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UCAS Information
UCAS stands for
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
Its main purpose is to process applications to
universities and colleges for first degrees,
some foundation degrees, and other certificates.
All UK universities, most colleges, and some
institutions are members of UCAS. UCAS
facilitates the application process and makes it
easier, as the student can apply for up to six
courses using the same application form online.
The system follows the application
process from start to finish, and provides the
student with a Track service. The track service
is basically a way where the student can monitor
the progress of his or her application. The
student is provided with an application number,
a user name, and a password which he can use to
log onto his or her account. That way the
student does not have to wait for offers and
tedious correspondence through the post.
UCAS has up to
date information about its members and the
courses offered. The system also has sites where
the application process is thoroughly explained
and the meaning of conditional offers
clarified. UCAS has many contacts with the
admission staff of its members, which makes
communications easier.
The
application process:
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First the student must register his
or her information on the system. The student
chooses a password, and is provided
with a username. The
student uses them to log onto his account and
start his application.
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The student fills in the various
sections of the application, such as his or her
qualifications (IGCSE, AS Level grades etc), any
previous part or full time employment, and
completes the section containing the student’s
personal information.
-
The students are also asked to write
a personal statement about themselves describing
why they have chosen this area of study and some
of their personal attributes that make them
suitable for higher education and entering their
chosen field. The students should indicate why
they want to study overseas and why they have
chosen Britain. They should include any
extracurricular activities or community services
done with the school or outside of it. The
personal statement should be strong and
convincing.
-
The students fill out the form for
their choice of courses. Each single application
has choices of up to six universities and
courses. The student chooses according to his or
her preference of course and
university.
-
A recommendation letter from a
teacher is needed to complete the application.
It is preferable if the referee is a teacher of
a subject relevant to the chosen course of
higher studies.
-
The application is finally complete
and ready to be sent. The cost of the UCAS
application is £15.
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Once the application is received by
UCAS, the student is sent an acknowledgment
letter providing his application number to
enable him to use the track service mentioned
above.
-
UCAS sends the application to the
chosen universities. The universities review the
application and start making their
decisions.
-
The student waits to receive all the
offers, most of which are conditional. The
conditions are usually achieving a certain grade
in an exam to be taken in the future, or getting
a certain score on an English Language
Proficiency Test.
-
The student then decides on which
conditions he or she is most likely to meet. The
student then has to choose two universities from
the original six. His first choice would be his
FIRM, and his second choice would be his
INSURANCE. Final acceptance into the programme
is given if the condition in the conditional
offer is met.
-
If the student could not meet any of
the conditions in the conditional offers of his
firm and insurance choices, the student becomes
eligible for Clearing, where he is offered a
spot on a programme at a university that he or
she did not necessarily apply for originally
provided the university would accept
him.
-
If the student decides to reject all
of his offers then he becomes eligible for
Extra, where he can choose a seventh extra
course to apply for after the
deadline.
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