How we assess your application
Now your application is in, here's a guide to explain who reviews your application and the stages your application will go through as we make our assessment.
First, we receive your application from UCAS
After you submit your UCAS application, UCAS will send you an acknowledgement email. This will include your UCAS personal identity number. Please quote this in all correspondence with UCAS or UCL.
We usually receive applications 24 to 48 hours after a completed application is submitted to UCAS.
When we receive your application, we’ll send an email to the address you used in your UCAS application to let you know. We’ll also send you your UCL student number and an invitation to register for UCL’s Applicant Portal, Portico.
You can use Portico to track the progress of your application. It provides an overview of the admission process and includes copies of all the emails we send you. If we need any additional documents or information from you, upload them to Portico. Please ensure you complete the steps to register for your Applicant Portal as soon as possible.
If you have any problems accessing Portico, contact Portico support by telephone on +44(0)20 7679 5000 or by email to itservices@ucl.ac.uk. The Helpdesk is open Monday - Friday 8.30am-5.30pm.
UCL's applicant portal - Portico
Register for the portal as soon as you are invited so you don’t miss any communications, updates, or deadlines.
Then, our selectors review your application
An admissions selector will look at your application in full.
First, they check you meet the essential academic requirements of UCL and the course you have applied for. At this point, we assess your past and predicted academic performance. It is important to note that meeting the entrance criteria through achieved or predicted grades does not guarantee an offer will be made.
Next, our selectors consider your personal statement and academic reference. We do this to assess your academic potential, your motivation for studying your chosen degree, and core skills required for the course.
In most cases, the information we need to complete our assessment is provided in your UCAS application. To ensure fairness, we do not accept any other supporting documents sent to us outside of UCAS. This includes additional references, supporting statements and extracurricular certificates.
Missing information
If any information is missing from your application, we will contact you or your referee. Please do not send us any information until we request it.
Keep an eye on your emails. We may request further information from you or invite you to complete a selection task. If we do not hear from you by the deadline given, we may not be able to consider your application further.
To help make sure our emails arrive in your inbox, we recommend you add “@ucl.ac.uk” to your safe senders list.
You can also use Portico’s ‘Communications’ heading to view all emails we have sent you.
Next, you may be required to complete a further selection task and/or interview
Again, keep an eye on your emails as we may ask you to complete a further selection task/and or interview for some of our courses.
These are an important part of our admissions process. Make sure you complete them by the deadline given or we may not be able to consider your application further.
Additional selection tasks, tests and interviews
The following courses have an additional section task, test, or an interview. Please take a look at the prospectus entry for any of the courses below to find out more about the additional steps. If your course is not listed here, there are no further selection tasks, tests or interviews.
TARA is a new test available for the 2026 Admissions cycle onwards. It is a non-subject-specific test designed to assess essential skills required for undergraduate study. There will be an entry fee for the test. More information about the test including deadlines for when to register for the test can be found on UAT-UK website.
The following courses require all applicants to complete the TARA:
- BA European Social and Political Studies and BA International Social and Political Studies
- BA European Social and Political Studies: Dual Degree - If you meet (or are expected to meet) our selection criteria, you will be invited to an interview conducted by staff from Sciences Po. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom.
- BA International Social and Political Studies
- BSc Computer Science
- MEng Computer Science
- MEng Computer Science and Mathematics
- MEng Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
- BSc Management Science
- MSci Management Science
- BSc Social Sciences
- BSc Social Sciences with Data Science
- BSc Sociology
Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT) run by UAT-UK
There will be an entry fee for the test. More information about the test including deadlines for when to register for the test can be found on the UAT-UK website.
The following courses require all applicants to complete the ESAT:
- BEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering - Applicants will be required to take Maths 1 and any two out of Physics, Maths 2, Chemistry and Biology paper
- MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering - Applicants will be required to take Maths 1 and any two out of Physics, Maths 2, Chemistry and Biology paper
MUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admission) run by UAT-UK.
There will be an entry fee for the test. More information about the test including deadlines for when to register for the test can be found on the UAT-UK website.
The following courses require all applicants to complete the TMUA:
- BSc Economics
- BSc Economics with a Year Abroad
The following courses or departments require applicants to specify a pathway or language choice. Applicants will receive an email outlining their options and instructions on how to submit this information.
