What is UCAS?

May 1, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Jul 22

All UK-based university applications are made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). In short, anyone who wants to study an undergraduate degree in the UK will need to apply through UCAS, which processes millions of applications each year and helps hundreds of thousands of students secure a full-time place at a university or college across the UK. To learn more about UCAS and the work they do, visit their website.

How does my child apply to university through UCAS?

To apply to university within the UK, your child will need to submit an online application through UCAS. There are seven sections to complete:

personal details
additional information
student finance
choices
education details
personal statement
employment

The process itself is reasonably straightforward, but much of the content requires considerable preparation before submission, so this is absolutely not something to leave until the last minute. Applications that have been rushed and insufficiently thought through are obvious, and a slapdash approach could jeopardise opportunities, so make sure your child invests plenty of time in the application.

How does my child apply to university through UCAS?

When must my child submit their application to UCAS?

Unlike schools, which can sometimes flex deadlines for academic work, the UCAS deadlines are fixed, and late applications may not be considered at all, so it’s important to respect the timetable. The deadline for when your child must submit will depend on the university and course they’re applying to.

For most universities and courses, the main deadline falls at the end of January each year, but an earlier deadline (mid-October) applies for applications to Oxford and Cambridge, and to some specific courses such as medicine, dentistry and veterinary science. Always check the current dates on the UCAS website, as they can change from year to year. Make sure your child sticks to the deadlines set by their school or college too, as this allows time for applications to be checked, changes to be made, and school references to be written.

Nominated access

While your child needs to complete the application themselves, in the personal information section there’s the option to add your name as 'nominated access'. This means that, with a few of their personal details, you’ll be able to track progress with their application directly, either with UCAS or the universities they’ve applied to. This is very handy if they’re travelling and out of contact, or not very good at keeping you updated.

How many university courses can my child apply to?

When making an application through UCAS, your child can apply for a maximum of five courses in any one year. This can be five versions of the same course at five different universities, five different courses all at the same university, or any combination of the two.

Try to encourage your child to apply for a range of courses with different entry requirements, in case academic expectations are surpassed or not met. It’s usually advised to apply for a mix of aspirational, realistic and safe options. Applying only to universities with similar entry requirements may prove a costly error when it comes to receiving offers, or on results day.

Entry requirements and UCAS tariff points

To compare students as equitably as possible, UCAS offers a tariff (previously known as the points system), whereby each sixth form qualification is awarded a certain number of points according to a combination of the time spent studying it and the grade achieved.

This tariff is recognised nationally across the UK, and universities use it to gauge the standard of achievement for sixth form students. It enables them to make comparisons between students who have studied different types of course, such as Scottish Highers, BTECs, A levels and T Levels.

Depending on the perceived course difficulty and the type of university, the minimum entry requirements will vary both from university to university and from course to course within the same university. Not all post-sixth-form establishments cite a UCAS tariff; they might specify grade requirements (for example, three A levels at a minimum of ABB), but it’s the same thing. If they do cite a UCAS tariff (for example, a minimum of 120 points), check the tariff tables using the UCAS calculator to work out what qualifications and grades will be needed to gain entry.

Entry requirements and UCAS tariff points

Personal statement

As part of the university application through UCAS, your child will need to submit a personal statement. Effectively, this is a short (4,000 characters, or roughly 500 words) advert that lets your child showcase why they’d make a great student.

Content for a personal statement isn’t something that can be created overnight. It takes time to assimilate ideas and finesse them, so it’s good to encourage your child to start thinking about it well ahead of submission time.

Maintain relevance

As your child can only make one application through UCAS each year, it’s important to ensure the overall application is relevant to each admissions tutor reading it.

For example, if applying for economics and politics at one university, but economics and philosophy at another, it might be wise to focus subject-related discussion on economics (the common denominator in both cases), and use references in the personal statement to indicate suitability to study politics and philosophy. If all the text in the course section relates to economics and politics, a tutor offering a place for economics and philosophy might interpret that this isn’t their preferred option and dismiss the application.

Applying for courses that are completely different, irrespective of university location, could be interpreted as your child not knowing where their interest lies, and is unlikely to be looked on favourably. If this happens, it might be better for them to go back to the drawing board and reconsider their course choices.