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Applying to UCL

Guidance on entry requirements, the application process and how we assess applicants.

How to apply  

All undergraduate applications to UCL, including those from international students, must be submitted via UCAS (UCAS code UCL U80). We do not accept direct applications.  

Application deadlines and key dates are outlined on our UCAS explained webpage. We give equal consideration to all applications submitted by the January UCAS deadline. Applicants for MBBS Medicine must apply by the October deadline.  

Students may apply to more than one UCL programme but should be aware that each one counts as one of their five UCAS options. Applying to multiple competitive programmes may make it more difficult to write a single well-focused Personal Statement, so this may not be the best use of their UCAS application.  

We do not accept direct or substitute Personal Statements.  

Applications to the UCL International Foundation Year and the Pre-Sessional English Courses are made directly via the UCL website (not UCAS).  
 
Guidance for prospective students and advisers is available on our How to Apply and How we assess your application webpages.  

Choosing a course 

UCL offers over 440 undergraduate degrees. This includes single subjects, joint and combined degrees, and interdisciplinary options.

We encourage students to explore their options through our Virtual Open Days and Subject Spotlights.   

Eligibile UK state school students may benefit from subject specific activities offered by our Access and Widening Participation team.

Entry requirements 

UCL is highly competitive. For 2025 entry we received around 89,000 applications for approximately 9,000 places (exluding Clearing applications and places). A breakdown of applications per place by department in 2025-26 can be viewed on our How we assess your application webpage. Given this high level of competition, students must meet or be predicted to meet the minimum requirements listed on our online prospectus pages.  

Not all programmes consider resits. This will be indicated on the online prospectus page if applicable.  

Select the "Other qualifications" tab on individual prospectus pages to view the course specific entry requirements for students offering qualifications other than A levels and the IB.  

If your school does not offer a qualification recognised by UCL for direct entry, your students may wish to consider the UCL International Foundation year. 

Post-application changes to predicted grades 

UCL will only consider changes to predicted grades if there has been a genuine administrative error by the school/college when the original reference was completed. In these circumstances we can only consider changes to predicted grades if we receive them before a decision is made on the application AND before the January equal consideration UCAS deadline.  

We will not consider revised predicted grades whether due to a school error or improved performance after a decision has been made on an application OR after the UCAS Equal Consideration deadline, even if a decision has not yet been made. 

Referees should contact Undergraduate Admissions via our contact form from an official school/college email address (e.g. name@school.org) and include: 

  • an explanation of the error 
  • revised predicted grades 
  • applicant name 
  • applicant UCAS PID number 
  • the course the applicant has applied to 

English Language 

Applicants do not need to provide evidence of their English Language proficiency when they submit their UCAS application. If required, any offer made will be conditional on the applicant providing us with evidence at the appropriate level in an accepted qualification. See the English Language page for details.  

UCL also offers Pre-Sessional English courses for undergraduate applicants with a conditional offer. 

How we assess applicants  

Our assessors first check that the applicant meets the entry requirements based on past and predicted academic performance.  

Some programmes may use additional admissions tests, selection tasks or interviews.

We use the Personal Statement to assess academic potential, motivation and core skills. Given the level of competition for places, the Personal Statement is an important way for us to differentiate between high achieving candidates. We are looking for evidence that applicants have strong academic ability along with a demonstrable interest in the subject they are applying to. Their motivation and enthusiasm for the discipline should be clear. We are particularly interested in learning about the ways in which they have extended their learning beyond the classroom. 

Some understanding of what the chosen programme of study involves is useful as it shows that students have done some research. We also look for an indication that students have developed transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication and time management and that they are able to undertake independent learning. 

UCAS applications to UCL must include an academic reference. Guidance for advisers is available on the UCAS Advisers website.  

Unless specifically requested, we do not require or consider any additional supporting documents sent to us outside of UCAS. This includes additional Personal Statements, additional references, CVs and extra-curricular certificates.  

Extenuating circumstances 

We do not have a mitigating circumstances form. UCL's policy is that mitigating circumstances are a matter for Exam Boards and should be considered at the time of the exams. Any special consideration must be applied by the examination board.  

UCL can only accept the final grades awarded by the awarding body. We do not make changes to programme entry requirements or offer conditions in response to mitigating circumstances. 

Personal Statements  

For students applying in the 2026 application cycle, Personal Statements will be changing from one long piece of text to three separate sections, each with a different question to help shape the focus of applicants' answers. The questions are:

  • Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
  • Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare for this course or subject?
  • Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

The statement will be reviewed as a whole, so students should not worry about which section to include something in or repeat information across the three sections.  

The total character limit is 4,000 characters, including spaces. Each answer has a minimum character count of 350.  

Although the structure has changed, the role of the Personal Statement is the same. We will use the Personal Statement to assess motivation and academic potential, to differentiate between applicants and to identify those to take to the next stage of the selection process. 

A guide to the changes for prospective students is available on the UCAS website and the UCL Writing a Personal Statement webpage. 

Teachers and Advisers can access more information, including classroom resources, in the UCAS Advisers Hub.  

UCAS Reference  

The UCAS reference changed for 2024 entry. There are now three discrete sections within the reference, each with a different focus. The sections should help ensure that the information being provided is relevant and should also mean that the admissions team will be better able to extract the most salient points quickly and efficiently.   

Section One  

In this section we are looking for a general statement about the school or college. As hyperlinks do not work within the UCAS system, URLs which link to school profiles are not recommended. Instead, relevant information, for example the type of school, qualifications taken, subjects offered and policies and processes for predicted grades, should be outlined in this section. Including information in this way will mean admissions staff do not have to spend extra time trying to access information from within your school website.  

Section Two  

At UCL we expect this section to be blank for most applicants. In this case the box should be ticked to indicate that no information is being provided.  

Whilst some universities may provide mitigating circumstances forms as a way for schools to provide additional information, we do not do this at UCL. Instead, we ask that such circumstances are dealt with by notifying the relevant exam board(s) so that the circumstances can be considered when final grades are assigned.   

Section Three  

This section allows advisers to highlight the student’s suitability for the course they have applied for. This could include their aptitude as well as attitude, motivation, and commitment. Outlining these attributes in short, factual sentences is recommended. In the case of apparent discrepancies between grades already and predicted grades, it is useful to include an explanation so that we better understand the academic trajectory a student is on.  

  • The reference remains an important element of the application and teachers and counsellors should try make sure the information provided is as accurate and insightful as possible.  
  • Many institutions, like UCL, do not allow additional references. All the information we need should therefore be provided in the UCAS reference.  
  • UCL requires a reference for each application received from UCAS and does not agree for applications to be submitted without a reference. We expect the reference to be academic in focus and are unable to consider work or other non-academic references. It can be written by a counsellor or a subject teacher, or a combination of both.   
  • The reference is used alongside the personal statement and details of actual and predicted grades to add context. It is expected to complement the other information included in the UCAS application.  
  • Predicted grades remain a key element of the reference and we are looking for predictions for all qualifications which are entered as pending. Accurate predictions are important to us and feed directly into our consideration of applications during the selection process.  
  • Succinct, evidence-based sentences using bullet style (the UCAS system will remove formatting such as bullet points) are welcomed.   
  • Although references are subject to an overall character limit of 4,000, we do not expect all references will need to use 4,000 characters. Shorter references will not disadvantage applicants.   

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