University admission in Europe

For undergraduate programmes you apply through UCAS (ucas.com). In one application you choose up to five courses – at the same university or at different ones. For medicine, dentistry and veterinary science you can choose no more than four. An application in the 2027 cycle costs £34.50.

Deadlines for the academic year 2027/28:

• 15 October 2026, 18:00 (UK time) – Oxford, Cambridge and most courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science,
• 13 January 2027, 18:00 – the "equal consideration" deadline for most other courses; universities consider all applications received by this date on equal terms,
• 30 June 2027 – the last day on which UCAS passes applications on to universities; after that you go into Clearing, which starts on 2 July.

With your application you send a personal statement – since the 2026 cycle it consists of answers to three questions (why this course, how your education has prepared you, what you have done outside school), up to 4,000 characters in total including spaces, with at least 350 for each question. You also need a reference from someone outside your family, such as a teacher. Enter the subjects and results of your school leaving exams precisely – without them the university may not be able to make a decision.

Apply early if you need a visa – and almost every international student does. Once you have accepted an offer and met its conditions, the university issues a CAS, which you need to apply for your Student visa (see: Residence and formalities).