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UCAS applications

UCAS Applications

UCAS is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

If you want to take a full time course leading to a degree, a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education, or a Higher National Diploma or Certificate at a university, or other institution of higher education in the UK, you must apply through UCAS.

Apply online using the UCAS service, Apply. You can access this secure application system through the UCAS website, http://www.ucas.com/. More information on the UCAS application system is given below.

When to apply to UCAS

The important dates for entry in 2009 are given below.

  • For most courses (including Art and Design Route A (Simultaneous) courses, but not including Art and Design Route B (Sequential) courses), apply between 1 September 2008 and 15 January 2009. Applications received between 16 January and 30 June 2009 will be regarded as late applications. They may be considered by universities and colleges at their discretion, if they still have vacancies after considering all applications received on time.
  • For Art and Design Route B (Sequential) courses only, apply between 1 September 2008 and 24 March 2009. However, you are strongly advised to submit your application no later than 7 March 2009 if possible, because UCAS starts sending applications to first choice universities and colleges on 12 February 2009. Applications received between 25 March and 11 June 2009 will be regarded as late applications. They may be considered by universities and colleges at their discretion, if they still have vacancies after considering all applications received on time.
  • Applications which include Oxford or Cambridge Universities among the choices must reach UCAS between 1 September and 15 October 2008.
  • Applications which include courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine or Veterinary Science at any university must also reach UCAS between 1 September and 15 October 2008.
  • All new applications received by UCAS after 30 June 2009 (11 June 2009 in the case of Art and Design Route B (Sequential) courses) are entered directly into the Clearing system.
  • The closing date for applications through the Clearing system is 20 September 2009.

For the best chance of getting the place you want, make sure your application is ready in good time. Your school or college needs time to add a reference before sending your application off, so get your part done with plenty of time to spare.

Note: If you want to take a year out

  

If you intend to have a gap year and start your course in 2010, check that the university or college will accept a 'deferred entry' application. You must also tick the Defer box in the Courses section of the application form. You must still meet the entry requirements by 31 August 2009, as if you were in fact starting your studies in 2009.

 

Using the Apply system – how to complete your application 

  • you can use Apply anywhere with internet access
  • you can re-work and re-save information on the application form as
    often as you need.

There are several sections to complete. Remember to save as you go!

Registration: register to use the system
Personal details: such as your name and address
Additional information: mainly information for statistical purposes, for example your gender and nationality
Choices: where you list your course choices
Education: details of where you are currently studying and your qualifications
Employment: information on any full time or part time jobs you have had
Personal statement: your chance to explain what a good applicant you are

The following sections must also be completed before you apply:

Reference – to back up your application
Declaration – that you’ve completed the form accurately and honestly
Pay/Send – your application fee

Registration

First, you must register with Apply. To do this, you need to get a buzzword from your school, college or centre. This lets UCAS know which organisation you are applying from. Once you have the buzzword, log on to http://www.ucas.com/ and click on Apply.

When you register, just follow the instructions:

  • fill in your personal details (such as name, address, telephone number, email address)    
  • choose a password, and select four security questions and enter relevant answers (this is to help you if you forget your login details)
  • click 'next' to get your username
  •   you should note your username at once – it will not be displayed again and make a note of your password – keep it safe, with your username
  •  you will need your username and password every time you log in
  •  if you forget your username and password, you can click on ‘Forgotten login’ and your security question and answer will help you find them.

You do not have to complete your application as soon as you register.

Additional information

You will find some Personal Details already entered in this section, from the information you gave when you registered. You must complete the other sections. Compulsory sections are marked with an asterisk*. If a section does not apply to you, leave it blank. If you need help completing any sections, select the help option in the main menu or click on the ? for help with specific questions.

 

  • if you were born outside the UK but now live here, give the date when you started to live here permanently
  • enter your residential category - for most applicants this will be category 'A' – if you are not sure, there is a series of questions you can answer to find which category suits you best
  • if you have any unspent criminal convictions you must enter a tick in the box – if you are applying for a course leading to work with children or vulnerable adults, institutions may ask you to undergo a Disclosure Scotland check before you start the course
  • if you are likely to be away at any time during the application period you can choose to nominate someone (like a parent, relative or guardian) to act for you and make decisions on your behalf; you have to give their name and their relationship to you
  • choose a code from the pull-down list to show your fee code - most applicants will be in category '02', but if you are taking a NHS funded course you will be in category '05'
  • select the code for any disability, special needs or medical condition from the pull-down list – if you have a special need of any sort it is best to say so, as additional support can be arranged from the start of your course – see the notes in the UCAS booklet ‘Applying Online’
  • complete the Additional Information and National Identity sections by choosing from the pull-down lists

Choices

Enter your course choices in any order – Apply will put them in alphabetical order.

