How UK university application support works
One adviser, one clear process, from your first enquiry to the day you enrol. Each stage below sets out what we do, what we need from you and roughly how long it takes. You can see which stage you are at any time in your student account.
- 1
Enquiry
You tell us your subject, level and intended intake, along with the qualifications you already hold or expect to get. Two minutes is usually enough to start — we ask for detail later, once we know what is relevant. A named adviser is assigned to you and aims to reply within one working day.
- 2
Options
Your adviser reads your qualifications against what universities publish for courses in your subject, then talks the options through with you. You will hear where you look like a strong fit, where you are borderline and where a course is out of reach on current grades. This normally takes one conversation and a written summary you can keep.
- 3
Application preparing
We build a checklist of everything each course asks for: transcripts, references, identity documents and a personal statement where one is required. You write the statement in your own words; our part is to explain what admissions teams look for and to point out anything unclear. Most students spend one to three weeks here, depending on how quickly references arrive.
- 4
Submitted
Once you are happy with the application it goes to the university — through UCAS for most undergraduate courses, or direct to the admissions team for many postgraduate ones. Nothing is sent in your name until you have seen the final version. We record what was submitted and on what date, so there is never a question about it later.
- 5
University reviewing
The university now assesses your application on its own timetable, which can run from a few days to a couple of months depending on the course and the time of year. We chase for updates and pass on anything the admissions team asks you for. If a department is slow we will say so rather than invent a date.
- 6
Offer
Any decision is explained in plain English: whether an offer is unconditional or conditional, exactly which conditions attach to it, and the deadline for meeting them. If an application is unsuccessful we explain what that means for your remaining choices and what is still open to you. Admissions decisions are made by the university alone.
- 7
Acceptance
You decide which offer to take. Before you do, we set out what each choice commits you to — firm and insurance choices where UCAS applies, deposits and payment deadlines where the university asks for one. When you have decided, we help you complete the acceptance steps and keep track of the dates that follow.
- 8
Ready to enrol
In the weeks before your start date we confirm what is still outstanding: results, documents the university is waiting on, fee payments and enrolment paperwork. Students applying from outside the UK usually prepare their immigration paperwork at this point, though that is assessed by the UK authorities and not by us. You will have a written list of what remains.
- 9
Enrolled
You register with the university and start your course. Your adviser closes the file once you confirm you have enrolled, and your student account keeps the record of what was submitted and when. If something unexpected comes up in your first few weeks, you can still get in touch with the same adviser.
Timings above are typical rather than promised. Universities set their own deadlines and reply at their own pace, and we would rather tell you that than quote a date we cannot control.
If you are ready to talk through your options, send us an enquiry and an adviser will reply.
You can also browse courses and universities we work with, or read advice written for UK students preparing their application and for students applying from overseas.