The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, also known as UCAS, connects students and universities. If you wish to apply to almost any university or college in the UK, you must use a UCAS application form.
UCAS was founded in 1961 when universities in the UK decided they wanted a system to organise all applications to their undergraduate or postgraduate courses, agreeing on a standardised application form with a limited number of course choices available to students. Learn more below.
Your UCAS Application
What do UCAS do?
UCAS is a UK-based organization that manages applications for higher education institutions. Its primary role is facilitating the application process for undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the UK.
Students can only complete one application form per UCAS cycle, during which they can select up to five universities to apply to. In addition to selecting where and what a student wishes to study, a personal statement is also required for universities to get an overview of you as a potential enrolee at their institution.
UCAS then sends the application to the university/universities, which replies via UCAS with a rejection, unconditional, or conditional offer. Students dissatisfied with their offers or lack of them can apply again on UCAS Extra (between 25 February and 4 July), on UCAS Clearing (after 30 June), or in the next UCAS cycle the following year.
UCAS personal statement
The UCAS personal statement is an important application criterion. The UCAS process involves just one personal statement, which should apply to all course choices. It can be no longer than 47 lines and 4,000 characters, which is about 550-700 words spread over four or five paragraphs, about the same as this article. UCAS uses plagiarism detection software to ensure each one is unique.
DO UCAS set entry requirements?
Universities and colleges set their entry requirements. UCAS has a system of tariff points that translates qualifications and grades into a number value. However, not all qualifications are included in the tariff, and universities can accept or reject a qualification regardless of whether it is included.
UCAS tariff explained
A UK university may decide a qualification is worth less than its UCAS points but will usually accept the UCAS tariff. Instead of asking for grades such as AAA or BBC, a university may ask for 112 points from a minimum of three A-levels, including a certain grade in a certain subject.
The tariff applies to Level 3/SCQF Level 6 qualifications such as A-levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB) but not to Level 2 qualifications such as GCSEs. On the UCAS Tariff Calculator, one can search for one’s qualifications by title, select the grade from the drop-down list, and click “next” to see the numerical value of those qualifications.
An A* at A-level is worth 56 points, an A is worth 48, and a B is worth 40. An IB score of 43 would be the equivalent of 420 UCAS points.
UCAS Deadlines
There are various UCAS application deadlines depending on the course type and study level you wish to pursue.
For example, applicants to the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford, or those who wish to study medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry degrees, must apply by October 15th each year. For the majority of courses for international students, there is a soft January deadline, followed by a firm deadline at the end of June.
UCAS Facts and Figures
- Students can only apply online via the UCAS portal
- UCAS is a non-governmental and not-for-profit company
- In 2023, UCAS undergraduate admissions handled almost 3 million applications from over 750,000 UK, EU, and international students
- In 2017, over 554,000 students secured a full-time place at over 380 UK institutions
What else does UCAS do?
- UCAS Conservatoires: for applicants for music, drama, screen and production courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level
- UCAS Teacher Training: for undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training schemes in Wales and Scotland
- UCAS Postgraduate: for some postgraduate applications
Study in the UK
As an official UCAS centre, SI-UK will provide you with free, independent advice on submitting a high-quality UCAS application. We can review and edit your personal statement, add a reference to UCAS, and fully track your application from start to finish. Learn more by visiting us for a free consultation in London today.
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