UCAS deadlines, admissions tests, interviews and results on one line, with each step linked to the tool you need. Dates come from UCAS, the test bodies and the universities' own announcements; last checked 29 October 2026.
Today Fri 30 October 2026
Next hard deadlines
Today Fri 30 October 2026
Next hard deadlines
Dates for 2028 entry are projected from previous years. UCAS usually publishes them in May of the year before; this page will be updated then.
Solid dots are hard deadlines, hollow ones are results and official milestones, a dot with a bar is a window, and small dots are things worth doing early. Dates marked expected are projected from previous years.
Use the finder's subject mode to see which courses your A-level combination keeps open, then check each one's official requirements. The admissions statistics show how competitive each course is. Nothing is final here; eight to twelve candidates is plenty.
You can register on the UCAS Hub and start filling in the form, but nothing can be submitted until 1 September. Schools link students with their buzzword now; the reference and predicted grades are then added by the school inside the system.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Registration opened on 20 May, booking on 23 June; testing runs from 13 July, booking closes on 16 September and the last test day is 24 September. Scores are given on the day and sent to universities in early November. Slots thin out late in the window, so book before the summer.
Source: UCAT test cycle ↗
The UCAS personal statement is now three questions (why this course, how your studies prepared you, how everything outside class prepared you), not one essay. Draft it over the summer and show a teacher in September; find out when the school issues predicted grades.
Opens 20 July, closes 28 September at 18:00 UK time, with no late entries. From 2027 entry Oxford has retired the MAT, PAT, TSA and its other in-house tests in favour of the TMUA, ESAT and TARA, which Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE, Warwick and others also use for relevant courses. Oxbridge applicants must sit the October round.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
An application can be sent once every section is complete, the reference is attached and the fee paid. Schools usually set their own internal deadlines (often late September for Oxbridge applicants) to leave time for checking.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
18:00 UK time. Miss it and only the January sitting is left, which Oxford, Cambridge and some courses do not accept.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
Computer-based at Pearson VUE centres. Results are released on 16 November and sent automatically to the universities you applied to.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
18:00 UK time. If any one of your five choices is Oxford, Cambridge or one of these three subjects, the whole application must be in by now. Cambridge then asks for a supplementary questionnaire (My Cambridge Application), due about a week later on the date in its email.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Today · Fri 30 October · 75 days to the UCAS main deadline
Scores go straight to the universities. Booking for the January sitting is already open (from late October until 21 December, 18:00 UK time) for courses with the January deadline, or for anyone who missed October; check each university's page on whether it accepts the January round.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
Oxford interviews are all online, scheduled by subject across December with at least a week's notice by email; Cambridge's main period is 7 to 18 December, online or in person as each college decides, with a few subjects running into early January.
Source: Oxford · guide for applicants ↗
18:00 UK time. The January sitting is the last chance in this cycle.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
For applicants to January-deadline courses at Imperial, UCL, LSE, Warwick and others.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
Decisions arrive via UCAS, with the college emailing later the same day. Offer conditions are in the offer letter and normally match the course page's standard offer.
Source: Oxford · guide for applicants ↗
18:00 UK time. Applications in by now must be considered equally; you can still apply until 30 June, but popular courses will largely be full. The reference must already be submitted or the application cannot go.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
The week or two before is the winter pool: applicants the first-choice college did not take but who are strong overall may be picked up by another college, sometimes after a further interview. The date is as notified by the college.
Source: Cambridge · key dates ↗
Anyone with decisions on all five choices and no offer (or who declined them all) can add one more choice at a time, until 1 July.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Imperial, UCL, LSE and others mostly decide between January and April. Compare each conditional offer against the course's standard requirements; the insurance choice should carry clearly lower conditions than the firm, or it is not insurance.
Your own reply date is shown in the UCAS Hub; go by that. No reply means every offer is declined automatically (reversible within 14 days).
Source: UCAS · replying to your offers ↗
Universities must decide on every application submitted by 13 January; otherwise UCAS records it as unsuccessful on their behalf.
Source: UCAS · replying to your offers ↗
Most boards' final papers fall between 18 and 22 June, with 23 June held as a contingency day. The past-paper library has official papers and mark schemes by board and year.
Source: JCQ results days ↗
This is the date for most on-time applicants. Firm is your first choice, insurance the fallback; the remaining offers are declined now.
