Not sure if I will take STEP

I might take STEP, but only if an offer obliges me to, which honestly is quite unlikely.

Should I declare it as pending on UCAS, or should I just leave it off?

Where are you applying to. If it is a university that requires it then you need to show it. If you decide not to sit it then inform universities straight away as you are changing your contract and technically they could change or withdraw your offer although that is very unlikely.

That makes sense, thanks.

If I put it down on UCAS but it’s not in their offer, would I then still have to contact them?

Yes because they made you an offer based on you taking it and that could alter the offer they made. Basically when you state you are taking something like STEP or 4 A levels you are making that as your part of the contract and they base your offer on that. That is the legal side of it but in practice a university wont care but you MUST get their agreement before dropping anything otherwise they could withdraw or amend any offer made. The only universities who care about Step are those who ask for it

I might take STEP, but only if an offer obliges me to, which honestly is quite unlikely.

Should I declare it as pending on UCAS, or should I just leave it off?

I did not know you had to declare you were taking it on UCAS. I thought if you got an offer with it you just take the exam. This would have been vital information in my previous application...

If a uni made you an offer which included STEP, it will do so regardless of if you listed STEP as a pending exam on UCAS. So, if you are uncertain if you will take it, just leave it off your UCAS application. You can all eats still do it later if you decide to.