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How to apply
Decided which subject(s)
you want to study and which university courses you’re after? Now find out how you apply for a place at university.
The UCAS Application System
Fact File
Nearly all applications
for HE courses are made through an organisation called UCAS - the Universities
and Colleges Admissions Service.
You can apply for a maximum
of six courses. This does not mean you have to pick one course per institution.
It is perfectly possible for you to pick four courses or even the whole six in one institution.
The closing date (that is, the date by which your form has to be received by UCAS)
is 15 January, to start your course the following autumn. Your entries must be in alphabetical order. This means the universities cannot
tell which is your preferred institution.
Applications received after 15 January are currently stamped as being 'late entry'.
UCAS sends copies of your
form to all your university choices at the same time. Late entries are also sent out to your
chosen universities.
Late applicants may find they get more
refusals especially for popular courses like Law, English, Media Studies and some social sciences.
UCAS then passes their
decisions on to you.
Applying to Oxford and/or Cambridge? You still have to complete a UCAS
form for applications to either Oxford or Cambridge, as welll as an individual college
application form. The closing date for applications for Oxford and Cambridge is 15 October to start
your course the following Autumn.
Studying medicine or dentistry? Current advice is that students should
apply to no more than four places. You should be able to apply for two alternative courses with no adverse
effect on your medical or dental applications. The closing date for these courses is also 15 October to start
your course the following Autumn.
University admissions tutors
tell UCAS if they are going to offer you a place or not. Once all the decisions from the universities
have been received by UCAS, they will contact you asking you to decide which offers to
accept by a certain date. This date will depend on when all offers were received.
UCAS currently advises that if you have not heard from a particular university by May, then
you should consider yourself rejected and make your decisions from your remaining offers.
Unless you already have
the qualifications you need to get into university, your offers will be conditional
on you achieving certain exam passes later in the year.
You can accept up to two
offers – one ‘firm’ offer (your first choice) and one ‘insurance’ offer (your
second choice). Some people say that your first offer should be asking for relatively high grades,
while your 'insurance' choice should be one which asks for lower grades, to give you the best
chance of getting a place.
It's important to bear in mind that once you've accepted
a firm and insurance offer, these offers are then considered legally binding. If you get the grades asked for
by your chosen university, they are under no obligation to release you from your decision.
This is an important point, as many universities will still accept candidates with lower points.
For example, your firm offer requires three
B grades and your insurance offer two Cs and a D grade. You get a B and two C grades. Your firm offer rejects you and you decide to try for
a university that's asking for the grades you have. You will not be able to do this, as you are holding
an offer from your insurance university. The fact that you have got higher grades than they require is incidental.
The only way out of this dilemma would be to withdraw from the UCAS scheme, take a year out and
re-apply for a university place the following year.
If you do not get the grades required by either your firm
or insurance university, and both reject you, then you should still be able to get a university place through ‘Clearing’.
How to complete your UCAS
form
If you’re a full-time student
your school or college will give you a UCAS form. If you’ve left school, you can
get one from your local Careers Centre.
Make sure you have a copy
of the UCAS Handbook and and the UCAS booklet ‘Instructions For Completion of
the Application Form’. You should be given these with your
application form.
Read the Instructions carefully
before you start and follow what they say to the letter.
Take a photocopy of the
blank form and practise before attempting the real thing.
Write clearly using black
biro, or word process your form in black type (use 12-point font). Or you can
use the UCAS electronic application system on (www.ucas.com and e-mail or
send in your form on a disk.
Don’t make spelling mistakes
or cross things out. Get someone else to check your spelling. If you make a mess,
start again.
Pay special attention to
section 10, the personal statement. This, and your reference,
are the most important parts of the form.
Pass your form to your referee
in plenty of time for them to write your reference and pass it on to UCAS by the
closing date. Keep a copy of your completed form.
Applying for Art and Design
courses?
The application procedure
is a little different to other courses.The UCAS Handbook
tells you about this. Discuss you application with your Art tutors who will help you
decide which process you wish to use.
Completing your Personal Statement
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