Offers and Replies
Once the application has been sent, progress can be monitored through your hub account.
Applicants begin to receive replies at varying times as universities and colleges deal with applications in different ways. It is not an indication of how likely they are to be successful. However, applications submitted prior to the January date should receive replies by early May. You may receive a conditional offer (dependant on exam results), an unconditional offer (you're in whatever your results if you haven't taken them yet) or an unsuccessful. A few universities may invite you to interview.
Once all replies have been received your account will show the date by which the applicant needs to reply. If applicants have received all replies by the 31st March 2026, they will need to make your decisions by 6 May. If all decsions are received by 14th May, the deadline to reply is 2nd June.
If you have received conditional offers, dependent on exam results, you can make a first choice called a Conditional Firm (CF). Applicants can also, if they wish, make a second choice called an Insurance choice (CI if it's conditional) which should normally have lower entry requirements than the first choice. So if the grades for the first choice are not met, the Insurance choice comes into play. It's therefore important that you really want to go to your insurance choice.
If the offer you wish to accept is unconditional, it is only necessary to make one choice UF.
Points offers
Some universities make offers in grades and others in points. This refers to UCAS tariff points and each grade within a qualification carries a number of points. The points offer can bring a little more flexibility for results. For example, 3 B grades at A level equal 120 points, as do ABC and A*BD. This extends further if an AS subject or other qualification such as the EPQ can be included in the points total.
You can find the points for all qualifications using the UCAS tariff calculator here.
Applicants begin to receive replies at varying times as universities and colleges deal with applications in different ways. It is not an indication of how likely they are to be successful. However, applications submitted prior to the January date should receive replies by early May. You may receive a conditional offer (dependant on exam results), an unconditional offer (you're in whatever your results if you haven't taken them yet) or an unsuccessful. A few universities may invite you to interview.
Once all replies have been received your account will show the date by which the applicant needs to reply. If applicants have received all replies by the 31st March 2026, they will need to make your decisions by 6 May. If all decsions are received by 14th May, the deadline to reply is 2nd June.
If you have received conditional offers, dependent on exam results, you can make a first choice called a Conditional Firm (CF). Applicants can also, if they wish, make a second choice called an Insurance choice (CI if it's conditional) which should normally have lower entry requirements than the first choice. So if the grades for the first choice are not met, the Insurance choice comes into play. It's therefore important that you really want to go to your insurance choice.
If the offer you wish to accept is unconditional, it is only necessary to make one choice UF.
Points offers
Some universities make offers in grades and others in points. This refers to UCAS tariff points and each grade within a qualification carries a number of points. The points offer can bring a little more flexibility for results. For example, 3 B grades at A level equal 120 points, as do ABC and A*BD. This extends further if an AS subject or other qualification such as the EPQ can be included in the points total.
You can find the points for all qualifications using the UCAS tariff calculator here.
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