Exact Answer: 2 weeks
UCAS known as Universities and Colleges Admissions Service acts as the centralized bridge between students and university which provides service that students can use to apply to university. It is quite popular in UK where every student who prefers to pursue an undergraduate degree must apply for it through UCAS.
It is used to find an apt university by a particular student and also helps the university to find the right number of eligible students. Though UCAS is most popularly used for undergraduate services, it also provides other helpful admission schemes. It provides an efficient way to connect with students by advertising and managing the applications.
How Long Do UCAS Take to Reply?
To get back a response from the university whether an offer, rejection, or an invitation for the interview, it may take few days to months depending on the period you have applied for university through UCAS and also it depends on the rules and selection process of the university. However, in most cases, all the students hear it within two to three weeks.
Few get an invitation offer within ten days. But keeping an eye on deadline day is also an important part because if you submit your application on the last day, it may take still longer to hear back and it goes to the category of last-minute application. Few universities start to select students only after the deadline date. And it will be good to start filling out the application before few days of the deadline as there will be sufficient time to review the application and correct the mistakes.
Students should be careful in stating the personal statement which is a mandatory part of the application. Still, there are few questions on the fairness of the application process in UCAS, but it is the only way to apply for an undergraduate degree as most of the universities rely on UCAS in the United Kingdom.
Every university has its selection criteria and it is your responsibility to check the requirements meet before applying for a course in a particular university. If you are completely eligible and no more academic conditions are there to meet, you will be given an unconditional offer and you may proceed with further administrative steps.
| Application submission period | Response period |
| January end | Early may |
| June end | Mid-July |
| After clearing | October end |
Why UCAS take longer to respond to applications?
Every university and its departments have its method and take their own time to respond to applications. Universities have the responsibility to check various applications which take a little longer to respond. As few universities start to take decisions only after the deadline has passed, you still have to wait for weeks to months to get back response even if you have submitted earlier.
Few universities declare the exact date of announcing the decision of the university. Whereas other applicants should regularly track the application status for knowing the results. Depending on the course, you will get an invitation to attend the interview before offering a place or rejecting your application. The interview will be held on a particular date which will be informed earlier to the applicants.
Before attending the interview, check the course requirements. The most important task is to apply before the deadline as this increases the chance of checking your application soon. Universities like Newcastle wait for the deadline to pass out before checking the applications.
You will get an offer from your initial application, in case of not getting an offer from your initial application, as you have applied for 5 courses already; you have the chance of using extra service offer of UCAS within a particular time like from February till June. There is a high chance of releasing the results early morning via the UCAS track. Then, you will be communicated directly from the college or university regarding your offer.
Conclusion
After receiving the results from respective universities or colleges and if you have received at least one offer out of five, UCAS will notify you regarding the offers and you can track them through the UCAS website. You will be provided with the deadline for replying to the universities concerning their decisions.
You can provide a reply with the help of the tracking service. You will have three options after the results have been declared. You can choose one of the three, firm acceptance, insurance acceptance, and decline. You can accept at most two offers. People give higher preference to insurance acceptance than firm acceptance.