UK Undergraduate application Archives

UK Undergraduate Equal Consideration Deadline | UK Study Expert

Posted on April 11, 2022September 9, 2026 by Jackie Christopher

US and UK universities do not have the same undergraduate admission processes and UK universities do not have Early Decision or Early Action. Instead, UK universities have set deadlines in October and January, depending on the university or the course.

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There are two major types of early deadlines both typically on October 15th:

Degree specific (medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, etc.)
University specific deadline (Oxford, Cambridge, etc.).

If your university or degree subject isn’t in this category, your university may recommend you to apply before the equal consideration deadline.

According to the UCAS website, equal consideration guarantees an equal opportunity to be considered against the same selection criteria (academic and non-academic) as all others who apply within that time, providing assurance that admission is not granted on a first-come-first-served basis. Applying before this deadline ensures the student is given the best opportunity in being admitted. This deadline is usually around mid to end of January (deadline varies by year).

If a US student applies after the equal consideration date, don’t panic! Most universities tend to have rolling admissions for international students. Students can still be accepted after the deadline as long as places aren’t filled for that course.

If you decide to apply after the equal consideration deadline, make sure not to wait too long. Don’t forget that once you’re accepted, you’ll still need to prepare for the next processes such as choosing and applying to accommodation, applying for your student visa, and more.

If you have questions about a university’s deadlines and processes, you can reach out to our universities through our university pages. Click the “contact us” and your message will be sent directly to the UK university representative who assists with US students or counselors.

If you want to ensure that you are making the right decision in the application process, our advisors can support you throughout the process and help you get into your dream UK university!

Need help figuring out your UCAS application? Check out our step-by-step UCAS Guide! Get the UCAS Guide for $39

UK Application Timeline & Deadlines | The UK Study Expert

Posted on February 22, 2022September 9, 2026 by Jackie Christopher

The UK application timeline can be similar but very different compared to the US. The UK does not have Early Action or Early Decision. Instead, UK universities have set deadlines depending on the university and courses. To better prepare you in your application journey, below are the timelines and deadlines when applying to UK universities for your bachelor’s degree!

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Deadlines

The UCAS Application is the centralized application system for all UK universities for undergraduate courses.

Applications for Oxbridge or Medicine/Veterinary/Dentistry courses must be submitted by 15 October.

For the majority of all other courses and universities, applications should be submitted to UCAS between:

September to January (final deadline varies each year) to be guaranteed equal consideration with other applicants.
Disclaimer: Many top ranked universities will require this as their final application deadline. Please check the university’s application page.
For 2025 entry, the equal consideration deadline is January 29th.
End of January (equal consideration deadline) to 30 June – the majority of universities will offer rolling admissions for international students. Students can still apply until 30 June, but places on courses may vary.
After 30 June – Students can use Clearing (more information on this below).

Admissions Test

Most universities do not require an additional admissions test, but the universities that do require it are the competitive universities (Oxbridge) or competitive courses (Business, Medicine, Law, etc.). Universities will list on their course page, admissions page, or on our university page if you will need to take an additional exam and their procedure. Or you can also check the UCAS admissions test page on the UCAS website.

University Decisions

Each university and college will make their decisions at different times depending when you have applied. Once you have applied, they have to make a decision on a student’s application:

If you send your application by the January deadline, you will hear back from the Universities before or by May. The usual response time for universities to respond back to an application is 2-6 weeks.
If you send your application by the June deadline, you will hear back by July.

Replying to Offers

Once you receive all of your offers, you will have deadlines to respond by. Don’t worry – these deadlines will be presented on your UCAS portal and you will be notified. These are varied deadlines based on when you get the last decision from your university or college:

If you receive your last decision on or before the May deadline, your reply date is typically in June.
If you receive your last decision on or before the July deadline, your reply date is typically at the end of July.

The actual dates and deadlines will be listed on your UCAS Application Portal. It’s important to check and make a note in your calendar so you don’t forget.

Clearing

All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing. Clearing is how universities and colleges fill any places they still have on their courses.

From July – October, you can apply for a course using Clearing if you’re not already holding an offer from a university or college, and the course still has places.

