Applying after 15 January? Look in here First

The deadline for equal consideration has been and gone – but this does not mean that you can’t still apply for uni for 2012. However, there are some additional points you need to consider, so as not to waste your choices.

From mid January until late February, there’s not necessarily an immediate rush to submit a late application. Late is late, whether the application goes in on 23 January or 29 June, and as during this time the unis will be processing the applications they received before the deadline, they may not know immediately whether they can consider any more. So, though it may seem odd, it can be better to wait a bit. By the third week of February unis will be notifying UCAS whether they will be in Extra and if so for which courses. That said, there is nothing to stop you from ringing unis now to see if they will consider you as a late applicant - my point is simply that a uni that says 'no' today just might be able to be more welcoming in a couple of weeks' time. It will depend a great deal on which unis/courses you are interested in. After Extra is up and running, though, the sooner you submit your application the better your chances of success will be.

In 2010, the UCAS system was updated to split the Course Search into two, so it is important to select the right database when searching for options. By mid Feb, many courses will be updated to show that they are closed to new applications, while others are not, although they certainly are closed (Cambridge, for instance :smile:

). Until Extra opens on 24 February, it is not possible to tell from the UCAS site which unis/courses will be in Extra.

Whenever you decide to apply, it is strongly recommended to contact each uni department you are interested in and check that they are still accepting applications. In previous years , some course entries on UCAS also appeared to indicate that they would not accept applications through Extra, but they would accept completely new applications. Seems an odd distinction to me, and really emphasises the importance of contacting unis before submitting an application after 15 January, whichever category you are in. Remember too that the UCAS status may be out-of-date (or even wrong, especially in the very early days of Extra).

Everyone – whether a Home/EU or an International candidate – can submit an application for immediate consideration up until 30 June. After that, all applications are held over until Clearing in mid August. In practice the January deadline for equal consideration often applies to international students too; the only difference is that it may take longer for a uni to fill up the places they've allocated for international applicants than it does the ones allocated for the Home/EU people. [This is why there are separate search engines for Home/EU and International applicants.] The student from the US applying to LSE, or to Durham for History, on 16 January is likely to be wasting his/her time, but once you are beyond the top ten and/or highly competitive subjects like Economics/History/Law/English the prospects for consideration even at relatively highly ranked unis can be pretty good for Home/EU as well as International applicants. However, always check before making your choices.

All other aspects of the application process remain the same. You will need a good PS – the PS Help forum is still open though you may wait a little longer for a review than previously – and you will need your reference as before. The general advice in the How to Avoid Getting 5 Rejections thread applies to late applicants too.

See also
UCAS 2012 FAQ
Declaring Grades
Personal Statement Questions

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

ByronicHero

20

Why was this negged? :facepalm2:

Reply 2

Mokert23

1

I submitted my application on the 15th of Jan but my ucas says sent for consideration on the 17th. Is the date submitted to ucas the most important or is my application late?

Reply 3

Minerva

OP

17

Original post by Mokert23

I submitted my application on the 15th of Jan but my ucas says sent for consideration on the 17th. Is the date submitted to ucas the most important or is my application late?

The date submitted is what counts :smile:

Reply 4

toiletbin

Today I decided I wanted to go to university, I rang a uni I'm interested in today and asked if I could apply but she told me no and I had to wait for clearing.

If I wait a week or so and then ask again do you think there is a possibility I could get my application considered?

Reply 5

kayleighellen

just send your ucas application off the website says most of the places accept after you just dont get as equal chance as someone who sent it before.

Reply 6

Minerva

OP

17

Original post by toiletbin

Today I decided I wanted to go to university, I rang a uni I'm interested in today and asked if I could apply but she told me no and I had to wait for clearing.

If I wait a week or so and then ask again do you think there is a possibility I could get my application considered?

Depends which uni we are talking about, as to whether they might agree to consider you, but a week certainly won't be long enough for a changed response, whichever uni it is.

Reply 7

Ronny7

3

How big a difference is there between applying before and after the deadline? I know loads of people who applied way after the deadline and still had no problem getting offers and what not.

Is it only with the top universities and really popular courses that it really matters? What does equal consideration even me, I have also seen loads of people on here being rejected because there were better candidates applying for the courses, surely that is the point of equal consideration? Or is it purely that Universities can say they rejected a candidate because they applied after the deadline and not have to provide further explanation.

Reply 8

Minerva

OP

17

Original post by Ronny7

How big a difference is there between applying before and after the deadline? I know loads of people who applied way after the deadline and still had no problem getting offers and what not.

Is it only with the top universities and really popular courses that it really matters? What does equal consideration even me, I have also seen loads of people on here being rejected because there were better candidates applying for the courses, surely that is the point of equal consideration? Or is it purely that Universities can say they rejected a candidate because they applied after the deadline and not have to provide further explanation.

Equal consideration means that your application is considered alongside all the others received by the deadline - it doesn't mean you definitely get an offer. Universities don't have to consider applications at all if they are received after the deadline, but many will.

Reply 9

Ronny7

3

Original post by Minerva

Equal consideration means that your application is considered alongside all the others received by the deadline - it doesn't mean you definitely get an offer. Universities don't have to consider applications at all if they are received after the deadline, but many will.

So, basically it means that you are guaranteed to get your application looked at then? So if a university chose to accept applicants after the deadline, someone applying before the deadline would have no advantage to someone who applied after it?

Reply 10

Minerva

OP

17

Original post by Ronny7

So, basically it means that you are guaranteed to get your application looked at then? So if a university chose to accept applicants after the deadline, someone applying before the deadline would have no advantage to someone who applied after it?

