Why students should apply by the Equal Consideration Deadline (ECD)
Discover why you should encourage your students to apply before the equal consideration deadline, how to get the best chance of success, and what to do after.
International advisers
What is UCAS?
UCAS is the centralised admissions service for accessing undergraduate Higher Education in the UK.
We do not work for any specific university or college, and we are also not a branch of the government. This means that the advice we provide is impartial and factual, and we don’t make recommendations about which institutions best suit the students.
We don't make admissions decisions. We send applications to the educational institutions, who will make their own decisions based on unique internal criteria. We also don’t assess qualifications, so we cannot comment on how an international grade relates to a UK one. We aren't responsible for setting or assessing tuition fee statuses.
We offer advisers:
- Helpful guides and downloadable resources, such as the Adviser Toolkit and Guide
- Personalised online or in-person training
- In-depth data insights reports on the UK Higher Education field
- Tools to help them manage their applications more efficiently by becoming a UCAS Registered Centre
We operate as an independent, non-profit charity. All profits go into improving the quality of resources and tools available to students, higher education institutions and advisers who support applications.
We are the official online admissions service for UK universities and colleges – we are a non-profit organisation and have registered charity status. We work on behalf of the universities connecting people to higher education.
What we do:
- Process applications
- Provide information, advice and training
- Conduct education sector engagement
- Provide fraud and verification services
- Signpost to relevant organisations who can support with finance/immigration/visas.
What we don't do:
- Suggest courses/universities
- Make decisions/offers
- Advise on finance/immigration/visas
The UK Agent Quality Framework (AQF) is a set of tools to enhance the experience of international students working with education agents and counsellors to apply to study in the UK.
We support international counsellors, agents and advisers, on top of processing applications to hundreds of universities and colleges in the UK.
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.
UCAS Clearing is a process in the United Kingdom that allows students who have not secured a place at a university or college through the main application cycle to find alternative courses or institutions.
Watch our free webinars cover a range of topics to help you – including international updates, apprenticeships, and careers advice.
Check a range of higher education and UCAS terminology.
Becoming a UCAS registered centre
Schools, colleges, advisers or agents can become registered UCAS centres and get unique access to their students' higher education applications.