UCAS - Types of offer

Decisions made by universities and colleges

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We will contact you when each university or college makes a decision about your application. If you entered and verified an email address when you applied, we will email you when any changes have been made to your application. If you didn't enter an email address, we will send you a letter. You can check the progress of your application in Track.

Remember that:

offers are only official once you have received our letter or email, even if you receive an offer direct from a university or college
if you have a question about a decision, you should contact the university or college for advice
the universities and colleges have a deadline for making a decision about your application. You can check the deadlines here.

You may get an invitation...

Universities and colleges might send you an invitation, which asks you to attend an interview or audition, or to provide a portfolio of work, an essay or other piece of work. Invitations can be sent for any course. If the university or college sends you an invitation, it will show in Track which you can use to accept or decline it, or request an alternative time or date.

If you need to change the time or date you will also need to contact the university or college. They can then update the invitation so that the revised details are shown in Track. Please try to attend on the date requested as it may be difficult for an alternative to be offered.

Once the invitation request has been completed, eg you've attended the interview or sent the piece of work, the university or college will tell us if you've been offered a place or not, and we'll show their decision in Track.

Been offered an interview?Take a look at our interviews page for tips and advice.

Decisions sent by universities and colleges

Conditional offer

A conditional offer means that the university or college will offer you a place if you meet certain conditions, which are usually based on your exams.

You may be asked to achieve specific Tariff points (eg 200 points from three A levels) or grades in named subjects (for example, B in chemistry, C in physics). You might need to get specific grades in the individual units that make up these subjects.

You must meet the conditions of your offer by 31 August 2013 (in the 2013 entry cycle), unless otherwise agreed by the university or college. If you're taking a winter exam, the offer might ask you to meet the conditions by an earlier date.

One or more of your offers may be a joint conditional offer, for example, a degree and HND. When your exam results are published, the university or college will decide which part of the offer is most suitable for you.

Each offer is specific to your qualifications and circumstances.

Unconditional offer

An unconditional offer means that you have met all the academic requirements and the university or college is happy to accept you. The university or college will contact you if they need proof of your qualifications. They might have other requirements, like financial or medical conditions, that you need to meet before you can start the course.

Withdrawn application

A choice can be withdrawn by you or the university or college. The reason will be displayed in Track. It may be withdrawn because you didn't respond to any letters or emails from the university or college, or because you didn't attend an interview.

Unsuccessful application

This means that the university or college has decided not to offer you a place on the course.

Universities and colleges can decline an applicant for many reasons, one of which could be that the course is full, so it may not be based on the quality of your application. The university or college may provide a reason for their decision either when they send the decision through, or at a later date. If no reason is shown in Track, you can contact the university or college to see if they will discuss why you were unsuccessful.