If you apply before 15 January, yes. And you would have an advantage over a late applicant - a uni will only consider those when they have looked at everyone who applied before the deadline. Unis will consider all the applications received before the deadline, and make offers to those who meet their requirements and reject those who don't. If they still have offers they want to make after doing that, then any late applicants will be considered. Some unis already know that they will have enough on-time applicants to make offers to; others don't. Some unis already know they will definitely have room to consider late applicants, and a few will only be sure either way in a few weeks' time.

Reply 11

SplitMaze

Hello everyone,

Not 100% sure this thread should be here but I'll try and keep it short and possibly readable.

Born in the UK, moved to Asia at age 10, several countries and schools later I ended up graduating at an International High School in China in 2007 and immediately I applied to go to University in the UK.

Didn't think too much about my course or university choices, just did it. Ended up at Northumbria in Newcastle doing Business Management. I rapidly decided to change my course and moved to Advertising & Media. I wanted to move to Journalism but it was full. I was living at my mum's home but in a month I moved into a large student house where I didn't know anyone. My lack of knowing anyone, dislike of the course and overall situation ended with my being depressed and dropping out of university at the start of the 2nd semester.

After making some terrible choices in the past few years, moving between China and the UK, I'm currently in Hong Kong but all I want to do is move back to the UK and successfully complete a university course. My choice is for Journalism/Film Prod/English type courses.

I know the UCAS deadline is over and I wish my foolish procrastinating had not led to this situation but all I really want to do is remedy the situation and would like any advice anyone has on how I should proceed and just what are my chances?

Reply 12

kka25

18

I don't really have muchadvice, but reading it makes me feel for you =/

:hugs:

I hope everything turns out good for you OP, and good luck!

Reply 13

oxymoronic

19

Original post by SplitMaze

I know the UCAS deadline is over and I wish my foolish procrastinating had not led to this situation but all I really want to do is remedy the situation and would like any advice anyone has on how I should proceed and just what are my chances?

Read the first post of this thread. The deadline for equal consideration has passed but its still perfectly possible to apply. If you're classed as an international student for fee purposes then there will be a lot of options available to you.

Reply 14

kleine

Hello everyone ,
I am a Tunisian student and would like to apply for an engineering fondation year in Manchester universities . I though International students can apply until june but when surfing the forum I found out that the applying deadline is the 15th of January . Do I still have my chances de get my application considered ?
Also since I am not getting my national baccalaureat exam( the equivalent of the GCE) results before late june, I am wondering if it is required in the application form .
many Thanks :smile:

Reply 15

SplitMaze

Original post by oxymoronic

Read the first post of this thread. The deadline for equal consideration has passed but its still perfectly possible to apply. If you're classed as an international student for fee purposes then there will be a lot of options available to you.

My half brother has a different nationality and thus is going to be classed as an international student, would it help my chances if I too was classed as one? Or since I have a British passport would that not be possible?

Reply 16

oxymoronic

19

Original post by SplitMaze

My half brother has a different nationality and thus is going to be classed as an international student, would it help my chances if I too was classed as one? Or since I have a British passport would that not be possible?

Fee status has nothing to do with your passport, its about where you've been living.

If you've been normally living outside of the EU for the last 3 years then you will be classed as an international student for fees purposes. The only exceptions for this are things like if your parents are in the armed forces so you've been temporarily living abroad or if your parents took up a temporary post for 2 years somewhere abroad. If you've been normally living outside of the EU and that's where your family/you have been permanently and intend to stay then you will be classed as an international and have to pay international fees. In terms of whether it will help your chances, then yes, it will do because there are no limits on the amount of international students a university can accept meaning they can accept applications for longer whereas if you are subsidised by the government as a home student then there are strict limits on student numbers meaning at this stage the top universities would not consider an application from you because you've missed the deadline.

Reply 17

CALK

i have been working since i left college in health and social care settings and i have just applied for my ODP course at UWL and i am now waiting to hear back.... surely if you have the right qualifications and experience for a course it shouldnt matter if you applied within deadline or not, the uni should look at it, i sent my application a week late so im expecting to hear back before june!! if not i will apply next year!!

Reply 18

oxymoronic

19

Original post by CALK

i have been working since i left college in health and social care settings and i have just applied for my ODP course at UWL and i am now waiting to hear back.... surely if you have the right qualifications and experience for a course it shouldnt matter if you applied within deadline or not, the uni should look at it, i sent my application a week late so im expecting to hear back before june!! if not i will apply next year!!

Well if a university has more than enough students to chose from with the people who applied before the deadline, then they will take their pickings from these people. The whole point of an equal consideration deadline is to give universities a definitive date whereby they can say "no more applications" and given the choice, I imagine a lot would rather it were earlier in the academic year rather than dragging beyond Christmas into January. If a university is getting 10 times the number of applications than they have spaces they don't want/don't need to be able to let people apply for a long period of time as that's an administrative nightmare which is why the equal consideration deadline exists.

Basically, what happens at this stage is that all new applications are put into a hold whereby if the university is still making decisions on applications sent before 15th Jan then they will make these decisions before even considering the people who applied late. However, if your course has already got back to everyone who applied before the deadline and knows that they have enough spaces available to continue looking at applications then they might get back to you relatively quickly.

Reply 19

not_a_cool_guy

Im currently doing a first year course but i want to start a new course at a different institution for September.

I know that i'll be able to get onto the course, especially when clearing comes round . However, can I just start a UCAS form right now, send it to the uni or will i have to talk to my current university about this whole deal and just make it a bureaucratic mess?

Can i just, you know, talk to the uni i want to start with, tell them im sending them an application, drop out and have them accept me, and just start in September?

Sounds a bit too easy.