Supporting their UCAS application

The process of applying to university involves several important steps which you can support your young person with. If you haven’t supported a young person through this process before, we understand it can be a little overwhelming. It’s likely they’ll come to you for advice or reassurance. You’ll want to give the right advice at the right time.

As you begin the journey, there may be unfamiliar terms you come across. To help you understand what these mean we’ll link phrases and words to our jargon buster.

UCAS applications

Your young person will need to register and complete their application using the UCAS Hub. This can be done at home, or schools and colleges often provide support for students during this process.

If your young person applies through their school/college, they can link their application to the institution using its buzzword. This is then used throughout their application and allows the institution to attach a reference, view and manage the student's application.

Key steps in completing the application:

1. Register with UCAS

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is the central organisation responsible for processing applications for full-time undergraduate study at UK universities.

2. Complete their personal details

During this stage, UCAS will ask for personal information, including parental education, whether they have been in care, or if they’ve participated in widening participation activities.

While this information is optional, it helps universities understand their application in more detail and offer relevant support.

3. Add education and employment history

They must list all qualifications from secondary education onwards, even if they are awaiting results or didn’t finish a course. If they’ve had any paid jobs—full-time or part-time—this is where they should enter those details. Unpaid or voluntary work should not be listed here, but it’s perfect to include in the personal statement.

4. Select their courses

They can choose up to five courses. The order in which they list them doesn’t matter at this stage. Once they have received responses to all five choices, they’ll need to decide their firm and insurance choice.

5. Write their personal statement

This is their opportunity to tell universities why they’d like to study there and highlight their skills and experiences.

At our open days, we offer sessions on writing personal statements, run by our admissions team, who review thousands of statements each year. These sessions offer tips on what to include, how to stand out and answer questions.

UCAS also provides more information on how to write your personal statement.

For those applying for 2026 entry onwards there is a new format for the personal statement, more details can be found here: UCAS press release.

6. Submit their application

After completing their application, they will need to review it and obtain a reference from a teacher, advisor, or professional who knows them well.

They will also need to pay an application fee. For the most up-to-date costs, visit UCAS, how do I apply?. Students in receipt of free school meals (FSM) are exempt from the application fee.

Important dates

The following timeline applies to undergraduate applications for September 2026 entry. Familiarise yourself with these key dates to help your young person stay on track and avoid last-minute stress.

If your young person is considering joining us in 2027 or beyond, this can be used as a general guide.

March - August 2025

UCAS Discovery Events

From March onwards, UCAS hosts Discovery events across the country. Many schools and colleges organise trips to these events, which are great opportunities for your young person to explore post-school or college options. If their school doesn’t arrange a visit, you can sign up as an individual: UCAS Discovery Events | Meet universities, colleges and employers | UCAS.

Course Listings

From 29 April, courses starting in September 2026 will be available to view on university websites and the UCAS search tool: Search - UCAS.

Open Day Planning

If they haven’t already, summer is an ideal time for your young person to start planning university visits. You might want to accompany them to open days, so make sure to mark the dates in your calendar.

September - December 2025

Open Days

This is a key time to start attending open days if they haven’t done so already. They can sign up for Hartpury University’s open day.

Many universities offer support in attending their open days. At Hartpury, we offer a free shuttle bus from Gloucester city centre and a Travel Bursary to help cover travel costs.

We also recommend exploring the local area during visits. For example, after visiting Hartpury, you could head to Gloucester Quays for food, shopping, and a feel of the local area.

UCAS Application

Encourage your young person to start their UCAS application in the autumn. Remind them to plan ahead and take their time writing a great personal statement. They should submit their application by the January deadline once they know their course and university choices.

Early UCAS Deadline*

Some courses, such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and music, have an early UCAS deadline in October. This also applies to most courses at Oxford and Cambridge. For more information, visit the UCAS website.

*This deadline does not apply to Hartpury University courses.

January 2026

Equal Consideration Deadline

The UCAS equal consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses, including those at Hartpury University, is 6 pm on Wednesday 14 January 2026. Applications submitted by this deadline will receive equal consideration.

However, there’s no need to wait until the last minute - applications can be submitted earlier.

Missed the Deadline?

If your young person misses the January deadline, don’t worry! They can still apply as usual or through Clearing. Hartpury’s Admissions team is happy to help with late applications.

February - April 2026

Receiving Offers

After submitting their UCAS application, your young person will start receiving offers. Hartpury University aims to provide a decision within two weeks. Other universities may take longer, or they may reply sooner.
If they receive an unconditional offer, they can confirm their place immediately through UCAS. For conditional offers, they’ll need to select two choices: their Firm choice and Insurance choice.

Offer Holder Days

During this period, your young person may be invited to Offer Holder Days. These are different from open days, as they focus more specifically on the course and allow them to explore their chosen university in greater depth.

May - July 2026

Late Applications

If they missed the January deadline, they have until 30 June 2026 to submit an application with up to five choices. Applications submitted after this date will be automatically entered into Clearing.

Clearing Opens

Clearing opens on 5 July 2026. Originally a way for universities to fill open spaces, Clearing is now used by many students for various reasons, such as changing their mind about where or what to study, not receiving desired offers, or receiving unexpected results.

Campus Tours and Events

Many universities, including Hartpury, offer summer tours and applicant events. These are usually smaller than open days and tailored to individual needs, offering opportunities to meet academics, tour the campus, and see accommodation.

Even if your young person has attended an open day before, these events are helpful for re-familiarising themselves with the campus before they start in September.

August - September 2026

Results Day

A-level results day is on Thursday 13 August 2026. It’s natural for your young person to feel a mix of emotions, so they may need your support and reassurance.

If they receive unexpected grades, whether better or worse than expected, don’t panic. If they don’t meet the required grades for their course, or do better than expected and want to apply for a different course, they should contact the university to discuss their options.

Following results day, and having achieved the grades for their course, they’ll start to receive information on enrolment, fresher’s week and much more. For those joining us at Hartpury they should keep an eye on their emails and check the Coming to Hartpury Hub for full information.