Applying to university

Applying to university can be completed in five easy steps:

1. Create an account at UCAS
2. Choose up to 5 courses from across over 120 UK universities
3. Write and submit a Personal Statement
4. Nominate a referee to write a character reference.
5. Pay the application fee (£22.50 for one course or £27 for multiple)

Normally your child’s school/ college will oversee the submission of the application and advise how the application fee is to be paid.

UCAS will check the application and send it to all the universities the student has applied to. None of the universities will know where else they have applied, so they will be considering the application totally independently.

The personal statement gives students the opportunity to promote themselves by covering their academic interests, work experience, relevant achievements, hobbies and interests which make them suitable for their course choices.

Tips on getting started and how to write a personal statement can be found on UCAS.

• Once the application is submitted, your child will receive an acknowledgement from UCAS and often from the university you applied to.
• Each course will have its own entry requirements, and some may have additional selection requirements like a portfolio review or interview. This will be outlined in the course prospectus or can be found online on the university course pages.
• For some Department of Health funded courses for NI domiciled students, your child may need to interview.
• If their course does have an extra selection step, they will be contacted by the university about what extra steps they will have to take and how it impacts on the timing of offer making.
• Upon receipt of the application, there may be a delay in an offer being made. This may be due to specific selection steps required for the course. Don’t be alarmed.
• Universities will have their own approach to the timing of making their offer or application decisions. Some may wait until all applications have been made and not begin decision communications until mid-January at the earliest.
• The status of an application can be checked via the UCAS Hub (formerly UCAS Track) system.
• Universities are unable to give applicants updates on their application directly over the phone, in person or via email. Any change in the status of a UCAS application will only be made available via UCAS Hub.

As universities may send their offers at different times, students will not be able to make their final decision in UCAS until they have received all decisions from the universities they applied to.

Students may receive communication or invitations to visit from universities that have extended offers. This is another great research opportunity.

Upon receipt of the student’s final outstanding decision, UCAS will inform them of their decision deadline. The response your child will receive could be one of the following:

Conditional offer

Students are offered a place subject to certain conditions, normally based on exam results.

Unconditional offer

Students have already met the entrance requirements and the university would like to accept their application.

Reject

There are several reasons why universities may decline an applicant, for example if the course is full.

Withdrawn

Both your family member and the university can withdraw the application either because they didn’t respond to any correspondence from the university or they didn’t attend an interview etc.

Once students receive their offers, they need to respond in the following ways:

Firm acceptance

They can have only one firm acceptance, and this is their first preference out of all the offers they have received.

Insurance acceptance

As well as their first choice, they can also have a backup, which is called their insurance.

Decline

Once they have selected their firm and insurance choices, they then need to decline all other offers.

If they change their mind about what or where they want to study or if they do better than expected, Clearing may provide them an opportunity to explore alternative courses.

Alternatively, they may decide that they want to know their results before applying to university. Increasingly some students are applying Direct to Clearing.

What is Clearing?

Clearing is a process which allows students to search and apply for courses that still have vacancies.

It is important not to panic but to carefully research options before selecting a course through Clearing.

Traditionally universities will advertise their Clearing options on their own websites from July and additional courses may be added up to and post results day.

Following the publication of results, Ulster University holds an advice day and contact centre for applicants to discuss their alternatives with admissions and academic staff.

Applicants can receive verbal offers from universities at these events or call centres and will be asked to apply to the university via UCAS Hub. Subject to conditions being met, an offer will be extended to the applicant which is then accepted and processed by the university once all checks are complete.

What is Direct to Clearing?

Your child may decide that they want to know their results before applying to university. Increasingly students are applying Direct to Clearing.

Through this process, they will only be able to apply to those courses with Clearing Vacancies.