Are you thinking about applying to study in the UK for undergraduate studies? Have no fear; this short guide aims to demystify the basics of applying to UK universities! Applications to UK universities might seem really daunting at first because it seems that there are endless requirements; however, if the process is broken down into smaller bits with a timeline that can guide you through the process.
There is only one application cycle per year in the UK, which opens in mid-May every year and ends in Mid January. You might have a specific university & degree in mind, and you might be still looking and exploring your options. Either way, it is a great idea to explore the structure of degrees and how they vary at different universities so you can ultimately decide where you want to apply. In the UK, the duration of a bachelor's degree is usually 3 years, except for medicine (which is 5/6 years) and engineering (usually 4 years). Another thing to look out for is the requirements for that specific degree which can vary from one university to another. Make sure you know what their grade requirements are, which are usually given as A-level grades. You can look at what other qualifications they accept and whether you need to do a foundation year before starting the course. In addition, for some courses & universities, such as Oxbridge courses, medicine & law, you need to sit admission tests and attend interviews. You might also need to take the IELTS exam to prove your English fluency and for Visa purposes. For every course you apply for, you have to submit a UCAS application to include your academic details and personal details and submit a personal statement (more on that later on!). For one application cycle, you can choose 5 universities to apply to, and you can choose one university as your firm (first) choice and another as a backup if you don't meet the requirements for your first choice.
In summary, when looking at different universities and courses, you should:
- Find a course you enjoy and would want to study for 3/4 years
- Find 5 ideal university choices to apply to by looking at the course structure and requirements.
- Write a personal statement, submit a UCAS application & register to sit for IELTS & admission tests if there are any
- Attend interviews if there are any
- Receive the outcome of your application, choose your first and backup choices
- Apply for a Student Visa and look for accommodation
- When you get your school exam results, you will find out whether you got into your firm or backup. If you didn't get to either, you can use clearing!
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UCAS is the portal you use to apply to any course in any UK university. There are a few stages in the UCAS application, and you will have to complete it over a few days or even weeks, so you can save your work as you go! Please do not attempt to complete the UCAS application in one day, as that is not possible. When you sign up for a UCAS account, you will be given a UCAS ID, which you will need at various stages.
There are eight main sections that you will need to complete:
- Personal details: name, age, ethnicity, religion etc...
- Student Finance: you will include details on how you plan to finance your degree, whether from family, a scholarship etc...
- Choices: here, you will choose all your five university choices. You do not have to choose them all at once & you have the option to change them before you submit them. You will have to enter the code for the course & university you will find on the admission page of your choices. For example, F100 is the code for the chemistry course at the University of Oxford.
- Education: here, you will include your educational history, mainly based on your high school grades. If you have done GCSEs, you will enter them here and enter any predicted grades by your teachers. UK universities accept many other high school qualifications, but please do check the specific requirements of the universities you are applying to
- Employment: this section is about any employment you had in the past and up until now. If you have never had a job until now, there is a section to declare that you will not be required to complete this section.
- Personal statement (PS): this is where you will submit the personal statement you wrote. Even though the PS editor saves your work, it is best to complete the PS on a word document because you will probably have many drafts. When you enter your final PS, it will check that it is not more than 4000 characters or 47 lines long (whichever comes first).
- References: this is where you will enter one or two people who can act as your referees for you if the admission tutors want to check something about your educational/personal details. The reference can be a teacher or a family friend. If you are currently a student in school or have recently left, it is best to choose one of your teachers or academic advisors.
When you create an account with UCAS, they will provide you with a video guide for each stage to help you fill in all the details correctly!
The personal statement is simply a piece of writing where you describe why you want to study for your chosen degree, what fuels your passion & how you would be the ideal candidate. This statement is usually one page on a word document, and the limit is 4000 characters (not words) or 47 lines. It should not be directed to any university specifically and strictly about the university course you are applying for! It can be tough to start writing your personal statements & it is best not to start with the introduction or conclusion; leave them till last as they will take a lot of your time! Many websites have exemplar personal statements that you can look at to have an idea, such as university compare & Studential.
When writing your personal statement, start by brainstorming all the qualities and experiences you have which would make you the ideal candidate for the course you are applying to. Following that, you can pinpoint 3-5 qualities/experiences that best showcase your skills, abilities, motivation etc. Then you can start drafting your personal statement, and you will probably write a few drafts before reaching the ideal for you. Having said that, if you reach a point where you are satisfied, don't keep redrafting because that could ruin your flow! Finally, have a few friends, family, and teachers read your personal statement to give you suggestions for improvement or even reassurance. Again make sure you don't give it to too many people as this personal statement is about YOU!
Below is an example personal statement from a student who applied for Biochemistry:
A useful tip when writing your personal statement is to use this button at the bottom of the word document to track your characters/lines:
A few courses & universities require you to sit admission tests, and you will most likely not need to sit anything other than the IELTS. However, you might have to sit an admission test if you apply to Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine, Dentistry or Law. For medicine & dentistry, this is usually UCAT or BMAT. For law, this is the LNAT. For a list of Oxford & Cambridge admission tests, look at this page.
Interviews are more common than admission tests, and you might have to attend some online or in-person if you can. The questions asked in the interview will generally revolve around the reason why you chose your degree, your personal statement and your interest in the subject. Interviews can seem intimidating, but for the most part, they are not a test of your knowledge but rather how you would think if you are presented with a novel & unfamiliar problem or situation.
Clearing is the process by which you can get into a UK university if you did not meet the requirements of your course after or before you get your exam results. Clearing is usually opened from March, whereby any university with free spaces in a specific course can accept applications from students after the deadline! If you don't get accepted by any of your choices or do not meet the requirements of the course, you can find advertised spaces in clearing with lower requirements, which becomes most active during A-level results day (Second Thursday in August). Clearing is not for people who got lower grades. Some people change their minds on results day and decide to phone up another university they liked to see if they have a space on their course. You can phone these universities, give them your UCAS ID & they will view your application in UCAS and give you a decision within a few working days. In addition, there is an option to apply directly from your UCAS dashboard.
You will have to apply for a student visa and sit the IELTS test before applying, as mentioned earlier in this article. It is best to complete this process as soon as possible & sit your IELTS in Jan-Mar in the year you are applying because you will need it for your student visa. It is best to sit the IELTS early, even though you can only apply for the student visa only 6 months before starting your course because you might need to resit the IELTS if you do not get the required marks. Most universities require a band 7 in every component of the IELTS and a band 7 overall. You can look at this website for more information on Student Visa.
If you have any further questions, you can ask one of our expert tutors, who would be more than happy to help you with this process!
Happy Learning,
TST.
