A UCAS application is required for those wish to study at a university in the United Kingdom. Although the sheer size of the application can seem overwhelming at first, with its multiple sections and lengthy process, we have compiled a useful UCAS application guide that will simplify the application for you, detailing what you need to do and making the entire process less intimidating.
Before we start, what is UCAS?
UCAS stands for the Universities and Colleges Admission Service, and it is an independent organisation that oversees and processes university applications to any UK university. While some UK schools will offer a school login, you can also complete your application using your own, unique personal login with an email address (which UCAS will first need to verify), in order to track your application and save your progress. This also means that you don’t have to complete your entire application at once – you can save your progress then sign in again when you feel ready to start the next stage!
Once you have logged in and created your UCAS account, you can begin your application. Following the submission of your application, you will then be able to use your UCAS account to check which universities have made you a conditional offer, refused you, made you an unconditional offer or placed you on a waiting list.
The application itself is divided into eight sections:
Personal Details
Additional Information
Student Finance
University or Course Choices
Education History
Employment
Personal Statement
Reference
We will go through these sections one at a time to ensure you understand what is required at each stage, and have the best chance of being made an offer on your chosen course.
Personal Details
The first section is easy, and most candidates should have no trouble completing it. Simply enter your name, address, age, any disabilities or special needs, criminal records, funding (including whether or not you will be using student finance), and other information. You may also appoint another person – normally a parent or guardian – who would be able to connect with UCAS on your behalf. They won't have access to your login details, but they will be able to talk to UCAS about your submission.
2. Additional Information
The second section is only needed if you are submitting an application from the United Kingdom. It includes questions about your ethnic background, parent's professions, national identity, sexual orientation, and gender identity, among others. While the questions are needed for UK applicants, this section does not contribute to your overall application.
This information is only shared with universities and colleges after you have been made an offer or at the conclusion of the application cycle, and is used for equality monitoring and application statistics. Universities and colleges may use this information to get a more complete understanding of who you are, as well as any contextual information that might be needed to fully understand your background and provide appropriate support for you.
3. Student Finance
Again, this section is not applicable to everyone. Only those who have selected that they will be using student finance in order to fund their university studies (in the Personal Details section, under funding) will have to fill in this section.
Simply put, student finance allows students to borrow money to help cover the costs of their university or college tuition fees and any living expenses. There is a chance of having a larger loan if there are extenuating circumstances, such as being on a reduced income, being disabled, being a caretaker, and so on. This loan will only be repaid once you have graduated and earn over a certain amount, and the size of your monthly repayments will be determined by how much you earn rather than how much you owe. There will be interest on this loan, and the process will vary depending on whether you are a student from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
4. University or Course Choices
This section is often seen as the main section of the UCAS application; it is where you decide where you want to go and what you want to study.
Each applicant has a total of five choices, and you cannot choose more than one course at each university (there is often an option to switch courses within the university once you accept the offer, although this is not guaranteed). While you can choose less than five courses to apply to, it is usually recommended that you use all five options, as this will improve your chances receiving an offer from one of your choices.
If you are struggling to decide on a course, you may want to consider the following factors to help you make your final decision:
What did you study at A-Level?
For some applicants, their A-Level or equivalent studies can help them to decide on a course. For example, if you studied Art and Maths, you may want to look into Architecture. Some subjects such as these can easily be put together to lead to a university course, but if your subjects were less easily linked this may not be the best course of action.
Furthermore, certain university courses will require specific A-Level or GCSE (or equivalent) subjects. For instance, courses such as medicine often require you to have studied Chemistry, so if you haven’t studied it at A-Level or equivalent you cannot apply. For other subjects it will be a more general prerequisite, for example many Liberal Arts courses require you to have studied an essay subject at A-Level or equivalent, so as long as you studied an essay subject – such as English or History – you can still apply.
What did you enjoy most throughout your studies?
Some students find that what they studied at A-Level or equivalent was not very enjoyable, and they are not passionate enough about the subject to commit to it at a university level. Remember, most university courses will last for three or four years, so it is important that whatever you choose to study is something that you feel excited about and willing to study for that length of time.
What do you want to do as a career?
Just as some A-Level subjects can point directly to a university course (Biology and Chemistry A-Levels often lead to a degree in Medicine, for example), some university or college courses can lead directly to a career path. If your aim is to become an author, for instance, a degree in English Literature or something similar would be valuable, while for someone who aspires to be a mechanic, a degree in Engineering would be of more use.
Is there a particular city or area in the UK that you would like to study in most?
As your university degree will likely take around three or four years to complete, it is important that you remember that you will be spending years of your life in whichever area you choose. A useful way to decide whether you like an area or not is to attend an in-person open day and explore the area, but if that is not possible many universities will have either a virtual tour or more information about their local area on their website.
You could also base this decision on any prior information you have of an area, from holidays or general knowledge. The reputation of a city could also be useful, as many students choose to go to London to study due to its status as a cosmopolitan culture hub, and as the capital of the United Kingdom.
Would you prefer a campus or a city university?
Similarly, you may want to look into the differences between a campus university and a city university, as you will be spending a few years living there.
