UCAS application for international students: step by step

This page walks you through the UCAS application for international students who want to start a full-time undergraduate (bachelor’s) course at a UK university in 2027. Applications to most full-time undergraduate (bachelor's) courses at UK universities and colleges go through UCAS. Each step links to the official UCAS page where you can check the details.

If you are applying for a master’s degree, this page is not for you. Most postgraduate courses, including master's degrees, are applied for directly to the university, not through the UCAS undergraduate application. Our guide to studying in the UK explains both routes.

Step by step

1. Check which deadline applies to you

UCAS publishes all dates for the cycle on its dates and deadlines page.

Most courses have one main date, and Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses have an earlier one, which has passed for 2027 entry. Both are in the deadlines section below. UCAS says every complete application, including the reference, that arrives by the equal consideration date will be considered. You can still apply after that date, but universities do not promise to give a late application equal consideration. The 15 October deadline is usually inflexible, but many universities keep accepting applications from international students after the January date, closer to the start of the course. If you missed the October date for one of those courses, plan for the next cycle.

2. Register in the UCAS Hub

Sign up for the UCAS Hub from the UCAS application page, choose your year of entry and undergraduate study, then start your application. If you apply with the support of a school, college or UCAS registered centre, it gives you a “buzzword” that links your application to it, so it can track your progress and add your reference. If you apply on your own, you can add a buzzword later from your application, for example when a former school agrees to provide your reference (step 8).

Use an email address that you check every day and that only you use: UCAS and your universities send their emails only to the primary email address on your application.

3. Fill in your personal details

Enter your names exactly as they appear on official documents such as your passport, and your date of birth as day/month/year. Non-British applicants also answer questions about nationality, residency and visa or immigration status. Your home address is used to confirm your fee status, so answer these questions carefully.

4. Choose your courses

You can add up to 5 choices. If you apply for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science, no more than 4 choices can be in that subject. You can usually apply to only one course at either Oxford or Cambridge, not both.

Before you add a course, read its page on the university’s website: entry requirements, English language requirements and whether your school qualification is accepted.

5. Add your education

List every qualification from secondary school onwards, including results you are still waiting for, retakes and English tests such as IELTS or TOEFL. Enter qualifications with their actual names and grades as on your certificates, not UK equivalents. Universities may ask you for proof of your results, so keep clear scans of your certificates and transcripts ready.

6. Add employment and activities

The employment section is for paid work only, not voluntary work. In the extra activities section you can add courses, summer schools or taster courses. Volunteering, clubs and other experiences outside education belong in your personal statement, which has a question about them. The UCAS application page describes what goes where.

7. Write your personal statement

When you submit, you declare that your personal statement has not been copied or provided from another source, including AI software. UCAS runs similarity checks and may notify universities. UCAS explains the questions on its personal statement page. Our guide to the UCAS personal statement shows how to plan each answer and how to use your space well.

8. Get your reference

If you apply through a school, a teacher usually writes the reference and adds your predicted grades. If you apply on your own, you can ask a former teacher whether your application can be linked to their school with its buzzword, or ask a current or previous employer for an academic reference. The referee writes the reference online in your application, in English (or Welsh for courses in Wales). Ask early and give your referee time: the UCAS reference guide explains the process for both cases.

9. Pay and submit

The application fee for 2027 entry is £34.50, and it covers up to 5 choices. If you apply on your own, the order is: reference first, then card payment, then submission. If you apply through a school, the school tells you how to pay and sends the application for you, often with an internal deadline earlier than the UCAS date.

10. Track your application and reply to offers

Sign in to the UCAS Hub to follow your application (tracking your application). Universities may invite you to an interview, and not all of them send the invitation through UCAS, so watch your email and keep your contact details up to date.

You can accept one firm choice and, if your firm choice is conditional, one insurance choice as a back-up. All other offers must be declined. Your reply date depends on when your last decision arrives, for example 5 May 2027 or 2 June 2027, and your application shows your own date. If you miss it, your offers are declined automatically, and you have only a short time to contact UCAS about it. UCAS explains the rules on replying to your offers.

11. No offers? Extra and Clearing

Extra runs from 25 February to 1 July 2027. If you used all five choices and hold no offers, you can add one more choice at a time, free of charge. Once you add a choice through Extra, you cannot go back to your original choices (UCAS Extra).

If you still hold no offer, Clearing lets you look for a course with vacancies (dates in the deadlines section). UCAS has a Clearing guide for international students.

12. After you accept an offer: CAS and visa

You need an unconditional offer from a licensed student sponsor. The university then sends a reference number called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), which you need before you can apply for the visa. You must apply for the visa within 6 months of receiving your CAS. The visa application itself is made on GOV.UK (Student visa), and our UK guide summarises the main requirements.

Common mistakes

These are the problems UCAS itself warns applicants about:

• Details that do not match your passport. UCAS asks for your names exactly as on official documents and your date of birth as day/month/year.
• “UK equivalents” instead of your real qualifications. Enter the actual name and grade as on your certificate, and do not leave out retakes or pending results. UCAS says inaccurate or missing qualifications could result in an unsuccessful application.
• A relative or friend as your referee. UCAS may cancel an application with a reference from family, a friend or a partner.
• Leaving the reference to the last week. You cannot send the application until the reference is in, and schools often set internal deadlines.
• A statement written by AI or copied. UCAS says that generating all or a large part of the personal statement with AI and presenting it as your own words could be considered cheating and could affect your chances of an offer. AI can help with ideas, structure and readability checks, but the text must be yours.
• Choosing firm and insurance offers in a hurry. Think about which conditions you are realistically likely to meet. If you accept an unconditional firm offer, you do not keep an insurance choice.
• Withdrawing a choice early to reply faster. UCAS says a withdrawn choice will not be available to you later.

Deadlines for 2027 entry

Universities can set earlier dates for some courses, and schools often set their own internal deadlines before the UCAS dates. If you are comparing the UK with other countries, our application deadlines guide puts the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain side by side.

How Wisemore can help

You can do every step on this page yourself with the official UCAS guidance. If you would like support, we help in two ways.

With university application help, we study the requirements of the courses you choose, help you gather the information each section asks for, complete the application with you and check it for errors and inconsistencies before it is sent. With personal statement help, you write your answers yourself and we give feedback on your drafts, with two rounds of draft feedback. For both services we confirm the exact price before you pay.

Prepared by the Wisemore editorial team · Last checked: 13 Oct 2026