- BASc Arts and Sciences
- BA Classics and the Ancient World
- BA European Social and Political Studies, BA International Social and Political Studies , BA European Social and Political Studies: Dual Degree
- School of European Languages, Cultures, and Societies
Some of our courses such as BA Comparative Literature (with Year Abroad) and BA Language and Culture, will require you to select your major language.
All applicants who apply to Bartlett School of Architecture are requested to submit a portfolio. You will be contacted by email with instructions on how to complete the task and submit it to us. Please note your academic qualifications will be fully assessed following the receipt of your Portfolio and your application and Portfolio will not be considered further if your qualifications do not meet the advertised requirements for the course you have applied for.
If you meet the course advertised requirements and your Portfolio is successful, you will then be invited for an interview. Further information on the application process is available at The Bartlett website.
If you are UK-based, meet the minimum entrance criteria, and have a strong personal statement, you will be invited to an online interview. After the interview you will write a short essay. If you live outside the UK, we may contact you to complete a questionnaire instead of an interview. In some cases exceptional candidates may be given an offer without being interviewed.
Please visit the English Department website for further information on the interview process and what to expect.
After your application has been reviewed, you may be invited to an assessment day to do a group activity and to meet members of the Engineering Foundation Year team at UCL.
You will need to provide a portfolio containing a selection of current and recent work including self-initiated work.
We’ll email you instructions on how to submit your portfolio after you submit your UCAS application. If you are shortlisted after the portfolios have been reviewed, you will be invited to interview.
Please visit the Slade School of Fine Art website for further information.
All applicants are required to sit the National Admission Test for Law (LNAT).
For further information, please visit the Laws website.
All applicants are required to sit the National Admission Test for Law (LNAT).
For further information, please visit the Laws website.
If you have applied to one of our LLB Law with a European Legal System degree courses, and we are considering making an offer to you, we will also invite you to interview to assess your competence in the language of your course.
All applicants are required to sit the UCAT test. Students applying for Medicine must take the University Clinical Aptitude Test in the year of application.
For further information, please visit the Medical School website.
Please also see the MBBS admissions notice board for up-to-date information on the admissions process and 2025 UCAT score cut off for interview invitations.
If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to interview. Please see the Medical School website for further information on the Selection and Interview process.
If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to a selection day which includes a test and interview.
Please visit the School of Pharmacy website for further information.
You will need to provide a portfolio containing a selection of up to 6 items of work you have created, representing a variety of your work and approaches.
We’ll email you instructions on how to submit your portfolio after you submit your UCAS application.
Please visit the BA Media pages for further information.
Last, we make a decision
Our courses attract many talented and well qualified applicants so it may be some time before we can give you a final decision. For some of our most oversubscribed courses we use a ‘gathered field’ approach to assess applications.
Gathered fields
A gathered field allows us to assess all applications in the same fair and consistent manner, whether they are received in October or January (by the UCAS deadline). This means we will need to wait until we have enough comparable applications to make a final decision.
You may wish to take a look at details of the number of applications received per place in the 2025 UCAS cycle.
Application timing
All applications submitted by the UCAS Equal Consideration Deadlines are considered.
It is quite usual for some applicants to hear sooner than others, but this doesn’t mean that your application will be unsuccessful if you don’t get a quick response from us.
We aim to make our decisions by the end of April at the latest. Please be assured that we are working hard to make our decisions sooner.
Sadly, due to the intense competition for many of our oversubscribed courses we are unable to make offers to a number of highly capable applicants. Where we receive a high number of applications per available place, it is possible that applicants who meet the entrance requirements via achieved or predicted grades will not receive an offer.
How we let you know
Once we have made our decision, we will send you an email to let you know that your application status has been updated, and you can then view our decision on UCAS Track/Hub and Portico.
We want to reassure you that we will contact you with the outcome of your application as soon as we can. We therefore ask you not to contact us before the end of April about the status of your application, as this can delay us processing applications.
We appreciate your patience during this time.
Please note: Information provided by applicants is expected to be accurate and complete. UCL reserves the right to refuse admission if information provided by an applicant is inaccurate or incomplete.
Diversity, access and equality
Our Equality Opportunities Policy underlies every aspect of our student selection process.
We want to admit excellent students who are likely to complete their degree course successfully and derive benefit from it, regardless of:
- age,
- disability,
- ethnic origin,
- gender identity,
- marital status,
- sex,
- sexual orientation,
- number of dependants, and
- religious or political beliefs.
We positively encourage and welcome applications from members of underrepresented groups at UCL.
For further information please see our:
