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' role?
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
UCAS supports the standardisation of information shared by agents and is used to support students and parents making important decisions about their future study options.
The 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.
The AQF is designed to ensure agents and counsellors have the right knowledge of the UK as a study destination and understand the integrity of the UK visa and immigration system, in order to uphold the UK’s reputation as a world-class study destination. The AQF promotes four key principles:
- empowering student choice and enabling informed decision making
- ensuring good agent governance and professionalism
- promoting ethical agent practices, professional knowledge and competency
- increasing transparency and accountability.
More information can be found on the British Council website where there is also a Student Guide.
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.
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.