Your UCAS Application for 2027 Entry: Dates, Choices and Steps

The UCAS application is where your shortlist becomes five choices. Knowing the dates and the moving parts takes most of the stress out of it.

Applying to university in the UK goes through UCAS, the central admissions service. You fill in one application, choose up to five courses and send it once. Here’s how the 2027 entry cycle works.

Key dates for 2027 entry

UCAS calls the January date the “equal consideration” deadline: universities must consider all applications received by then on an equal basis. Some art and design courses and some conservatoire courses have their own dates, so check each course listing.

Your five choices

You can choose up to five courses. A few rules to know:

• For medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine or science, you can use a maximum of four choices in those subjects. The fifth can be a different subject.
• You usually can’t apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year.
• The universities can’t see where else you’ve applied.

Aim for a balanced list: courses with entry requirements above, at and slightly below your predicted grades.

What goes into the application

1. Personal details, including residency and nationality, which affect fees and finance.
2. Education history, with qualifications you have and those you’re taking.
3. Employment, if you’ve had paid jobs.
4. Personal statement, now answered as three questions. Our personal statement guide explains them.
5. Reference, usually from a teacher or adviser at your school or college, along with predicted grades.
6. The application fee.

Your reference has to be complete before your school or college can send the application to UCAS, so build in time and don’t leave it to the night before a deadline.

After you apply

• Offers arrive through UCAS Hub. They may be conditional, usually on your exam results, or unconditional.
• Interviews and tests are part of the process for some courses.
• Replying: once you’ve heard from all your choices, you choose a firm choice and, if you want one, an insurance choice with lower entry requirements.
• Extra: if you’ve used all five choices and have no offers, or you declined your offers, Extra lets you add one more choice at a time from 25 February 2027.
• Clearing: over the summer, Clearing matches applicants without a place, and late applicants, to courses with vacancies.

Paying for it

Tuition fees and living costs come later, and most students in England cover them with student loans. Our guide to student finance in England explains tuition and maintenance loans, including the new system for courses starting from January 2027. If you’d rather earn while you study, degree apprenticeships are applied for directly with employers.

Questions students ask

Can I apply after the January deadline?

Yes. Applications received after the equal consideration deadline can still be considered if the course has places, but universities don’t have to treat them equally with on-time applications.

Can I apply to both Oxford and Cambridge?

Usually not in the same year. There are a few exceptions, such as some organ scholarships, so check each university’s guidance.

Do I have to use all five choices?

No. You can apply with fewer, and if you have choices left you may be able to add more later in the cycle. Using all five gives you more chances of an offer.

What’s the difference between a conditional and an unconditional offer?

A conditional offer means you need to meet certain conditions, usually exam grades. An unconditional offer means you have a place if you accept it, though there may still be things to confirm, such as documents.

This guide is general information for students in the UK. Dates, fees and rules change, so always check the latest details with UCAS, GOV.UK, Student Finance England or your university or college before making decisions.