It’s January. School is back, lessons are very much on and your uniform has
been painstakingly ironed in preparation.
Like some other acronyms – AQA, OCR, DVLA – one particular four-letter
deadline might be rushing over the fast-approaching horizon. UCAS. If you
haven’t sent your application off yet, there’s still time.
And really, there is time. You might think that there isn’t – five days:
72,000 minutes, 120 hours, a couple of pints at the pub – but January 15,
the date that will have been in your diary all academic year, is not D-Day.
It is not the final countdown, and while in a couple of days it will literally
be the day after tomorrow, it is not the end of the world as you know it. It
is not your very last chance to apply for university, your saviour in
calendar form.
If you’re reading this and you’ve not yet applied – or, parents, to your
horror, your sprog hasn’t got it signed off yet – then do not fret. Plenty
of students apply for university late in the day. More than 118,000 did last
year, 17 per cent of the final total.
When UCAS was asked about “last-minute deadlines”, they were surprised that
this might mean January. The first month of the year is nowhere near last
minute, they explained.
You might be feeling anxious, dear A-leveller, if all of your friends have got
their applications in already. If they’ve got offers and interviews secured,
it’s hard not to think about it. Or perhaps you’re the friend with the
offers, and your pal hasn’t pressed send yet. Either way, there’s nothing to
worry about.
A month or so before the deadline, the online community – and general arbiter
of good advice – The Student Room was full of posts from users saying they
hadn’t applied yet. That their college was slow on the uptake, or that they
couldn’t decide between universities. You of the not-yet-submitted
application are not alone.
It’s about time some rumours were put to bed, so UCAS and some of the
country’s universities are here to lend a hand.
What if January just isn’t looking likely?
There’s still bags of time to go. “Any students who still want to apply last
minute, and who think that they can get their application in before the
deadline, should do so,” advises Laura Kishore, head of admissions at Oxford
Brookes University. “If not, it is probably better to leave it
until February.”
February? What’s this about February? you ask. “This is because universities
will say by then which programmes still have vacancies. If you apply between
mid-January and mid-February you might well be wasting one or more of your
choices, as some courses will have no further vacancies for those who apply
after January 15.”
If you are looking to apply in February, then do your research. Check out the
universities you are interested in, to see if they are still accepting
applications. Some will be, others not. January is the deadline for “on
time” applications, those guaranteed to make it through the first round of
vacancies, but it is not the final one, taking its last wheezing breaths.
Beyond February, there are continued opportunities to get applications in. The
Clearing process, once considered to be the emergency results-day route for
students who had missed the results they needed to meet their offers, is
emerging as part of the general application cycle.
“Clearing is increasingly becoming a legitimate application route for students
who did not apply during the main cycle,” says Alison Wilde, admissions
manager at Nottingham Trent University.
“Around July time, many universities will start to advertise courses that they
anticipate will be available in Clearing, and many will accept Clearing
applications before the A-level results are released in August.” Be strong,
young applicants. Time is on your side.
Will my application be considered equally if I applied months ago or now?
Yes. Whether you managed to get your form signed off in September or on
January 14, your application is still valid.
“By analysing year-on-year application trends, many universities are able to
anticipate the number of applications they will receive,” says Wilde.
“Nottingham Trent guarantees that those applications received by January 15
are given equal consideration.”
Will my application still count if I hand it in on January 15? Absolutely.
While universities will have started to process applications from September
1, the deadline day is a counted day.
“If you submit your UCAS application by 18:00 GMT on January 15 then you are
guaranteed to be given equal consideration for your choices alongside other
applicants,” says Fatuma Mahad, director of operations at UCAS.
And Laura Kishore confirms that “all applications will be considered right up
until the January 15 deadline”.
All my friends had interviews and offers before Christmas, but I haven’t
applied yet. Can I still go to university? Of course you can.
“Universities have processes in place to make sure that they pace making
offers,” says Angela Milln, the director of student recruitment, access and
admissions at the University of Bristol.
The bottom line is that if you haven’t got yourself organised yet, you still
can. All applications are considered equally, and the universities are at
great pains to say that. Admissions tutors are on your side, although you
might not always get those vibes as you await your fate. They want to help.
In fact, they’re all too willing, whether your application is in by now or
not.
They all advise, in the first instance, not to panic. This is crucial. “It is
really important that all students carefully consider their options as
university is a big emotional, and financial commitment,” says Wilde.
“Getting it wrong can be costly.”
The second most important piece of advice when applying at any time, but
particularly at the last minute, is to pay attention to detail.
“Make sure you check your form, double check, and then check again,” advises
Milln. “Don’t rely on the computer’s spell check. Read and reread your work,
and then let friends, family and teachers read it too, as they may spot
things you’ve missed.”
Your teachers will have told you the right things too, with any luck – that it
is better to take a long time over a decision than make a quick, wrong one.
“It is entirely normal for some pupils to find it hard to decide on the course
that they are going to study, or whether or not a gap year is right for
them,” says Carl Hendrick, head of learning and research at Wellington
College in Berkshire.
“While we would always encourage an early application so that students turn
their minds to their studies, as long as they send their application in by
January 15, they can feel comfortable that they will still receive offers as
long as their application is well considered. It is more important to pick
the right courses and university choices in the end than rush an application
only to regret the options later.”
Choosing the right subject is of the utmost importance, and in the midst of
the application process – helpfully positioned in the middle of revision
season – it is easy to have second thoughts about purely academic subjects.
But as well as the sciences and the traditional essay-based subjects, there
are also vocational approaches on offer, and these need not be confined to
the less charismatic professions. There is a course for everyone, regardless
of when you apply, from beauty therapy to film studies, computer gaming and
technical drawing.
But whatever you’re applying for, and whether it is today, tomorrow, or on
Thursday night, technology can find a way to spoil your fun. Try to avoid
submitting at the last possible moment, not just for your sanity, and for
everyone else’s, but to swerve any computer meltdowns.
The UCAS system has been upgraded in the past few years but it is still a
website like any other, and as much as submitting your application 10
minutes before the deadline – 17:50! – might give you an adrenalin rush, it
might not thrill the administrators. And it won’t do much for your mum’s
blood pressure
January 15: applications for the majority of courses to arrive at
UCAS by 18:00 GMT to ensure equal consideration
February 25: UCAS Extra opens
June 30: last day to apply through UCAS before you are entered into
Clearing
July 2: last date to apply through Extra
August 13: results day and beginning of full Clearing process;
Adjustment opens
September 21: final deadline for applications to 2015 courses.
Applications must arrive by 18:00 GMT
September 30: clearing vacancy search closes; contact universities
to discuss vacancies if adding choices in Track
October 21: final deadline for Clearing
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Eleanor Doughty is a freelance journalist. She tweets @brushingboots