UCAS application process and tips
Read this page for a step-by-step process of applying to university through UCAS. You can find out more on the UCAS website, or if you aren’t yet sure which course or universities you want to apply to, see our advice on choosing a course and uni here.
Register in the UCAS Hub:
- When you start an application, you’ll have to confirm whether you’re applying from a school, college or centre
- Your school/college should have given you a buzzword to link your application to them. Entering this means is essential because it means when you send your application it will go to your school, so they can add references to your application before submitting it to universities.
- If you’re applying as an independent student, don’t worry about this
Complete the UCAS application form:
You must complete all mandatory questions but it does not have to be completed all at once – just remember to save your progress as you go along
Mandatory questions: These are used for monitoring purposes and do not influence any decisions made by universities on your application: Your residency status, Ethnic origin, Occupational background
Optional questions – ‘More about you’
This gives you the opportunity to highlight your individual circumstances. This can help universities to better understand your background and provide any required support: Parental education level, any care experience, widening participation activities
This is where you can declare a disability from a list of options and some brief information in the free text box. You don’t need to have a diagnosis to share a condition or impairment through UCAS, but you may need supporting evidence when applying for the Disabled Students’ Allowance.
N.B. You won’t be at a disadvantage if you declare a disability; the offer rate (80.5% UCAS 2023 round) is exactly the same for those declaring a disability and those not.
You will be asked how you plan to fund your studies. Note that UCAS do not manage student finance applications directly; this is done through Student Finance England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
You can give access to a person if you would like them to be able to communicate with UCAS on your behalf.
- Enter all qualification from secondary education upwards
- If you are waiting for results you still need to add them but list the results as ‘pending’
- Your referee should add your predicted grades to your application
- Some universities required module results so do check what they ask for in the entry requirements of the course
- Some extracurricular qualifications may account towards extra UCAS points (e.g Extended Project Qualification, BSL certificate music or performance qualifications over Grade 6)
- Duke of Edinburgh does not count for UCAS Tariff points but is great to share the transferable skills and experience you gained within your personal statement
- Any work experience or volunteering belongs on your personal statement
- If you’ve had full- or part-time jobs you can add up to 5 here, along with dates of employment, company names and addresses.
- Any work experience or volunteering belongs on your personal statement.
- You can enter up to 5 course/university choices (all at once or can add some later if you’re still deciding)
- You can only apply for maximum of 4 medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry courses – an alternative 5th subject can be chosen
- The order you enter them in doesn’t matter (the universities can’t see your other choices)
- N.B. You can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge, not both
This is your chance to explain in 4,000 characters why you’re interested in this particular subject and why you’re good at it.
Note this is changing for applications to start study in 2026. The overall character limit remains the same as does the expected content however rather than one long piece of text, it has been split into 3 questions to help structure your application.
- Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
- What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
You can find tips on writing a personal statement below.
Check your application: you can ask family and teachers to help too. Make sure you save it, mark all sections as complete, then read and agree to the declaration (this allows UCAS to process your info and pass it on to the universities you’re applying to, so it’s important!).
Pay: to submit the form, you will have to pay the UCAS fee.
- This is £28.50 in total to apply for up to 5 courses
- If you’re applying via school/college, they will either ask you to pay them (to pass on to UCAS), or they will ask you to pay UCAS directly, before they add your reference and send your application in for you
- If you have been in receipt of free school meals within the last 6 years you will be eligible to have your application fee waived
- Independent candidates will be asked to pay after you’ve added your reference and, along with some school applicants, pay UCAS directly via direct debit online
Once your application is sent, UCAS will email your referees to complete your references.
- If you attend a school or college, your application will (thanks to the buzzword you entered at the start!) first be sent there, for them to add your academic reference.
- If you’re applying independently, you’ll need to find an academic or professional referee to write one for you.
- School referees will write about your studies, ambitions and your current predicted grades
Once your references are complete, your application will be sent off to the universities you’ve applied to. You’ll have to wait to see if you are made an offer (this may be conditional on exam results), offered an interview or rejected by the university. You will be emailed about any updates to your account on the UCAS Hub.
Personal Statement advice
- Show, don’t tell – don’t just say ‘I’m interested’, discuss why, mention books/articles you’ve read or films you’ve watched and engage with them: why you agree/disagree with what they say?
- Mention any relevant work experience, volunteering and skills you’ve gained from your extra-curricular activities.
- If you’re applying for a very competitive university like Oxbridge, focus on academics rather than extra-curricular interests. They like what are called ‘supra-curriculars’ – things you’ve done in your spare time that show interest in your subject, e.g. reading around your subject (beyond the A-level syllabus), joining a society/club related to your subject.
- Be honest! Plagiarism software is used to check personal statements sent via UCAS so if you copy one off the internet (even if you make minor changes) they will know and will inform the universities you’ve applied to!
- If you’re applying for a course you’ve never studied before, give evidence that you have explored the subject and are seriously interested in it, rather than randomly picking it. You could read books, find a summer school offering tasters, start learning the new language you’ve applied to or for law, go and sit in on a case at your local court.
- Be yourself. As well as being cheesy, this is actually really important – universities read thousands of personal statements so the best way to stand out and make them interested in you is to be your unique self. They’ll see who you are, whether you’re a good fit for them, and if their course is a good fit for you!
- Pitch it right: this is a formal application, and you want to impress them, so try to avoid slang. That said, you don’t have to use a thesaurus and write in an unnaturally fancy way; using your honest voice is what will make you seem genuine and impressive.
- Check what you’ve written: avoiding spelling mistakes or typos will show the universities that you’ve taken time and care with your application. Also be aware that the UCAS algorithm often misreads accented letters and changes them to symbols, so you may have to drop accents in your text (@ language applicants!).
What happens next?
After a few weeks or months, you should hear back from the universities you applied to. They may reply with:
- An unconditional offer – regardless of your exam results, you’re in!
- A conditional offer – you’re in, as long as you get certain grades!
- An invitation to interview – Oxbridge, some other universities and many medicine courses interview candidates before making offers.
- A rejection – unfortunately you didn’t get in – don’t worry, you have 4 other universities and clearing to find a place.
Making your decision:
Once you’ve heard back from everyone, you have to pick which offer is your ‘firm’ (i.e. 1st choice) and which is your ‘insurance’ (2nd choice).
It’s wise to pick an insurance with an offer which is lower than your firm choice offer and your predicted grades, so you can fall back on it if exams don’t go your way. After making your decision, it’s time to put in the work and wait for results day! You can see potential results-day outcomes below.
Timeline of applying – Key dates (listed by UCAS here).
| September | Applications open |
| 15th October | Early deadline (Oxbridge and most medicine/ veterinary medicine/dentistry courses) |
| 15th January | General deadline for submitting applications |
| Late Feb – 5th July | UCAS extra: if you are rejected by your unis you can apply for other places (like pre-results clearing). |
| May | Formal deadline for decisions (unis must answer you by this date, if you applied before 15/1). -> you have till June to pick a firm and insurance choice. |
| 5th July (open till 20th Oct) | Clearing: if you had no offers, applied late or missed your offer on results day, you can still find a place via clearing. |
| August | Exam results |
Potential outcomes after exam results day:
- Meet your firm offer: your place is confirmed!
- Miss your firm but make your insurance offer: your place at your insurance university choice is confirmed!
- Miss both offers: you can still find a place via clearing. You can also look into re-sitting the exams, or appealing your grades (this usually carries a fee).
- Exceed both offers: you can release yourself into clearing by declining your place if you think there is a course available that would better suit you and you have the required grades. It’s always worth speaking to the university directly for more guidance.
Support with your application
If you are in school or college you will probably be guided through the process with the help of your tutor and teacher(s).
You can find ‘official’ advice online from UCAS, the Complete University Guide and on some universities’ own websites. There’s also ‘unofficial’ advice on YouTube and sites like The Student Room.
There are organisations offering free help to applicants, guiding you through the university application process:
Organisation | Which universities | What help do they offer | Eligibility |
Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, UCL, LSE, King’s College London, Warwick, Durham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Leeds They also offer a US or EU university application programme. | Mentoring and other resources | Aim to support students most in need. Such as: first in your family to go to university, low-income family, immigrant community, region where few students go to study top university, lack of support from school | |
Any | Mentoring, masterclasses, scholarships, community | Look for students who come from backgrounds and areas where reaching a top university is more of a challenge. You need to be in Year 12/13 in England and Wales, S5/S6 in Scotland, or Y13/14 in Northern Ireland and attend a state school (either comprehensive or grammar). Most applicants from British state schools are a great fit for Zero Gravity. | |
Oxford & Cambridge | Online info on applying | Anyone |
Why not check out Head Up!’s mentoring scheme? If you have a disability, physical or mental health condition, learning difficulty or a neurodiverse condition like ASD, we want to help with mentoring that covers both the educational/academic and non-academic challenges you might face, offering practical advice and support.
We hope this helps you with your UCAS application!
Written by the Head-Up! team
About Us
The general aim and objective of Head Up! is to promote the interests of young people with disabilities, physical and/or mental health conditions, specific learning difficulties and neurodivergence; offering them practical advice and support concerning their education and welfare.