The wait for decisions on your application can be agonising. Each university and college will make their decisions at different times, meaning you might hear back before your friends do, or vice versa. However, there are deadlines by which they will need to have decided. If you're applying to study in 2025 Universities will get back to you by 14 May 2025
These show the conditions you have to meet to get your place confirmed. For most people, this means waiting for results day in summer to see if your exam results meet the conditions. They could be a combination of grades, scores or subjects.
These mean you've already met the entry requirements, so the place is yours if you want it! But first check the offer to see if there's anything else you need to do.
Check the offer carefully. Even if you've already got your qualifications and have met the academic requirements, you might still need to get a DBS or PVG check, provide proof of your results, or meet some financial/medical requirements. If it’s not clear, contact the uni or college.
Remember, by accepting an unconditional offer, you are committing to go to that uni or college, so you can't make an insurance choice.
You need to sign in onto the Hub to make your replies. If you have an unconditional offer, you can select it now to confirm your place. Ohterwise you can wait to hear about all of your offers. If your offers are conditional on exam results or other requirements, you can pick two so you have an extra one as a back-up.
These are the types of reply you can make.
If it's an unconditional offer, the place is yours! So that course provider will expect you as their student.
Or if it's conditional, the place is yours if you meet the offer conditions. So just in case you don't, you can pick a second offer as a backup – your insurance acceptance.
If you're choosing an insurance, try to go for an offer with lower offer conditions – and make sure it's somewhere you'd still be happy to go to.
That way, if your results are lower than expected, you might still meet the conditions at your insurance choice; then you'd have your place confirmed there.
Remember, you'll only attend your insurance choice course if you don't meet the conditions of your firm choice, but you do meet the conditions of your insurance. You can't choose between your firm and insurance when you get your results, so make sure you're happy with which is your firm and which is your insurance before you reply.
However, if you decide you don't want to accept any of the offers, you can decline them all and add more courses in the Extra service. Alternatively, you can see what courses still have vacancies later on in the UCAS Clearing service. This is a very risky strategy, and pupils are strongly encouraged to contact the careers team before making this decision.
Unconditional firm (UF) – You're in!
Conditional firm (CF) – You're in if you meet the conditions.
Conditional firm (CF) and conditional insurance (CI) – You've made a first and second choice – you'll be in at the first if you meet the conditions. If not, you might have met the conditions of the second – if so you'll be on that course instead.
Conditional firm (CF) and unconditional insurance (UI) – You've made a first and second choice – if you meet the conditions of the first you'll be on that course. If not, you'll definitely be on the second.
Your reply deadlines are based on when UCAS gets the last decision in from your unis or colleges. Check your application to see your personal deadline.
It is important that you accept your offers using UCAS Hub before the UCAS deadline because otherwise the offer is assumed to have been declined and is automatically withdrawn. You cannot reinstate offers which have lapsed.
If you want to, you can permanently withdraw from any outstanding choices to reply to offers you’ve already received. Or you can wait until all decisions have been received, and UCAS will give you a deadline to reply.
If you decide to withdraw a choice, it will not be available to you later and the university or college will be informed you no longer wish to be considered for the course.
Once you have accepted your place through UCAS, you must then apply for accommodation, at your UNCONDITIONAL or CONDITIONAL FIRM choice, if you need it and you must also register with SAAS.
You need to apply for funding from SAAS if your chosen university is in SCOTLAND or ENGLAND. Your place does not need to be guaranteed to register and start applying for SAAS funding. SAAS pays your tuition fees to all universities including SCOTTISH ones and will provide loans for living costs which are means tested.
Here is the link to SAAS: https://www.saas.gov.uk/