Your student has completed all the sections on their UCAS application, and their references have been submitted – so what’s next?
January marks the UCAS application deadline (Wednesday 14 January 2026 for 2026 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 it’s important to not that 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, as well as 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.
February – March
In February, we’ll 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 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.
March
If your student applied before the equal consideration date (14 January 2026), 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.
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. Your student should make their application even if they haven’t made their final decision on their course or university. 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 will 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.
The last offer holder Offer Holder Day events are in April too, and we recommend coming along if your student hasn’t already to help them in their decision-making process.
May
Once your student has received decisions from all their university/course choices, they’ll need to reply to them by the deadlines provided. They may also be invited to attend an interview as part of the selection process for some courses. As part of their decision, they need to select which offers they want to make their firm and insurance choices.
The deadline to make their choices is 6 May 2026 for 2026 entry.
How can supporters help?
The decision ultimately must be down to the student themself on where they want to go to university and what course they want to study. Try to go through the pros and cons of each university and talk to them about their future plans to check whether their course aligns with this.
If your student is struggling to decide, encourage them to look at other factors like student life, accommodation, student support and anything else that is important to them. Seeing what is available beyond their course might help them to make that final decision.
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