A campus university is one which is completely situated in one area. Student accommodation, research facilities, leisure centres and teaching will all happen on one site. This is useful if you don’t want to travel far between classes, and can feel more like one big family.
A city university is one where the facilities are spread out across a city. Although this does mean that university classes and amenities will be further away from you, there is the added benefit of more attractions, events and shops surrounding you.
Are there any universities that specialise in your subject?
Some universities will specialise in or have a good reputation for particular subjects; if you want to study English, Durham offers a renowned English course, while for Psychology the University of St Andrews would be better suited. You can check university rankings for more information on which universities are placed where by subject.
Where is each university ranked?
The university rankings are not just useful for seeing where each university is ranked by subject, but there is also the opportunity to see them ranked by student satisfaction, research quality or graduate prospects. This alongside other student satisfaction rankings can help you to see what students think of a university or how promising graduate prospects are, allowing you to see which universities or colleges will have more options for your career after university.
Your choice of university should stem from your course choice. Decide what course or courses you wish to apply for (you can apply to a different course at each university, for example you could apply for English at one university then Liberal Arts at another) and then see which universities offer that course. Once you have done that, then you can begin narrowing down your university options.
There is no order of preference for your choices, and the universities or colleges that you choose will not be able to see where else you have applied until after you have replied to your offers.
If you want to take a gap year, spend a year working or anything that means you won’t be at university for another year, you can also apply for deferred entry, wherein you apply this year but will be attending the university the next year.
5. Education History
In this section, you will need to enter your full education history. This includes all qualifications from your secondary education right up to the present day – even if you are still waiting to complete exams or receive results, these should still be included.
Your predicted grades should be added to your application, in particular for your A-Levels or equivalent, as some universities or colleges will not consider your application without them.
If you have already attended a college or university but were unable to or did not complete the course, you will also need to include the details of this course, such as your start and finish dates.
6. Employment
In this section you will need to include up to five part-time or full-time employments that you have had, or are currently undertaking. This could include summer jobs, volunteering, temporary work etc. Any previous employment highlights your responsibility, drive and diligence, which are all key qualities that universities want to see!
It is especially useful if your employment can in some way relate to the course you are applying for, such as a week volunteering in France when you are applying for a French degree. However, it is also worthwhile considering if these would be better to mention in your personal statement (the next section), as they will emphasise how passionate you are for your chosen subject.
7. Personal statement
For many applicants, this is the trickiest section of the application. Your personal statement is only 4000 characters (including spaces) and 47 lines long (roughly one A4 page). It should show your chosen universities/colleges what a good student you are, and how dedicated you are to your course. It is recommended that you check through it with teachers, parents, advisers or peers until you are fully satisfied with your personal statement, as you can only submit one statement to all of the courses you are applying to.
If you are applying for a joint-honours course, or applying for different courses at different universities, you will need to make sure that you mention both of your choices in your personal statement. If you are applying for a French-English joint honours, or for each subject at separate universities, your statement will need to include both your passion for French, and why you want to study English.
The main priority of your statement should be focusing on your relationship with the subject(s) you are applying for. You have a limited number of characters, so don’t waste them on long sentences with no real point, instead trying to back up your points with evidence. ‘I want to study English because I like reading’ may be true, but it takes up 46 characters and has no real substance. Instead, focus on ways in which you have already engaged with the subject. Have you completed any work experience related to this subject? Are there any clubs or extra-curricular activities you have done which relate to it? Have you won any awards?
Ensure you also reflect positive skills and qualities which the universities/colleges will value. You might want to check the course descriptions on the universities’ websites to see what they are looking for. If you have chosen multiple subjects, try to find some common themes or qualities which overlap.
While the content of your statement is important, you shouldn’t forget to double check your grammar, spelling and punctuation as well, as you don’t want to submit anything with sloppy errors, as this could make it seem as though you are not a diligent student.
Although some UK universities such as Durham University will allow you to submit a ‘substitute personal statement’ to them. A substitute personal statement allows you to focus only on the course that you are applying for at Durham, if you are applying for different courses at different universities/colleges, you should keep in mind that the majority of universities will only receive your UCAS personal statement.
8.Reference
Finally, you need to submit your reference. This is a single, written recommendation from someone who has experience with you academically – usually a teacher.
You should work hard academically, and try to choose a teacher that you have a positive relationship with to ensure the best possible recommendation. They may comment on your work ethic, relationships or interactions with other students, suitability for higher education or other topics, so do your best to ensure that they have nothing to be negative about!
When do you have to apply by?
While the majority of university applications close on the 15th of January, applications for Oxbridge (The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford) close earlier, on the 15th of October.
Most schools will ask for a completed application by the end of November or early December, so if you are applying through your school make sure you are prepared.
It is important to allow yourself enough time to make any changes necessary, so start as soon as you can! It is normally recommended that students begin to look at universities around January of Year 12 (the penultimate year of secondary education). This is when you should start to read about different courses and universities, beginning to narrow down your choices. It is also a good idea to start drafting your personal statement around this time; as most students go through multiple drafts and reviews before their final statement, so make sure you have enough time.