UCAS - Year round, step-by-step support from UCAS

Year round, step-by-step support from UCAS

For thousands of applicants, without a support network of school or college behind them, the thought of applying to higher education can be a daunting process. But help is at hand. UCAS has recently restructured its website www.ucas.com to make finding information on courses and applying to higher education even easier.

Kate Butland, who heads up the Customer Service Unit at UCAS explains. "We put applicants first. Around 20 million people visit our website every year and the experience they have is important to us. Users on our site can now move through a series of simple, logical steps in order to research and apply for the course of their choice - it's all about making it as easy as possible."

Tracy Cullen, a mature applicant who is now studying at the University of Nottingham agrees. 'I would advise anyone to use the UCAS website. It was easy to complete the application online and there was help available if you needed it, just by clicking the question mark next to the section you were working on.'

Getting started can be the hardest part, but www.ucas.com/sixsteps takes applicants through the whole application process, from choosing a course, applying, offers and results day, through to the first day at university or college - at each stage providing a wide range of useful information.

Kate continues: "UCAS' year isn't all about August and the Confirmation and Clearing process. Whilst that may well be the busiest time for us, there are applications and offers being made throughout the year - over 80% of applications and 55% of offers were made before 15 January last year. Our call centre staff are on hand year round for anyone who might need a bit of advice. In the last year alone, the team has handled over 500,000 calls."

For more information on how to apply, visit ucas.com and click on students or call 0871 468 0 468.

Notes to editor

The six steps of the applicant journey in detail:

Step 1 - Choosing courses. Choosing a course based on extensive research will make it far more likely it is still the right choice three years down the line. Use Course Search at www.ucas.com to find out which courses might suit you and the universities and colleges that offer them.

Step 2 - Applying. You can apply for up to five courses using the online application system at www.ucas.com.

Step 3 - Offers. You can check the progress of your application using Track at www.ucas.com, which will be updated as we receive decisions from universities and colleges. If you've applied to five choices and don't receive any offers, or decline all the offers you do receive, you may be able to use Extra, which allows eligible applicants to apply for a new choice.

Step 4 - Results. We receive many exam results direct from the awarding bodies - you can check the list at www.ucas.com. If your qualification is listed, you don't need to send your results to UCAS or the universities and colleges. For any others, you send them yourself. Check Track at www.ucas.com to see if you've got a place on your chosen course.

Step 5 - Next steps. Depending on your circumstances, you might use this step. If you have received different grades than expected or changed your mind, there may be other options available. You need to look at Track and course vacancies at www.ucas.com.

Step 6 - Starting university or college. You need to make sure you have everything ready, such as accommodation, finances, travel arrangements, books and equipment required for the course.

About UCAS

UCAS is a charity and is the world's leading shared admissions service for higher education. We manage applications for full-time undergraduate courses, together with applications through GTTR (Graduate Teacher Training Registry), CUKAS (Conservatoires UK Admissions Service) and UKPASS (UK Postgraduate Application and Statistical Service). Since its inception in 1993, UCAS has processed around 30 million applications and placed over 5 million students on higher education courses.

Services include:

An informative website (www.ucas.com) enabling students and parents to access a wealth of information designed to help their application to higher education run smoothly.
A state-of-the-art contact centre (0871 468 0468) providing a point of contact for students, schools and higher education institutions.
An online application system.
A simple, straightforward tracking service enabling students and schools advisors to access up-to-date information about their applications at the click of a button.
Over 50 higher education events each year providing 250,000 students with face-to-face advice on the UCAS process. Internationally, we participated in events in over 12 countries and also provided training and professional development throughout Europe and beyond.

Media contacts

Darren Barker and Charlotte Knowles
tel: 01242 545723 or 01242 544987
email: communications@ucas.ac.uk
Out of hours: 07768 740 461

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