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All UPC students receive individual support with their UCAS university applications. Rob Doswell, the UPC's dedicated Education Advisor, provides this to international foundation year students.

What is UCAS?

 stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It manages the application process for British universities.

As a UPC student, you’ll register for a UCAS university application linked to your department, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Centre for Languages & International Education (CLIE), in weeks one and two of the course. This allows you to apply to up to five universities.

Please do not register for an independent UCAS application before you arrive. We will help you register.

How do we support you with UCAS applications?

A key element of your year with us is that you’ll be supported with your UCAS application to undergraduate degree programmes in the UK. 

At the start of the First Term, Rob, UPC's dedicated Education Advisor, will contact you to provide you with the information you need to start preparing your UCAS application. 

You’ll have two UCAS introductory sessions and guided UCAS registration at the start of First Term.

We’ll also provide year-round online resources and individual support for the entire process. This includes these stages:

• completing the UCAS form
• degree course and university selection
• understanding entry requirements
• acceptance of conditional offers
• confirmation.

Your personal tutors will also support you with your UCAS personal statement in the First Term.

At the end of the First Term, the UPCH and UCPSE Coordinators will consult with your tutors and, based on your overall performance, write a UCAS reference in support of your application. The UCAS reference will include predicted UPC grades based on your First Term performance and potential, a key component in successfully receiving conditional offers.

What’s the deadline for applications?

The main deadline for your UCAS university application is towards the end of January while you’re on the UPC. However, we ask UPC students to complete their applications by the end of Term One.

Veterinary medicine/sciences applicants and students we support for applications to Oxford or Cambridge need to apply by mid-October soon after you start the UPC. We offer tailored support to selected students who want to apply to degrees at Oxbridge.

When will I hear back from my degree applications?

You’ll will receive decisions from the universities you have applied to between January and April. As part of the application process, you may also be invited to attend open days, interviews, or be asked to take additional entrance tests depending on the degree/s you have applied for.

How can I prepare before I start the UPC?

We recommend that you start thinking carefully before you start the UPC about the undergraduate degree programme you are intending to study, and which universities you may like to apply to in and/or outside of London.

This is because applications for undergraduate degree courses commencing in September 2026 are made relatively early in the academic year: between October–December 2025, depending on your applicant group.

You should:

• Research further into the undergraduate degree you are planning to study at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø and/or at other UK universities after the UPC; make sure you look at the degree summary, structure and topics covered (in years one, two and three), tuition fees, and any additional options offered (such as studying abroad; language units; work experience options, etc.).
• Check the entry requirements of the degree programme (are there any specific subjects and/or prerequisites; a particularly high English language requirement).
• Find out about and prepare for any additional entrance test/task you may need to complete (such as the LNAT for top LLB Law degrees, or the Additional Personal Statement for Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø BSc Management Science).