When is it too late to submit a UCAS application?
Oxbridge, Medicine and Dentistry
As education consultants at William Clarence, we always recommend starting the application process as early as possible. We typically work with students at least a year before the submission of their UCAS forms but we will often mentor students even earlier than this, in order to advise about A-level or IB subjects for example, as well as to recommend and encourage relevant reading from as earlier a stage as possible, in order to help foster a real love of their subject.
For Oxbridge, Medicine and Dentistry, the deadline is fixed at 15 October the year before start date and there is no leeway. Given the additional complexities of these applications, including admissions tests and interview preparation, it goes without saying that an early start is very important indeed, and we often work with students for two to three years prior to their Oxbridge submission.
However, our Oxbridge specialists at William Clarence also have a lot of experience with working with students that decide on an Oxbridge application quite late on in the process, either because they were waiting for suitable school grade predictions first, but also because they are simply unaware of the deadline, often coming from international schools from all parts of the world. Ideally, students should already be engrossed in their subject, and have been for some time, and have significant super-curricular activity to incorporate into their personal statement, and we can help to structure this and enhance and showcase their activities and interests. Ideally, a working draft of a personal statement should also be in place.
With this in mind, our consultants at William Clarence can offer limited guidance and support from a much later stage, and we have successfully worked in a very focused and intensive way with a number of families from the summer before the October submission.
Other UK universities
For all applications apart from Oxbridge and medicine, there is a little more time, and the equal consideration deadline is mid-January of the final year of school study.
It's worth reiterating that this January deadline is for equal consideration, which means that universities must consider all submitted applications equally up to that date. This is not the final deadline though, and in fact applications are still accepted all the way up until Clearing begins at the beginning of July, and even beyond. This means all is not necessarily lost if you miss the January deadline! A number of universities will continue to accept applications where they still have availability, but they are not obliged to do so after the January deadline. All applications for competitive courses at Russell Group universities should certainly be submitted by the equal consideration deadline.
In much the same way as for Oxbridge applications, we often work successfully with families who come to us for support much later in the process, sometimes up until November, normally because they have decided very late on to apply to UK universities. Just because it is not an Oxbridge or medicine application does not necessarily mean that an admissions test is not applicable though, and increasingly a number of universities are using admissions tests for a variety of courses, particularly those that are maths-based. There is a sitting for a number of these tests in January, and these will all require intensive preparation if starting at this very late stage.
If a student has missed the January deadline but still wishes to apply through UCAS to universities, we can guide them in much the same way as earlier on, so long as they are aware that their choice may be somewhat limited. The process is exactly the same, although it is usually sensible to speak individually with intended university choices before submitting the UCAS form to ascertain availability. This avoids wasting choices on your UCAS form by applying for courses that have little availability or are full.
Even when Clearing opens in early July, a student that has still not yet completed and submitted a UCAS form can submit an application. This works a little differently with choices, but they will essentially enter the application process directly in Clearing. This often happens when, for example, a student had no intention of applying until the following year but did much better than they expected in their results in the summer, and they then decide to see what courses might be available. Our consultants at William Clarence can advise and support students at even this very late stage indeed.
Whatever stage you're at in the application process, whether it be an early Oxbridge application or not, our higher education advisors at William Clarence can help you every step of the way. Book an interview with one of our team today for expert advice and guidance throughout the whole university process.