UCAS GUIDE

UCAS REFERENCES

Before arranging the reference the college will let you know when and how to pay your application fee - see FINANCE page.

Then they’ll have a reference written for you by a teacher or tutor who knows you – you won’t have access to this, so you won’t need to do anything for it.

Next they’ll send your application to us for you – keep in touch with them about how it’s going so that you’ll know when they’ve sent it to us.

OVERVIEW

Your reference is written by your referee online in the reference section of your application, in English (or Welsh if you’re applying for courses in Wales).
It might include your career goals and work experience – so talk these through with them first – as well as how well you’ve done in specific modules or course components.
If your referee is one of your teachers, they can add your predicted grades for any pending qualifications you’re studying now.
With your permission, the reference could include circumstances that have affected your academic work or achievements, such as a personal problem, illness, or any individual needs you have. This may include any adverse impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had on your studies or assessments due to illness, personal circumstances, or challenges with learning at home.

UCAS ADVISER GUIDE

'References are there to reinforce what’s on that application form. What we want are the exceptional circumstances that may surround an applicant. The new structure hopefully won’t take an adviser so long, it’ll be much shorter, much more succinct and we won’t miss anything.' University of Aberdeen

REFERENCES FOR 2026 ENTRY

References for 2025 undergraduate entry will continue to focus on the areas universities and colleges want to know more about.

Universities and colleges have told us that it’s becoming challenging to meaningfully compare applicants’ academic references as the content varies from referee to referee.
Advisers report increasing pressure to invest more and more time in compiling the references with an expectation that this will increase applicants’ chances of success.

To help advisers focus their references on the areas universities and colleges want to know more about, the free text approach has been replaced with three structured sections:

College statement
Applicant circumstances
Supportive information

References can be up to 4,000 characters, (including spaces, headings, and line breaks) and should be factual, easy to digest, specific and relevant.

 Write in a word processor first and then copy and paste into the online application (but watch out for the character and line count.

UCAS Reference Section

'We have worked with UCAS on the reform to the reference and are delighted to support the changes being made. By moving to a structured format for the reference we anticipate being able to identify the information we are looking for more straightforwardly and we hope this information will take teachers less time to provide.' University of Birmingham

UCAS Reference Guide 24

When writing a reference for any applicant, including those outside the UK, please remember that – under the Data Protection Act 2018 – the applicant can ask for a copy of the reference and any other personal information we have about them.

SECTION 1: COLLEGE STATEMENT

The following general statement about Access Creative College can be copied and adpated:

Access Creative College is a post-16 ITP which delivers courses for progression into the creative industries, either via HE (70%) or directly into work or training. It operates from 7 centres across England, with over 2,000 students nationally. Centres range in size from 100 to 500 students. It has some students from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds and supports students with learning needs.

The college delivers ESFA-funded BTEC, RSL, T Level and Access to HE courses for the following creative sectors: music, games, media, esports and digital. Students also gain from a syllabus of personal & professional development linked to activities.

Predicted grades are based on prior achievement (Year 1 and Year 2 Term 1 unit grades), with predicted grades for remaining units.

The following general statement about Access Sport can be copied and adpated:

Access Sport is a post-16 ITP which delivers courses for progression into the sports sector, either via HE or directly into work or training. It operates from 18 centres across England, with over 1,000 students nationally. It has many students from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds, plus many with learning barriers.

The college delivers BTEC courses for the following sports sectors: coaching and sports science. Students also gain from a syllabus of personal & professional development linked to activities and professional clubs. Individual centres are comparatively small with a welcoming family atmosphere, but have limited facilities in comparison to large FE colleges.

Predicted grades are based on prior achievement (Year 1 and Year 2 Term 1 units grades), with predicted grades for remaining units.

This Link will take you to examples of UCAS reference writing for each section.

Inform universities and colleges of any changes to the applicant’s profile or circumstances that occur after the application is submitted to UCAS.

SECTION 2: EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

If applicable, enter any information about extenuating circumstances which may have impacted the applicant's education and achievement. You can use this section to prove that the student’s performance was affected by certain factors.

Include relevant information that contextualises the educational journey, for example:

Individual circumstances – e.g. mature student, disability, serious, acute, or chronic illness, bereavement, significant adverse personal circumstances (with applicant consent).
Context as to why there is a disparity between an individual’s grades achieved throughout the school or college (e.g. at GCSE/ Scottish national 4/5 equivalent and predicted grades, where applicable).
Factors which have limited the individual’s choice of subjects or load of study at UK Level 3 or equivalent (factors which have affected the whole centre rather than the individual should be included in section 1) .
Support the university or college should consider putting in place to ensure the applicant can thrive on their course (with applicant’s consent) – e.g. highlight the measures the school, college or centre put in place to ensure the student’s inclusion/experience.

You must be clear whether any of the circumstances outlined in section 2 have already been considered by the student’s examination boards or awarding organisations for the qualifications taken.

When you add into the online application, click ‘save’ regularly because it will time out after 35 minutes of inactivity.

Save a copy of each reference you write for your records.

Avoid repeating any of the information they’ve given in their application, unless you want to comment on it, and avoid mentioning any university or college.

There must be a completed reference on the application before it is sent to UCAS. 

SECTION 3: SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Outline any other supportive information specific to the applicant and relevant to the course(s) applied for that you think universities/colleges should be aware of.

It is not necessary to craft the perfect paragraph here. Providing short, clear, factual statements helps universities and colleges digest the information. You can provide a supporting statement for your students and showcase any additional information for high performing students.

Useful information could include:

Evidence of suitability for the course(s) applied for which may include performance and academic ability in relevant UK Level 3 or equivalent qualifications, relevant work experience, cases where an applicant is the strongest performer in their cohort or extracurricular achievements.
Any barriers the applicant has faced in accessing work experience opportunities only where relevant to the course applied to.

Ticking ‘no information to enter’ for this section in the adviser portal will highlight to universities and colleges that no information has been supplied under these headings.

Predicted grades must be provided where relevant and are captured separately outside of these three reference sections. Students who are waiting for examination results or yet to take examinations, should enter ‘pending’ against those qualification(s) (including resits) when completing the education section of the UCAS application. Those pending qualifications will be shown in the adviser portal to record your predicted grades.

'The reference is most valuable where it is providing us with additional, contextual information about the student (especially where their educational journey has been, in any way, non-standard). There is considerable variation in what is included in the current reference so the hope is the reformed statement will be fairer to all applicants.' University of Sussex

PREDICTED GRADES

Predicted grades SHOULD BE:

Entered for all pending qualifications, unless the assessment method or structure of the qualification makes this inappropriate – failure to do so can lead to complications or, in some cases, the rejection of an application.
In the best interests of applicants – fulfilment and success at college or university is the end goal.
Aspirational but achievable – stretching predicted grades can be motivational for students.
Determined by professional judgement – your expertise and experience are vital in informing predictions.
Data-driven – while each school will have its own process, you should look at past Level 2 and Level 3 performance, and/or internal examinations to inform your predictions.

Predicted grades SHOULD NOT BE:

Affected by student, parental, guardian, or carer pressure – there are risks associated with inflating and suppressing predicted grades.
Influenced by university or college entry requirements or behaviours – predicted grades should be set in isolation of an applicant’s university or college choice(s).
Affected by student behaviour or background – predicted grades should be made objectively and disregard external factors. Be careful to reflect on any preconceptions to mitigate against unconscious bias, particularly for protected characteristics (including sex, race, religion/belief, disability, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment).

Plan your future!

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