Check carefully that you have entered the correct UCAS institution and course codes for each course you choose.

You can choose up to five courses, unless you apply for

  • Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science: you can choose only up to four courses in any one of these subjects, though you may apply for other subjects
  • Oxford or Cambridge: you can apply for only one course, at one of them (unless you already have a degree)

Remember the early closing date of 15 October 2008 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine or veterinary science, and also for Oxford or Cambridge!

If you are applying for art and design courses:     

  • you can apply through Route A or Route B, depending on how the course is listed in the UCAS handbook – if the course is available by either Route, discuss with your teacher or adviser which Route would be best for you
  • for Route B you can enter no more than three choices in order of preference
  • full details of how to apply are given in the UCAS booklet ‘Applying Online’.

Education

Give details of where you are currently studying and your qualifications.

You must :

  • the name and centre number of the school you are at now, and select start and finish dates from the drop-down menu
  • you must also give the name, type of attendance and dates for the most recent secondary schools or colleges you have attended (you can add up to 10 schools/colleges)
  • if you are a mature student you should give details of the last school or college you attended full time, and any schools, colleges or universities you have attended full time or part time since then.

You then must select from the drop-down menu to give complete and accurate details of: 

  • qualifications for which you already have certificates
  •    qualifications for which you are studying or waiting for exam results.

For Standard Grades, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Highers and Advanced Highers: 

  • do not enter details of the units making up these qualifications unless the university or college has asked you to
  • if you have, or are taking, Higher Maths, enter details for your External Course Assessment option (Maths 3 or Statistics) as a unit or module.

For National units and other free-standing units enter details for units you have passed or are studying, which are not part of a completed course or Scottish Group Award:

  • do not enter Core Skills units – these go under your Core Skills Profile (see below).

For Higher National Certificates or Diplomas, Professional Development Awards, Scottish Vocational Qualifications or Scottish Progression Awards

  • enter the title of the whole course, the date you finished or expect to finish it and the result if known
  • then click on ‘add a module/unit’ or ‘add a subject’ to enter details of the content
  • if you have taken HNC/D units but not as part of a course, enter them as free-standing units (see above).

For your Core Skills Profile 

  • enter the general information for the whole profile
  • then click on ‘add a module/unit’ or ‘add a subject’ to enter details for all the core skills making up the profile

If you are taking an Access Course (either a Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP) or an access programme agreed locally with a university or college), talk to your tutor before you start to apply.

If you are a mature student, list all your qualifications. If you have no qualifications and plan to enter higher education through Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), talk to your chosen college or university before applying to UCAS.

Check that you have given all the information required about your qualifications. Read the UCAS booklet 'Applying Online' very carefully and check again!

Other sections in ‘Education’

  • Summer Schools: if you have attended any of these you must enter the appropriate code and give dates
  • Progress File: if you have a Progress File, enter a tick in the box
  • Scottish Candidate Number (SCN): enter this because UCAS uses it to send your results to the institutions where you hold offers, so they can confirm your place.

Employment: you are asked for details of any full or part time work

  • give job titles, employers’ names and addresses and dates of employment
  • say whether you worked full or part time
  • include weekend and holiday jobs
  • do not include unpaid work experience or voluntary work – this goes in your personal statement
  • if you think more information about your work would help your application, you can send further details direct to your chosen institutions after UCAS has processed your application and you have your Personal ID/application number, which you must quote.

Personal Statement

 

You must write a ‘personal statement’. This is your chance to tell the institutions about yourself and why they should have you as a student. There is a separate article on PlanIT Plus to help you with your personal statement.

 

 

Reference

 

Before you send your application to your referee

 

  • check that Choices, Education, Employment, About you and Personal statement are all recorded as complete on the main entry screen
  • get someone else to check that your application is completed properly
  • print a copy to keep for reference.

 

Then send your application, online, to your school or college referee. Your referee will:

 

  • check your application (and may ask you to make some changes)
  • add a reference
  • approve your application
  • send your application to UCAS.

 

If you are applying independently, not through a UCAS centre such as a school or college, you get a reference from your referee and then copy and paste it in to your application.

 

Declaration

 

Click on terms of use of the Apply system. Read the information about the Declaration and the Data Protection Act.

 

  • you should then click on the box to confirm that the information you have given is ‘true, complete and accurate’ and you agree with the terms of use
  • you must then confirm your agreement with the statements on the declaration screen before you send off your application. 

