Your student has completed all the sections on their UCAS application, and their references have been submitted – so what’s next?
The end of January marks the UCAS application deadline (29 January for 2025 entry). Your student must ensure that they have submitted their application by this time to be considered by their chosen universities.
If they don’t do this, there is an option for them to apply later in the year during clearing – but not all courses will be available at this time so it’s beneficial for the student to get their application submitted on time.
UCAS will begin processing your student’s application as soon as they’ve received it and will notify universities that an application has been made. Your student will typically receive a confirmation email within 48 hours, including their Personal ID, outlining how they can track the progress of their application via UCAS Hub.
It’s important to note that your student may need to attend an interview over the next few months to secure a place on their course.
How can supporters help?
Supporters can help by setting a reminder of the deadline and helping students to complete a final check of their application, and proofreading their personal statement to ensure they’ve included all their relevant skills.
This stage is about encouragement to ensure that the student’s application is the best it can possibly be.
March – April
This time is really important in the application process, and a point where action is needed from supporters too.
Student Finance opens for applications in March, and the sooner your student can get this completed the better. It’s easy to change their course with Student Finance at a later date if needed, but late applications can delay payments and cause issues when students join university.
How can supporters help?
Supporters will need to declare their income with Student Finance. This is really important if students are applying for an assessment based on household income as this will show whether your student is eligible for any grants. You /mediawill need to respond to Student Finance if they request any evidence or further information too.
For more information, and details about the types of evidence you may have to supply, visit gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance
Supporting a student who hasn’t had contact with their parents for over a year? They may be eligible to apply for finance as an ‘estranged’ or ‘independent’ student. We would recommend contacting Student Finance in this case to discuss further.
In March and April, we’ll also be inviting applicants to an Offer Holder Day, where they will be encouraged to visit campus and spend some time in sample lectures and have the chance to meet other students who they may be studying with.
Edge Hill provides financial support to help with travel to these events too, and strongly recommend that students to come and get a feel for what university will really be like. Supporters are invited too, and our Vice-Chancellor runs an information session where you can get your questions answered.
May
By this time your student should have heard back from the universities they applied for and they will need to start thinking about their Firm and Insurance choices (we’ll explain more on this in part 3).
The types of offers your student could have received are:
How can supporters help?
Chat to your student after attending offer holder days and see what they thought of the universities they visited. Ask them about the facilities, and whether they can see themselves studying there.
Throughout the first half of the year your student has lots of decisions to make, but we’re here to help them every step of the way. With offer holder days and campus tours running regularly, we want to make sure they have all the information they need.
Supporters and students are welcome and encouraged to visit us and keep in touch, so your student can be confident that Edge Hill is the university for them.
Read our next guide to find out more about making decisions on UCAS, Clearing, and what happens on results day. If students have further questions, you can contact our Admissions team at any time. Or chat with a current student using our online chat.
September 23, 2024
