UCAS: what is it?

Do you dream of studying at a university in the UK after your A-levels? You’ll need to put together an application on the UCAS platform.

UCAS stands for University and College Admissions Services. Like Parcoursup in France, UCAS centralizes all applications from students wishing to enter full-time undergraduate programs in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

On average, almost 700,000 students register on the UCAS platform each year to apply to universities.

What are the advantages of the UCAS platform?

The UCAS portal has been designed to make things easier for students and offers many advantages:

  • a wide choice of universities. Nearly 384 colleges and universities are listed on the UCAS portal: 5 in Northern Ireland, 17 in Wales, 20 in Scotland and 342 in England. So it’s easy to apply to all these universities! Via the UCAS procedure, you can make a maximum of five applications (four for medical, dental or veterinary studies);
  • a single, common application form: all you have to do is fill in a single application form for your studies in the UK, which will then be sent directly – via UCAS – to the various universities selected;
  • a much easier and less expensive application procedure than if you had to apply independently to each school. In fact, through the UCAS portal, you will have to pay around 30 euros for five wishes;
  • centralized file tracking: once you have submitted your application, you can track the progress of your UCAS file by logging on to your personal Track space on the UCAS website (track.ucas.com).

What should you include in your UCAS application?

Although the UCAS portal has been designed to make it easier for students to apply, there are a number of steps you’ll need to take before, during and after registering on the platform.

Putting together your application

Once you have completed the preparation phase, go to www.ucas.com to open your application file via the système Apply. You will then be asked to create your secure personal space. On the UCAS website, click on Sign in Students Undergraduate Apply Register to register and obtain your UCAS Personal ID and your login and password, which you will be asked to enter each time you log on.

If your school does not offer a buzzword to centralize all UCAS applications within the school, you will need to indicate when creating your account that you are registering as an individual.

In the Personal Details, complete your personal information :

  • name and permanent address ;
  • date on which you plan to move to the UK (usually around September 15 of the year in which the university joins) ;a
  • nationality and how to finance your studies ;
  • if you already have it, your IELTS score with your TRF number (indicated on the result sheet received after the test);
  • health.

In the Choices section, select five university courses (in no particular order of preference) to which you would like to apply. Please note: for medical, dental and veterinary courses, the number of wishes is reduced to four, and you can choose a 5th wish in biomedical sciences, for example.

It’s vital to take the time to carefully select the courses and universities you’re applying for, and to make sure that the programs on offer are in line with your profile and your predicted baccalaureate grades.

For example, you can select the following five courses and universities:

  • BSc Mathematics (G100), University of Manchester ;
  • BSc Mathematics (G100), University of Warwick ;
  • BSc Mathematics (G100), University College London (UCL) ;
  • BSc Mathematics (G100), University of Edinburgh ;
  • BSc Mathematics (G100), King’s College London (KCL).

It’s important to note that since the UCAS application form is common to all the selected courses, your five choices will have to be consistent.

We strongly recommend that you choose five common or similar courses at the five universities to which you are applying (in this case, five mathematics courses, but also five philosophy, politics and economics courses, five law courses, five international relations courses, five engineering courses…).

On the other hand, in the same UCAS application, you would be strongly advised not to apply for both mathematics at Manchester and philosophy at UCL, for example. It will be difficult for you to demonstrate a genuine interest in such different courses in your joint application.

For specific courses that are not offered at all universities (such as arts and sciences at UCL or global sustainable development with business studies at Warwick, for example), you may be asked to submit an application form. 2nd personal statement or fill in a questionnaire once you have submitted your UCAS application. It is therefore possible to apply for these programs even if your other four choices are relatively different.

It’s also important to note that there is no order or hierarchy of courses at this stage. So don’t worry about the order in which you enter your choices!

It is very important to note that admission to a university course in the UK will always be conditional on achieving certain grades in the final exams of the baccalauréat in June of the final year of secondary school.

For example, you may be admitted to a program but “on condition that you obtain an average of 16/20 in the baccalauréat, 16/20 in history-geography and an average of 7 in the IELTS with a minimum of 6.5 in each sub-test”.