Pay/Send

 

There is a fee for applying through UCAS. It is £7 if you apply for only one course, £17 if you apply for more than one course.

Your school will tell you how to pay. If you are applying independently you can pay by using the online credit or debit card payment facility.

Fees, funding and finance

 

How will you pay for your course and get help with your living expenses? Look at the section on Funding your studies for more information. Detailed information on student funding and student support arrangements is available from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

 

What happens when your application is sent in?

Your school or college sends off your application. You can check through the UCAS website that it has arrived.

When UCAS gets your application, it sends

  • your application to each institution you have applied to – it does not tell each institution which others you have applied to
  • you a Personal ID/application number and a booklet called Applicants Welcome Guide – the booklet tells you what to do next.

Each institution then decides whether to offer you a place. They may ask you to gain certain exam results (a conditional offer).

Provided your application is in by 15 January 2009, you should hear from all of the institutions from March onwards – most decisions are made by 31 March – and by 9 May 2009 at the latest. (If your application was late, you may not hear until 20 July 2009).

When you have heard from all your institutions, you choose two offers to hold until you get your exam results. Choose the one you would like best to hold as your firm offer, and another as insurance, backup in case you are not accepted by your firm choice. If you are given, and accept, an unconditional offer, you cannot hold any other offers.

When you have your offers, UCAS will send you a letter and a leaflet called Replying to Offers. You can reply by using the online system TRACK, at http://www.ucas.com/. Reply as soon as you can and not later than the date given on the letter. If you do not reply by this date, offers will be withdrawn.

 

UCAS Extra 

If you have no offers, perhaps because you’ve received rejections or you’ve declined the offers you received, you can apply for other courses through UCAS Extra. This service will operate from mid-March until the end of June.

UCAS will tell you if you are eligible to apply through Extra, and will send you details of what to do next. Courses with vacancies will be listed at http://www.ucas.com/. Through Extra, you apply for one course at a time. If your first application is not successful, then you can make another - and so on until the end of June.

Clearing

If you still have no offers, or do not get the required exam results, you can apply for other courses through Clearing. Clearing starts in mid-July. However, most applicants use Clearing after the exam results come out in August. Courses with vacancies are listed at http://www.ucas.com/ and are updated throughout the day. There are also lists in some newspapers.

You can normally go into Clearing 

  • if you have no offers (and have not withdrawn from UCAS)
  • your offers have not been confirmed because you have not gained the required exam grades
  • you decline or do not reply to a confirmed offer.

From August 2009, applicants who get better results than they needed for the firm offer they have accepted, and who want to reconsider their options, can - for a limited time - look for other course vacancies while still holding their original offer.

UCAS will tell you if you are eligible to apply through Clearing. Find your Clearing Entry Number through TRACK, then:

  • look through the courses with vacancies
  • find one that interests you and contact the university or college yourself  (or have your nominated person do so) to ask if they will accept you
  • the admissions tutor you speak to will tell you what to do next.

If you need to go into Clearing you must be available yourself (unless you have officially nominated someone to act on your behalf) to speak to admissions tutors. Try to make sure you are at home during August, when your exam results come out! The last date for Clearing applications is 20 September 2009.

If you get a place through Clearing, UCAS will send you an official letter confirming your place.

CUKAS Applications

CUKAS is the Conservatoires UK Admissions Service. Conservatoires are higher education institutions that specialise in the teaching of music; there are nine in the UK.

For entry to any of the seven conservatoires listed below (including the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) you must apply through their separate online system, CUKAS.

You can access this at http://www.cukas.ac.uk/. You will find details of the process there. You can apply for a place at up to six conservatoires at one time, with only one electronic application: 

  • for entry to a conservatoire in 2009, you should apply to CUKAS between 2 July and 1 October 2008
  • you need 2 references, one academic and one musical reference – these are sent direct to the conservatoire by your referee
  • auditions will be held from 15 October 2008 onwards
  • CUKAS Extra (similar to UCAS Extra) operates from 15 April 2009 until the end of the application cycle.

Seven of the nine music conservatoires in the UK take part in CUKAS, which is operated by UCAS. These seven conservatoires are:

  • Birmingham Conservatoire
  • Leeds College of Music
  • Royal College of Music
  • Royal Northern College of Music
  • Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
  • Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
  • Trinity College of Music 

The remaining two conservatoires - the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music - are not part of this system. Applicants should apply directly to these two conservatoires. Visit their websites for more information.

Guildhall School of Music and Drama: http://www.gsmd.ac.uk/
Royal Academy of Music: http://www.ram.ac.uk/