What Is UCAS?

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is an independent charity organisation that primarily helps students in the UK gain entry into higher education. It also offers services to those who want to forgo a traditional degree to launch their careers or explore other opportunities. Read on to learn about the UCAS application process and what else the organisation has to offer. 

What does UCAS do?

UCAS helps sixth-form and college students understand the options available to them as they choose a path for their future. All students who wish to enter higher education in the UK (degree level and higher) apply through the UCAS online application portal. 

According to UCAS, it handled around 3 million undergraduate applications in 2023, helping more than 550,000 students find the right fit among 380 universities and colleges in the UK [1]. UCAS also helps students who wish to pursue paths outside of higher education, such as apprenticeship and employment. 

How do you apply to universities through UCAS?

Once you’ve registered with UCAS, you’ll complete a single online application, which will be shared with each university to which you apply. You don’t have to complete your application in one sitting—the portal will save your information and allow you to return to it later so you can be thoughtful and thorough in your responses. 

The UCAS application 

When completing a UCAS application, you must consider and input certain sections and options. 

1.  Personal details

The personal details section of the application will ask you to fill out basic information such as your name, address, date of birth, and nationality. It will also ask you questions about your circumstances, such as whether you’ve ever been in care and how you plan to pay your tuition fees. While UCAS doesn’t handle student finance, your responses can help universities understand your background and potentially support you. 

You can give someone access to your UCAS application so they can track its progress, communicate with universities, and make decisions on your behalf if you’re unavailable. Often, this person is a parent.

2. Additional information

This section is used for equality monitoring, which helps ensure applicants aren’t discriminated against. This information doesn’t influence acceptance decisions.

3. Student Finance

Student finances typically cover tuition and living costs. While most students might not have to pay anything upfront, others might need access to financial support and resources. These types of financial support include tuition fees and maintenance loans, which require repayment, and grants and bursaries, which don’t need to be repaid. You can apply for student financial support before you have a confirmed place. 

4. Choices

In this section, you will indicate which universities you’re applying to and which courses you’d like to study at those institutions. You can select up to five courses. This means that if you want to apply to five different universities, you can only apply to a single course offered by each one. Students typically choose to apply to more than one course at their top universities, even if it decreases the number of institutions on their list. 

5. Education 

Your education history will list the schools, colleges, and centres you’ve attended or indicate that you’ve been homeschooled. You'll detail any activities you’ve done, such as booster courses, campus days, or summer academies, that may have helped prepare you for higher learning. You will also list your A levels and any qualifications you’ve done or plan to finish before entering university.

6. Employment 

Your employment history will list all of your past employers and the dates of your employment. You can list up to five employers. Be prepared to add your employers' names, addresses, job descriptions, and start and end dates.

7. Personal statement 

Your personal statement is extremely important since it’s your chance to expand on your experience, skill sets, and academic readiness in your own words. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills and communicate your dedication to your area of interest. It’s a good idea to mention why you’d like to attend university and highlight your strengths and how you’ve worked to develop them. Your statement will be 1,000 to 4,000 characters long, usually around 500 words.

8. Reference 

You must provide the name and contact information of a referee who can vouch for your academic readiness and potential to succeed at the university level. This might be a teacher, advisor, work supervisor, or other professional who knows you well. Family members, partners, and ex-partners cannot provide a reference for you. By providing the email address of your referee on your application, UCAS will send them a reference form to fill out.

9. Pay and send

Before sending in your application and payment, this section encourages you to review the previous sections for accuracy and confirm that you agree to the terms by checking boxes. You can also consult the provided links to estimate how much each course of study you've selected will cost. Once satisfied with your application, you'll submit the £28.50 [2] application fee with a debit or credit card.

10. Help

This section provides resources to help you fill out each section accurately to ensure you’re gaining access to all the support you might need. Follow the prompts as needed to ensure your application is correctly filled out.

11. Options

This section allows you to change your password and security questions and answers as needed.

What are tariff points?

To compare students fairly, UCAS uses a tariff system to award points for sixth form and college qualifications. These points are linked to the grade you received for each qualification. For example, if you did an extended project qualification (EPQ) and earned a grade of A*, you’ll receive 28 points. 

Beyond undergraduate admissions

While most of UCAS’s work is focused on the traditional undergraduate admissions process, it also offers services related to other educational avenues. For instance, it helps students enter conservatories where they can pursue creative endeavours like music, drama, and dance. It also has resources available to anyone interested in teacher training or a postgraduate degree. Its postgraduate admissions service is called Myriad. Beyond helping with the application process, Myriad also aids prospective postgraduate students in finding housing, scholarships, and employment. 

Students who want to work while pursuing an undergraduate degree can also use UCAS to help find degree apprenticeships. A degree apprenticeship covers a student’s full tuition and allows you to split your time between undergraduate coursework and professional work. In addition to getting a paid-for degree, you also earn a salary like any other employee. 

What else can UCAS help with?

UCAS doesn’t only serve students who are planning to enter higher education. It also provides free information about other opportunities, such as employment, internships, and apprenticeships, as well as tools that will help you decide which of these paths might be right for you.

If you want to enter the workforce, UCAS’s industry guides will help you explore different fields and better understand how your interests and strengths might align with particular professions. It also has a career finder that allows you to search its database of job openings and create job alerts that will inform you of any new postings you might be interested in. It even has a Career Quiz that generates a list of jobs you might excel in based on your personality traits.

Prepare for uni with Coursera

UCAS helps students seeking higher education to access the support and resources necessary to make this next step as attainable as possible. As you prepare for university, consider taking an online course on Coursera, such as De-Mystifying Mindfulness, which includes meditation labs that guide you through techniques that may help decrease stress levels. You might also consider Life 101: Mental and Physical Self-Care, which will help you learn how to adopt healthy habits that will help you during stressful times.

You can also explore bachelor’s degree courses offered on Coursera, such as the University of London’s Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Georgetown’s Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, and the University of North Texas’s Bachelor of Science in General Business.