If you have questions about deadlines or the processes and wish to speak to a UK university representative who assists with US students, you can contact a representative directly on our university webpages. Click the “contact university” on the red button on the university page and your message will be sent directly to them.

Toni Dolby is the International Recruitment Manager for the Americas at the University of Sheffield. The University of Sheffield is a World Top 100 University located in the heart of the UK offering undergraduate and graduate study. The University is truly international as we are home to over 29,000 from 150 countries and have been voted one of the top 50 most international universities in the world!

Need help figuring out your UCAS application? Check out our step-by-step UCAS Guide!

Get the UCAS Guide for $27

Common App vs UCAS: Key Differences | The UK Study Expert

Posted on February 1, 2021September 9, 2026 by Jackie Christopher

(Updated March 2024)

Similar to my recent post regarding UCAS Application vs. UK Direct Applications, there is another process if you are interested in applying both to US and UK universities.

Students have the option to apply to UK universities via the Common App, but what is their best strategy based on their student’s needs? Below, we outline the distinctions between Common App and UCAS, helping you strategize effectively to give you the best results.

Before we get into the specifics, let’s explain the differences between these two applications:

UCAS is the centralized application system for all UK universities.
Common App is the centralized application system for US universities.

Comparing the differences, Common App allows you to apply up to 20 universities, however, you do need to be mindful of the costs per university submission. UCAS allows up to 5 UK universities and has a flat fee (£27.50).

Many UK universities have hopped on the bandwagon and added their institution to Common App. Why? To attract more US students by making the process simpler. Even though the Common App allows students to track all of their applications on one system, only 6% of UK universities are available on the platform. There are currently 19 UK universities listed on Common App.

UCAS dominates the UK university application system. If a student applied through both UCAS and Common App, it’s most likely because a student didn’t review all of their options before applying. They may have seen a UK university listed on Common App, added them, but then realized they found another UK university they want to apply to that’s not on Common App.

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What if you have applied to UK universities both through UCAS and Common App?

There’s no policies or restrictions when applying to both; however, the biggest issue here is when you accept an offer.

Ashley Warmington, Senior International Officer from University of Glasgow explains, “Behind the scenes, every Common App turns into a UCAS application during processing. If a student applies and accepts their offer on the Common App, the admissions team will transfer their information to UCAS. If they find that their UCAS is already full with universities, it becomes an issue.”

If you accept two offers (one from Common App and the other UCAS), UCAS can notify both universities and reject your decision. This is similar to the recent blog post I have posted regarding direct UK university applications vs. UCAS here.

If you accept a university through Common App and you have used all 5 university options on UCAS, you could risk losing all of their offers on UCAS for their Common App choice.

Advice:

Below are some suggestions to weigh your options:

If you plan on applying to one or two universities in the UK that are listed on Common App and are also applying to US universities, then it’s best to utilize one platform and apply through Common App.
If you know that studying in the UK is your main focus, the UCAS application is the most preferred to use. It helps to separate your UK and US Applications. Since the Common App is a US application, UK universities find that students who apply directly through Common App are typically not prioritizing the UK, especially since there is no restriction on the amount of submissions. It’s easy to add another university application, such as a reach school, just to see if they can get accepted. Applying through UCAS/direct applications may help reduce application fees and response time. Plus, they will not request supplementary essays or information that the Common App usually requires.
If you apply through both UCAS and Common App systems, we recommend accepting one offer between the two. Disclaimer: If you accept an offer through Common App and you have used all university slots on UCAS, you may risk losing all of your offers on UCAS.

Common App UK Universities

Aberystwyth University

Anglia Ruskin University

Arts University Bournemouth, UK

Brunel University, London

Edinburgh Napier University

ESCP Business School

Swansea University

University of Aberdeen

University of Bradford

University of Dundee

University of East London

University of Glasgow

University of Plymouth

University of Roehampton

University of St. Andrew’s

University of Stirling

University of the West of England, Bristol

University of West London

University of Worchester

UK University Entry Requirements

If you are trying to find UK University’s US undergraduate entry requirements, look no further! You can use our Undergraduate Universities search tool to filter which university matches your academic profile. If you click on each university profile, it lists their US entry requirements.

University Search Tool