply within the timeframe and to one course at a time.
Are you eligible for UCAS Extra?
You’re only eligible for UCAS Extra if you’ve used all of your five choices in your application and you’re not holding any offers. All of your choices must be unsuccessful, declined, or cancelled, if you cancelled a choice before you received a decision.
To use UCAS Extra check the ‘Your Choices’ option in the Track section, an ‘Add an Extra Choice’ link will appear if you’re eligible.
If you only applied to four choices because you are interested in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science you will not be able to use the service, but if you’ve seen a course you’re interested in available in Extra you should contact the university to check availability and to apply.
Do you have to pay for UCAS Extra?
Extra is free for most students, if you are eligible, but if you only applied to one choice, you’ll have to pay an £11 extra fee in Track.
How do you add a course in UCAS Extra?
Use UCAS’s search tool and search for a course you are interested in. When you’ve found it there should be a link on the left hand side – ‘Show courses in Extra’. If you can’t find a course in Extra, it might be worth contacting the university directly and asking whether there are still any places available. If they agree to take you, then you need to ask them to make the course available in Extra.
Then what?
If you are offered the course you applied for all you need to do is confirm your placement on Track. But if you decide to decline the offer, or you don’t get a decision within 21 days you can add another choice. Universities may take longer than 21 days to contact you – their deadline is 13th July – but it is up to you if you’d like to continue waiting or replace them with another Extra choice.
Say you don’t receive an offer you’d like; you can still go through clearing.
If you have any more questions or queries we haven’t cleared up for you, please check the UCAS Extra site.
- By Jivan Ward