Source: UCAS · replying to your offers ↗
18:00 UK time. Extra closes on 1 July and Clearing opens on 2 July. For applications in by 30 June, universities decide by 14 July and applicants reply by 21 July.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
The Student visa needs a CAS, which the university issues once your conditions are met and firm is confirmed; you can apply up to six months before the course starts, so apply as soon as the CAS arrives. ATAS clearance for some science and engineering courses can be requested as soon as you hold an offer and takes four to eight weeks. Funds must sit in the account for 28 consecutive days. Meet the English condition written in your offer, not the one on the university's overview page.
IB students learn whether they have met their conditions about five weeks before A-level results; the IBO has not yet published the 2027 date, which in recent years has been 5 or 6 July.
Schools receive grades the day before; students get them in the morning, and the UCAS Hub updates your firm or insurance status at the same time. If you missed a condition, phone the university first, then look at Clearing; if you did better than expected, you can also release yourself into Clearing. Run the course finder again with your actual grades.
Source: JCQ results days ↗
18:00 UK time. 18 October is the last day to add a Clearing choice. Most universities start between late September and early October.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Enter the three or four subjects you are taking in subject mode and see which courses at 43 UK universities stay open and which have closed. If a subject swap is still possible, this is the last window. Then read the official requirements of a few courses you like, for required subjects and admissions tests.
Today · Fri 30 October · 440 days to the UCAS main deadline
Shortlist eight to twelve courses and use the admissions statistics to see each one's offer rate, for all applicants and for Chinese applicants separately. Open days cluster in June to July and September to October, with plenty of online sessions.
Maths, science, engineering, economics and computing courses at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE, Warwick and others mostly ask for the ESAT or TMUA; humanities and social sciences use the TARA; medicine and dentistry the UCAT; law at some universities the LNAT. The requirements pages name the test for each course. Six months to October is enough for a systematic run-up.
In recent years registration has opened in mid May, with submissions accepted from early September. This page will be updated when UCAS publishes the dates.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
On the 2026 pattern: registration late May, booking late June, testing from mid July, booking closes mid September, last tests late September. Book before the summer.
Source: UCAT test cycle ↗
The personal statement is three questions, not an essay. Draft over the summer and show a teacher in September. Confirm when the school issues predicted grades and who writes the reference.
On the 2026 pattern: opens around 20 July, closes at the end of September, no late entries. Oxbridge applicants must sit the October round.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
Schools set internal deadlines, often late September for Oxbridge applicants.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Centres in mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR usually have fixed days; check when booking.
Source: UAT-UK (ESAT · TMUA · TARA) ↗
By convention 15 October at 18:00 UK time every year. If any one of your five choices is in this group, the whole application must be in by then.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Oxford online, Cambridge as each college decides. At least a week's notice.
In the last two cycles it fell on 14 and 13 January, at 18:00 UK time. This page will be updated once UCAS publishes the date.
Source: UCAS key dates ↗
Oxford usually in mid January, Cambridge in late January.
Board timetables are usually published the previous autumn.
Source: JCQ results days ↗
Go by the personal reply date shown in your UCAS Hub.
Source: UCAS · replying to your offers ↗
The Student visa waits for the CAS and can be applied for up to six months before the course starts; ATAS for some science and engineering courses can be requested as soon as you hold an offer and takes four to eight weeks; funds must sit for 28 consecutive days.
JCQ normally publishes the date more than a year ahead. Run the course finder again with your actual grades.
Source: JCQ results days ↗
If any one of your five UCAS choices is Oxford, Cambridge, or a medicine, dentistry or veterinary course, the whole application must be submitted by 18:00 UK time on 15 October, including your other choices. If none of your choices fall into these groups, the January main deadline applies.
In October the UK is still on summer time (7 hours behind Beijing), so 18:00 is 01:00 the next morning in Beijing. In January the UK is on winter time (8 hours behind), so 18:00 is 02:00 the next morning. Do not leave it to the last day: your school has to submit the reference and predicted grades before you can send the application.
Your teachers enter them in UCAS alongside the reference. For Oxford, Cambridge and medicine applicants schools usually finish by the end of September; for everyone else, before the January deadline. Teachers at schools in China may not know the UCAS process well, so agree the referee and timing with your school before the Year 12 summer.
Yes. Applicants not applying through a school register in UCAS as independent applicants and nominate their own referee, such as a subject teacher or tutor. Grades are usually international qualifications such as A-levels, the IB or AP; only a few universities accept the gaokao for some courses, so check each university's website.
UCAS usually publishes the next cycle's dates around May each year, and this page is updated then; admissions test and results dates follow each exam body's announcements. Dates for 2028 entry are currently projected from previous years and marked as expected until confirmed. Always check UCAS and each university's website before you apply.
The timeline gives you the dates; if you would like help turning them into your own application plan, from subject choices and admissions tests to the personal statement and interview, our consulting service picks up from there.
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