• UCAS : 

  • • UCAS Hub -  

      • • The explore tool – where you can search subjects and discover courses.

        • A Career Quiz based on Holland's Career Theory 

        • A City/Region Information page for you to research the area of the UK where you may live.

        • The notepad – so you can keep all your thoughts about your next step in one place.

        • Apprenticeship finder – for the latest vacancies, locally and nationally.

        • The personal statement builder – to help you structure your writing and introduce yourself to universities.

        • The Tariff calculator – for tallying up your UCAS points to see if you meet entry requirements.

        • Last but not least you will need to have a HUB account in order to submit UK University applications. 

        • UCAS APPLY-- when you are ready to start your application you will need to link it to the TISA account with the buzzword: Bazinga26 

For questions about UK Cost and Residence Status please see:  The Cost Factor.  The bottom right of the page lists the doccuments you may be asked for to prove UK residence status. 

• Top reasons why applications were denied from the University of Edinburgh

• What Uni:  A slightly different approach to the search process than UCAS. I encourage you to try to advanced search as it makes it simpler with the IB.

• UK League Tables: The Complete University Guide*: This is also a resource for general information about courses.  

• Times Higher Education Ranking

• UK Uni Ranking by Uni or Subject

• UniStats Polls from Students by University and Course

• TheStudentRoom Grad to Course Match Tool

• University Application Flow Chart (Bottom of the page)

Early Deadlines: October 15th 

The October deadline (Usually around the 15th) is only for applications to most medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine/science courses, as well as all courses at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Meeting the deadline means that your application will receive equal consideration from your chosen universities and colleges.

December 1st:  All TISA Students are encouraged to have applications done by this date unless previously completed or negotiated. 

Final UK Deadline: Dec 11 December (2025) 

 (Note that this is a TISA internal deadline for all applications and is mandatory). 

This is the same every year for every year group, and is set to give students the winter break to study, have a break, and spend time with family.  It also enables TISA to be able to process their part of the application for every student.  This includes writing and uploading the letter of recommendation, posting the predicted grades, checking the application for common errors etc..  Please note that TISA is not responsible for checking an applicant's personal information, so please check that all spellings and dates and other information are accurate to the best of your ability.  (Example: Name of student should match the students passport even if it is incorrect in the passport.  

Exams Alert

Some courses like Law and Medicine or many of the courses at Oxford or Cambridge ask for admissions tests.  Please make sure that you check with your course provider and check to make sure that you know what you need and if you need one. Here is a link with a list of Universities and the exams needed, as well as more information about the process. The responsibility for making sure that they are aware of and take the correct exams for each application is the responsibly of the student and family.  

Application Process 

All students applying to the UK need to use UCAS.  That account needs to be linked to TISA with the Buzzword for the year. 

Buzzword: Each year TISA receives a Buzzword that links individual student applications to the TISA application portal.  The buzzword for the class of 2026 is:  TitansClassof26                                          .  

On UCAS students can research and search and finally apply to Universities in the UK.  Students can choose up to 5 programs, and only 5. (Two programs at one school count as two choices including Oxbridge programs, and you can only apply to either Oxford or Cambridge- not both).   

Students are encouraged to look at Universities that have admissions stats (found on UCAS and on the University web sites) that are with in rage of their November predicted grades.  They may have one reach ( at or above their predicted scores) but are encouraged to have the majority at or below that score, and at least one "safety" well below their scores.  This is especially important with more competitive programs like Economics, Business, Psychology, Medicine etc.. as the score given is the number where they will start looking at applications,

Personal Statements

1. Carefully research the Universities that offer programs that interest you.  Look both at UCAS and at the University websites/program pages.  Look for soft skills (Leadership, Communication, Problem solving, creativity, ability to locate and use information, emotional intelligence etc...) as well as course outlines and details.  (If you want to really dig in look at the professors in the departments and what they are interested in) 

2. Use your Bridge U Strategy Advisor data and the Brag Sheet to assist your process of developing ideas and stragities on what to write about.  This form will also help your Counselor to compile your LOR for your UK application.  

3. We have a ton of resources to help you write this statement. You can follow this link for suggestions on how to get started with the UK statement.  You can follow this link on suggestions to help anyone write their personal statement or letter better, or you can head to the library where we have books with sample letters for various majors.   There are also resources in the counseling office. 

UK Letters of Recommendation

Process:  (Linked to LOR Information page) 

1. Think of one or two teachers that you think can best speak to your academic preperation for the course.  

2.  Fill out your Brag Sheet and bring it to your School Counselor 

3. She will compile those comments with the information you gave on your request form to write you a letter. 

4. She will upload that letter to UCAS so it is there, ready for when you wish to send your application.  

Check out the LOR Information page for additional information and or ask Ms. Borgerding if you have any questions. 

After Application -- 

Responding to Offers 

Students need to wait for Universities to respond.  This can happen quickly or students may have to wait for months.  It depends on the University and how they are handing applications this year.  Students my also be notified of a request for a portfolio or an interview to support their application process, or they may receive a full offer. Once all applications are responded with an offer or a denial, to students need to respond with their first choice or "Firm Choice" and the second or "Insurance Choice", and decline all other offers. TISA encourages the firm choice to be at or possibly slightly (one point) above the students current grades, and the Insurance Choice to be well below the students current predicted grades.  More information about this choice process can be found on UCAS under Replying to your Answers. 

Offers 

UK University offers generally include a total score for an IB Diploma score, and may include minimum scores for specific scores. Below are some examples of what they may look like: 

(S85) University of Surrey  -- (N201) Economics and Business Management  -- Conditional Offer  -- This offer is subject to you obtaining International Baccalaureate (Diploma). A total of 29 points to including English at 5 and a minimum score of 5.5 in each component. 

(U80) UCL -- )9N53) Applied Medical Sciences -- Conditional Offer -- This offer is subject to you obtaining International Baccalaureate Diploma with 36 points overall, and a combines scores of 17 achieved in three higher level subjects, with no score lower than 5, including Chemistry and Biology. Plus IB English Lange A HL at grade 4. 

UK Personal Statements

We have a ton of resources to help you write this statement. You can follow this link for suggestions on how to get started with the UK statement.  You can follow this link on suggestions to help anyone write their personal statement or letter better, or you can head to the library where we have books with sample letters for various majors.   There are also resources in the counseling office.