UCAS terminology buster
Confused by the terms UCAS uses? This short video explains what they all mean.
Supporting international students
We support international counsellors, agents and advisers, as well as processing applications to hundreds of universities and colleges in the UK.
Predicted Grades
UCAS predicted grades are the academic scores that an applicant’s school or college expects them to achieve in normal (or ‘positive’) circumstances. Higher education institutions use these predicted grades, combined with other application information, to evaluate applicants and decide whether to offer them a place on a provisional basis (‘conditional offer’).
When the actual achieved academic results are submitted, the university or college will make a final decision on whether to accept the student.
Students must provide predicted grades during their applications. The student’s referee (normally their teacher or consellor) will need to predict grades for any exams not yet taken. If you're a counsellor in a school, you may need to gather the predicted grades from various different subject teachers
Many international education systems do not normally involve predicting grades, so student advisers may need to support referees in generating and supplying predicted grades.
If you're an education agent or IEC, we recommend working closely with the student's school to obtain predicted grades wherever possible. Ensure that reference requests are sent directly to someone at the school who's involved in supporting the student, so the reference is completed by someone with direct knowledge of the student's academic ability
Become a UCAS registered centre
We support international guidance counsellors, agents, and advisers, on top of processing applications to hundreds of universities and colleges in the UK.
To manage all of your student applications to UK universities in one place, you can become a UCAS registered centre.
- It’s free to become a UCAS centre
- Manage and submit applications through the advisor portal
- Link your applications to your centre
- Get UCAS advice, information and training
- Access specialised application and tracking tools
- Receive a monthly newsletter with access to free resources and tailored content
- Get access to a dedicated support team
The UCAS International Podcast
The podcast brings together some of the brightest minds – both experts and current students – to help you answer some of your biggest questions. Things like "how do I apply?", "what support is available", and "what's it really like in the UK"?
Registering as a UCAS centre
Become a UCAS registered centre as an international agent or independent adviser.
It’s the same registration process as becoming a UCAS centre if you're a school – with the same benefits above – we just ask you to provide a reference from one of our member universities or colleges in the UK.
International events
We attend many events internationally so you, your students, and their parents can ask us about higher education and UCAS applications. We'd also be happy to consider meeting with you if you're visiting the UK.
Resources and advice
To really help your students, you will need to know and advise on the following:
- Researching study options using the UCAS hub
- UCAS' application process and online application. See our adviser toolkits for further details
- Knowledge on where to look to see the international qualifications and language tests that a university accepts
- How to complete the personal statement
- Where to find information on tuition fees and finances associated with studying in the UK
To keep up to date with UCAS, sign up for our newsletter.
Conservatoires
UCAS Conservatoires applicants manage their own applications.
UK conservatoires are excellent places for international students to get high quality training in music, dance, drama, or musical theatre. Students come from all over the world, to gain performance skills they can use to succeed on international stages.
Referees are contacted by the applicant with details of what to do.
Read our information about providing a reference for UCAS Conservatoires applicants.
Training and resources
We have information for international audiences on how UK higher education works, choosing courses, and how the application works.
Alternatively, you can access guides and training resources by clicking on the links below:
This guidance is for staff at schools, colleges, and other advisers based outside the UK, who advise potential undergraduate applicants to higher education (HE) courses in the UK.
These resources help you support and guide your students through each stage of their application,
Events and open days are a great opportunity to get a feel for a uni, sixth form, or college.
Find which events you can go to, and those you can visit remotely, to make sure you experience everything you can before making your decision.
Chat to current students at your uni or college.
Studying in the UK can bring a lot of challenges, with financial pressures being top of the list, but there is help available. Discover what financial options there are, how UK banking works, and about scholarships and bursaries.