You’ve been working hard on your school work, doing well in your part-time job and taking your commitments to your family and friends seriously. But there’s something you’re feeling guilty about.
With everything going on in your life, and even if you’ve had a teacher telling you to do it, you’ve missed out on submitting your UCAS application by the 15 January deadline. You were meaning to do it, you had given it some serious thought, but somehow it just didn’t happen. Does this put an early end to your future at university?
The answer’s no. A massive, hugely enthusiastic no – you can still do it, university isn’t out of reach. There are many options still available for you to help secure your place at university.
Some schools close applications earlier than UCAS
With many schools and colleges closing their UCAS application process early to make sure you don’t miss the deadline, don’t mistakenly think you’ve missed out on the UCAS deadline. If you miss the deadline set by your school or college and UCAS, you still have options open to you if it’s after the 15 January and you haven’t applied.
If there are special circumstances, let UCAS know
If something serious happened that affected your submission, let UCAS know. They may be able to help you with the next steps and let the universities know why your application was late.
Art and design courses have a later deadline
If you are looking to study a subject in an art and design field then you can still apply later. The deadline for applying for many of these courses through UCAS is 24 March.
Universities may still take applications
Even if the UCAS deadline has passed, you may still be able to apply to university through UCAS. Get in contact with the university you wish to go to and see what the deadline is for their applications. You may be able to still work with them to arrange your application being submitted. All applicants are welcome to continue to submit UCAS applications to London Met – browse our courses now.
Clearing is open to everyone
Clearing is sometimes talked about negatively but it’s a great way of submitting a UCAS application – it’s not just for those who have a last minute change of heart or don’t get the exam results they were expecting. If you plan to apply through Clearing you can look for the perfect courses while working on your grades. Lots of people don’t apply to university until the summer, at which point you will know exactly what your exam results are and have had more time to think about where you want to go and what you want to study. A word of caution though: courses do get full. If you’re looking for a place on a popular course the best advice will always be to apply as early as you can.
Use UCAS Extra if you did apply but didn’t get any offers
Which? suggests using the UCAS Extra service. If you did make an application before the deadline but your offers have been rejected or decline – do not despair, you can use UCAS Extra to apply to other universities before Clearing starts. UCAS Extra gives you the additional chance to apply to a course a course until you are accepted. So if you did miss that January deadline it really doesn't mean it's the end of the world.
Written by Joey Tamburello. Joey is a first class graduate of the London Met Journalism degree. She runs her own entertainment blog, Let’s Start With This One.
Every year, London Metropolitan University helps hundreds of students find places on full-time undergraduate degrees. You can start a course at London Met in September, but many are also available to start in January. Take a look at our full list of undergraduate courses or contact our course enquiries team for more information.
"London Met is a great example of an institution that provides opportunities for people. Coming to the open days and seeing people from different countries, different backgrounds, classes, it made me realise that everyone fits in here, that there isn't a barrier at all."
London Met graduate Aaron Patel