The UCAS Procedure

Introduction

There is a single applications procedure for UK universities and colleges through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). In essence, this is how it works:

• You complete an application form online in which you can apply for up to 5 universities (4 in the case of Medical and Veterinary applications)
• The form is submitted to UCAS who pass the information on to the relevant institutions
• UCAS send you an acknowledgement slip with your UCAS number and password, which you can use to track the course of your application.
• The individual institutions will contact UCAS with their decisions and these will be passed on to you.
• A Statement of Decisions card will accompany the last decision and you use this to let UCAS know which offers you wish to accept. Also, online you will see a trigger to accept/decline once you have your last offer.
• You may only hold two offers: a "firm offer", and an "insurance offer" (with lower grade requirements) as an insurance. Any other offers must be rejected.
• When the A-Level results come out your firm offer will be confirmed if you have the grades. If not, and you have the grades for the insurance offer, that will be confirmed. If you don't quite make the grades, you may still get accepted. If not, you will be entered for "clearing." Full details of this procedure are on the page "What to do when results come out".

When to apply

The dates and deadlines page gives you all the details.

The form filling process starts in June when you collect the "buzzword" from AR in the Universities department. You can then start to fill it in, and in September you submit your form via the internet.

Applications can be submitted to UCAS by the Universities department from September 15th. It is important to be aware that Oxbridge, Medical and Veterinary applications must be completed very soon after the start of the Michaelmas Term, and that the sooner all applications are completed, the more likely you are to get offers. Do not wait until the official deadlines. Some choral and organ awards need to be completed even before the start of the term - see MLR for information.

Any applications submitted after the UCAS deadline will be considered at the discretion of the universities and colleges, but it is highly unlikely that there will be any offers at this stage on popular courses, and your application will have "Late" stamped across it.

How to apply

All Tonbridge applicants use UCAS APPLY System. Go to this page for information on how to complete your form, and many of the common pitfalls.

Apart from details about you and your course choices, your main task is to complete your Personal Statement. This tells admissions tutors why you want to study the course you have chosen, and also gives you a chance to tell them something about yourself. It is a crucial part of the application, and you should devote a great deal of time to it.

When you have completed the form, you will have to submit it to the Universities and Careers centre. This is done over the internet, but is not sent to UCAS at this stage. It merely comes to us for checking. Your housemaster's reference is added to the form (either at this stage or earlier), it is given a final check, and then it is sent electronically to UCAS.

£15 will be added to your school fees bill (£5 if you only apply for one course) and this is paid to UCAS to cover the costs of your application. If you apply post A-Level, the school will send you a bill, or you can pay online with a credit or debit card.

What does UCAS do with the form?

UCAS then passes your form on to your chosen universities (usually within 24 hours), and sends you an acknowledgement letter. This contains an application number, personal details and the list of courses you have applied for. You must check this information immediately and let the Universities and Careers centre know if there are any mistakes. You will also get a password to enable you to check your offers online using "Track".

If the application is received at a busy time, it may take several days before you receive the letter.

Should you want to add more information after sending in the form you should write direct to the institutions concerned. If you want to withdraw your application you will find a withdrawal slip at the back of the Advice for Applicants book which UCAS will send you.

Decisions by Universities

UCAS is not involved in any decisions about your application: the universities and colleges make the decisions and tell UCAS who then pass the information on to you. Decisions may come quite soon after you make your application, but you may find that the final decision does not arrive until April. This page tells you how universities set about the selection process.

You may receive a rejection: bearing in mind that on popular courses with say 2000 applicants, an admissions tutor may only have places for 200 of them, it is clear that rejections are not unusual. If you are not rejected, it is most likely that you will receive a conditional offer (in very special circumstances, or if you are applying post A-Level, you may receive an unconditional place). This offer will specify the grades you require to gain a place on the course. It may specify certain grades in certain subjects, or you may get a UCAS Tariff offer. If you do not understand an offer, you should contact the institution immediately, or speak to AR.

What if I receive no offers?

UCAS "Extra" allows you to contact universities, one at a time, to see if they have a place. If they do and they are interested, you send your "Extra" form and await a decision. This can happen as many times as you need it to. If it fails and you are left with no offers in June you can enter "Clearing"

Decisions by you

It is best to wait until you have heard from all your chosen institutions before making any decisions. If you accept or reject offers before then, you cannot change your mind.

After receiving the final decision, UCAS will then send you a Statement of Decision letter and a reply slip. What you do next depends on the number of offers you have received:

You should visit the college or university, and the relevant department, before accepting any offers. You do not have to reply immediately - but replies must be made by the date stated in the letter, usually towards the end of April or beginning of May.

Replying to Offers

You must reply to each offer in one of the following ways:

• Firm acceptance (F)
• Insurance acceptance (I)
• Decline (D)

Firm Acceptance

• You can only accept one offer firmly
• If you firmly accept an unconditional offer (UF), you must commit yourself to that course and turn down all other offers. You don't need insurance offers as you've got the grades.
• If you firmly accept a conditional offer (CF), you will be guaranteed a place on that course if you achieve the required exam grades. You are committed to the course and cannot go elsewhere.

Insurance Acceptance

• If you receive two or more conditional offers and you firmly accept an offer, you must also decide whether to accept a second conditional offer as insurance (CI). If you choose an insurance offer, you should normally choose one which requires lower grades than for your firm offer.
• If you do not meet the conditions of your firm choice, but you do meet the conditions of your insurance choice, you are guaranteed a place on your insurance choice. You are committed to the course and cannot go elsewhere., unless you pull out of the system and reapply in September.

Decline

When you have decided on your firm and insurance acceptances you must decline (D) all other offers. You can decline all offers, and then go through clearing from the middle of June, or reapply in September.

If you have received some offers and know which ones you want to accept, you do not have to wait for all the decisions to come through. Ring UCAS and tell them you want to withdraw from certain institutions from whom you have not heard.

What to do when results come out

See separate page.

Contacting UCAS

Make sure you have your application number.

By post

UCAS
PO Box 28
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL52 3ZA

By phone

0870 1122211, 8.30 am to 5pm weekdays only.

By fax

01242 544961

By email

enq@ucas.ac.uk

Online

Using your unique password, check the progress of your application at www.ucas.com.

Contacting admissions tutors

Addresses and telephone numbers can be found in prospectuses and on websites.