UK Universities admission

· Stage 1: UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).

As nearly all British higher education institutions are members of UCAS, all those wishing to study for first degrees in the UK must apply through UCAS. Applicants submit a single application via UCAS’s website with a list of up to five courses for which they are applying, in no order of preference. All five choices are confidential during the application process so universities and colleges considering an application cannot see any of the candidate’s other choices. Applications must be completed by the middle of the January of the year that the student wishes to start university.

The application also includes current qualifications, employment and criminal history, a personal statement and a reference (which generally includes predicted grades if the applicant is still in education).

· Stage 2: The universities concerned.

The application is forwarded by UCAS to the institutions applied to. Each applicant is first considered by the university admission board. The university admission board either sends the applicant an immediate refusal or, if there are no reasons for the latter, passes the candidate’s papers to the academic department concerned.

· Stage 3: The academic departments concerned.

1. Members of this or that academic department examine the candidate’s application and make him/her an offer of a place. Offers are either conditional, i.e. dependent on future examination performance, or unconditional.

2. Once the applicant has received responses from all the institutions applied to, he/she must respond by accepting up to two choices, whereas the remainder are declined.

· Stage 4: Final place confirmations.

Final place confirmations are generally made in mid-August, when the results of the A-level examinations become available. The University admissions department sees whether the candidate has fulfilled his/her conditions and if he/she has, sends him/her a definite offer.

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have additional requirements to prospective applicants because of the high volume of applications. In addition to the usual UCAS system, selection is based on candidate-submitted written work; interviews, which are held between applicants and college tutors; and, in some subjects, written admission tests prior to interview.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1027