Supporting the application process

Once your students decide what they want to study and where, they will need to complete an application online using Apply. This is a secure, web-based application system designed to help schools and centres manage the application process and make it easier for your students to complete their own applications.

If you are registered to use Apply through a school, college or centre, you can oversee your students' applications and write their references online. It allows you to define different levels of access for members of your team. This helps you to delegate and share the workload by distributing key tasks. For example, one member of the team could be assigned to writing references, another to checking applications.

Apply allows you to manage the complete application process by:

  • checking how students are progressing with their applications;
  • creating, editing and approving references;
  • checking, approving and submitting applications;
  • making secure payments.

Apply makes application easy for your students by guiding them, step by step, through the process.

Find out more about how you and your students can use Apply.

We also offer training sessions to advisers who are involved with the application process.

Find out more about these sessions

How much will it cost?

If a student applies to more than one course, university or college they need to pay £17 GBP when they apply. If they only apply to one course at one university or college, they pay £7 GBP.

If they are making their application through your school, college or other centre, you can choose whether they pay you and you then pay us, or students can pay us directly using a credit or debit card. If you choose that they pay you, we will send you an invoice.

We accept UK and international Visa, Delta, MasterCard, Maestro and Electron credit or debit cards. At the moment we do not accept American Express or JCB cards.

If students have trouble paying via credit or debit card, they should contact their local British Council who may be able to provide alternatives. In addition, they can pay via:

  1. Cheque
  2. Postal order
  3. Direct payment to the UCAS Bank Account
    4. .

For more information on other forms of payment, please contact our Customer Service Unit.

When to apply

Please see the When to apply page in the students' section to check the dates by which we should receive completed applications.

You may find it useful to view the application cycle and the important dates as a flowchart. Click on a link below to access the relevant flowchart as a pdf document.

Application flowchart for all courses (Route A) except Route B applications
Deadline dates for the 2009 entry application process, except for Route B art and design courses (what is Route B?).

Applications for Route B art and design
Deadline dates for the 2009 entry application process for Route B art and design courses.

Applications made through Route A and Route B
Deadline dates for the 2009 entry application process for applicants who apply through both routes.