Applying For A Higher Education Course
What courses can you apply for through UCAS?
When applying for a higher education course you can apply through UCAS for any undergraduate course. The range of courses available which you can apply for can be found on the UCAS course search facility. Examples of these are HNDs, HNCs and foundation courses. There is also information on access courses, and of course, all of the degree courses available for you.
When do I apply?
You can start applying for higher education from the beginning of September. The application process starts from 1st September. It's best to try and apply as early as possible as there are deadlines set. The deadlines for applying to Oxford and Cambridge are set earlier than all the other courses, so you should be aiming to apply before the 15th of October to these universities.
I am taking a gap year - when should I apply?
You can apply to university from the 1st September. If you are choosing to take a gap year, you would need to perhaps select the defer entry option or you could leave it to the academic year and advance the start date of the course.
Are there different deadlines for different courses?
There are different deadlines when applying for higher education courses. If you are applying for medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, or Oxford and Cambridge, the deadlines for those are the 15th of October. All other courses that are considered by the universities have an initially deadline date of the 15th of January. The final deadline date when applying for higher education courses is the 30th of June.
What happens if I miss the deadline?
If you miss the UCAS deadlines when applying for a higher education course you can still apply. It is best to apply as early on as you can, as we'll still process the application. The applications will then be sent to the universities, who will then make the final decision. If in doubt, you may wish to speak to the university for further details before submitting the application for a higher education course.
How do I apply?
To apply for a higher education course you must apply online, via the UCAS website by selecting the apply option on our website. It will ask you to register as a first time applicant to which you can then proceed to make your application for your higher education course. As you go through, you don't have to do it all and apply at once, it is best to keep a note of your user name and password so that you can access your information as you go along.
How many institutions can I apply to?
The amount of institutions you can apply for when applying for a higher education course varies. When applying for medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science, you can only apply for up to four institutions. However, for all other higher education courses, you can apply up to six institutions in total.
Will each institution know which others I have applied to?
When applying to an institution for a higher education course, the universities are not able to see which other institutions you have applied for. They are only able to see the information for the course you've applied to with them, and are unable to access any other information about your application choices to higher education courses.