You will only be definitively admitted to the course and university in question once you have fulfilled all the conditions of your offer in July.

If you fail to meet these requirements, the university reserves the right not to admit you, and the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis. In the most selective universities, if you fail to meet the requirements of your offer, even if it’s only 0.5 or 1 point less in a subject, you may not be admitted.

The admission criteria, depending on the type of baccalaureate and the course of study you wish to apply for, are available on each university’s website. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for on their website, don’t hesitate to contact the admissions department of the university concerned by phone or e-mail.

Each university course has its own UCAS code (such as G100), which can be found on the university’s website, so check that you have chosen the right course.

To find out which universities offer the course you’re looking for, go to digital.ucas.com/search and enter the course(s) you’re interested in.

Here are some tips for writing your UCAS personal statement.

Make sure you’ve gathered enough information about the courses and universities you’d like to apply to. To do so, click here:

  • check out the university websites and YouTube videos;
  • Take a look at the admission criteria for your chosen course, and ask yourself the following questions:
  • what grades and subjects are required?
  • what level of english is expected?
  • Is professional experience required (as for medical or veterinary studies)?

In theEducation section, you’ll need to indicate at least the lycée where you’ll be taking your baccalaureate, and you can also add your previous lycées and collèges.

In Qualifications, indicate the type of baccalaureate you will be taking (usually France-baccalaureat). Once selected, you’ll be asked to enter all the subjects you’ve taken in the bac anticipation exams, along with the marks obtained and the date.

You’ll also need to add all the subjects you’ll be taking at the baccalauréat in your final year and the date on which you’ll get the results (usually July of your final year), but leave the Result field empty.

You can also add your “brevet des collèges” and your results in an English exam (e.g. IELTS, Cambridge or TOEFL). However, you don’t need to provide these when you send in your UCAS application, and you’ll generally have until the end of July of your final year to obtain the score required by the course you’re applying for.

Nevertheless, achieving a minimum score on an English test can be a condition of admission in the same way as a grade point average or a minimum mark in a baccalaureate test in your offer of admission. It is therefore strongly recommended that you start preparing for and taking these tests before or at the same time as your UCAS registration, as you may have to retake them several times before achieving the target score.

In the section Employment , list only your salaried jobs (with pay slips). If you’ve never had one, you can leave this section empty and click on section completed.

In the Personal statement section, in less than 4,000 characters (including spaces), you should first and foremost demonstrate your interest, skills and motivation for the university course you wish to enter.

The basic question you’ll need to answer is: “What have you done so far that makes you think you’re a good candidate for this particular course?”

The personal statement plays a decisive role in your UCAS application. That’s why it’s important to devote a lot of time to writing it. It’s not uncommon for students to have to rewrite their personal statement many times before achieving a successful result. So give yourself enough time (at least a month) to think about it, research it, write it and edit it until you’re completely satisfied.

Once finalized, simply copy and paste your statement into the UCAS section, making sure that it respects the 4,000-character maximum, including spaces, by clicking on Preview. Don’t forget to proofread it one last time before clicking on Section completed.

In the Reference section, you’ll need to enter the contact details and title of your reference teacher (e.g. English teacher). For Organisation name, Address and Telephone number, enter the name and contact details of your high school. For your teacher’s e-mail address, it’s important to enter the official e-mail address for the school or academy, not a personal address.

Once you have completed this section, your teacher will receive an e-mail allowing him/her to download your letter of recommendation and predict your baccalaureate grades. Be sure to ask your teacher well in advance to ensure that you receive this letter when you start your UCAS application process.

Validate your file

Before validating your file, please ensure that all sections have been completed and that all information is correct.

All that remains is to pay the registration fee – which is around £25 (€30) – to finalize and submit your application.

Of course, you don’t have to complete your application all at once. You can save your answers to each section and complete it as you go along.


Find here the best examples of UCAS personal statement.

You needhelp with your UCAS application ? Don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your project! To help you, here are the steps to follow once you have submitted your UCAS file.