Applying to university in the UK

Navigating the UK University Application Process: First Steps for International Students and Their Parents

British universities offer amazing opportunities to both domestic and international students, with a large variety of courses, prestigious universities with a global reputation and a teaching style which gives you significant autonomy and focuses on developing your skills and critical thinking rather than just forcing you to memorise endless facts. At first, the application process can seem daunting and it is easy to get lost in it in the beginning. In this article, we will go through the first few steps that you need to consider when thinking about applying to university in the UK, looking at the application portal UCAS, talking about the different elements that make up the application, and mentioning things that you need to consider when preparing the application.

How and where to apply
When applying to university in the UK for an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree, you will be submitting your application through a platform called UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). On UCAS, you can choose up to 5 courses to apply for. These can be different universities or even different courses at the same university. However, you have to keep in mind that you can only submit one motivation letter (”personal statement”) which is shown to all of your selected courses and universities, which makes it challenging to apply for courses that are too different. Choosing what and where you want to study is the most important step, given that you will be spending at least three years at the given university, living in the city or campus, and spending most of your time learning about your chosen subject. This choice therefore requires very thorough research, considering the pros and cons of different universities, the specific curricula of the individual subjects, as well as considering your personal fit for them.
For most courses at most universities, the application deadline is in January, but for all Oxford and Cambridge courses, as well as some other subjects at different universities, including medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, the deadline is already in October, meaning a year before your potential starting date.

What the application consists of
As part of your application, you will have to submit the personal statement, which is a letter in which you outline your interests in studying the given subject at university and your previous experiences with studying it, a recommendation letter from your school, your educational history and your personal details. This will be done for all courses and all of these elements are crucial for your application. Your personal statement has to be compelling and present your profile as a strong student who has a demonstrated interest in the subject, as well as a successful educational background. It is also extremely useful to showcase all relevant extracurricular activities (particularly those linked to your subject of interest).
On top of that, some universities and courses have further requirements. This can include grade transcripts (usually showing your grades from the past 4 years of studying), specific tests (such as the BMAT and UCAT for medicine, TSA for various social sciences subjects, or the LNAT for law). Additionally, some universities will require you to attend one or multiple interviews, which you can prepare for by reading further about your chosen subject, by revising relevant topics that you have previously studies, or by doing mock interviews (with friends, your school, or with a specialised tutoring company).

What happens afterwards
After you submit your application, you will slowly start to hear back from your selected universities. In some cases, you might be invited to a further stage such as an interview, but for most courses at most universities, you will directly be told if you have been rejected or if you have received “an offer”. The offer can be conditional or unconditional. In a few rare cases, unconditional offers means that the acceptance is final. This is usually the case for students who have already finished school and have all their grades, for instance students on a gap year. For most students though, your offer is conditional. This means that you are accepted on the condition that you meet the specified requirements. Most often, this is based on the achievement of a certain threshold of grades in your final exams (such as A-Levels, IB, Abitur, Baccalauréat, etc.) and it can also include specific grades to be achieved in specific subjects. In the case of international students, some offers also include the requirement of taking a language test to demonstrate that your knowledge of English is sufficient.
After finding out the decisions of all of the universities, the final decision is now up to you. You can choose one “firm” choice and one “insurance” choice. If you meet the conditions of your firm choice, you will automatically go to that university. Alternatively, you will go to your insurance choice if you meet that university’s requirements but not those of your firm choice. If you missed the conditions of both of your firm and insurance choice, you can no longer take up a place on any of the 3 remaining courses that you might have received offers from.
When finalising your university and course choice, there are countless factors to keep in mind, from the course’s content, the university’s teaching style and reputation, the funding options, the location, the costs of living, etc. By considering these elements, you will hopefully be able to select the best fit for yourself and to spend three amazing years at your dream university.
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How you can find out more
There are countless resources for learning more about the UK university application process. You can always find information scattered around different official sources, such as the UCAS website and the individual university websites. Aside from that, you can gather unofficial informal advice from resources such as YouTube videos of past students or student discussion forums. If you feel like you could benefit from structured professional guidance, you can also turn to an applications advisory company. At Aspiro Admissions, we are committed to helping you every step along the way, from choosing your courses to writing the application, preparing for interviews and getting ready to move to university. Our main philosophy is that our services should help you in a clear and structured way which not only facilitates your admission to university, but also helps you develop the skills you need to succeed there and to enjoy your course.

If you are interested in learning more, you can check out our other articles, our offer of advisory packages, or get in touch for a free personal consultation at info@aspiroadmissions.com.