Higher Education Applications Guide 3 - UCAS

Higher Education Applications Guide 3 UCAS 2026 entry

Contents – Key dates – Registering with UCAS – Guide to completing the form – Tips – dos and don’ts – How to share your UCAS form with the school for checking – What you should be doing now

Key dates 2026 entry Spring Term Year 12 Higher Education Programme launch – Key deadlines – UCAS process

14 January

– Gap Year/PQA – Apprenticeships – Is Oxbridge right for me?

– What is Uni Prep/Uni Prep+ Uni Prep+ begins (Oxbridge applicants) – Subject enrichment activities

27 January

– Portfolio/Audition preparation – Personal Statement writing – Oxbridge admissions test preparation – Interview preparation Unifrog launch – Register online – Complete psychometric tests

28 January

– Explore Subject Library – What to consider when shortlisting uni courses – Add Classes and Activities to Unifrog Higher Education Applications Guide 1: CHOICES Uni Prep begins – Subject enrichment activities

3 February

– Portfolio/Audition preparation – Personal Statement writing – Other admissions test and interview preparation

Summer Term Year 12 22 April – 8 May

Year 12 end of year exams Personal Statement writing begins

7 May

– Tutor Time sessions – Uni Prep/Uni Prep+ sessions Higher Education Applications Guide 2: PERSONAL STATEMENT

10 May

The Medic Portal whole day workshop for Medicine and Dentistry applicants

19 June

UCAS predicted grades sent home Higher Education Day – UCAS Apply 2026 account registration – UCAS Apply - complete all sections excluding Personal Statement and Choices – Complete supra and extra-curricular activities log on Unifrog

19 June

– Mock admissions tests – PS research and writing – EPQ research and writing – University Lunch Higher Education Applications Guide 3: UCAS

8 July – 27 September

3 July

UCAT to be taken by Medicine and Dentistry applicants for most UK universities * August is highly recommended to maximise preparation time whilst avoiding negative impact on start of Y13 UCAS Apply - all form sections completed (excluding Personal Statement and Choices)

Summer Break – UCAS form – all answers complete and checked – Shortlisting of final five UCAS university courses – Final Personal Statement – reading, drafting, polishing – Unifrog information about supra curricular activities for UCAS reference complete

Tasks to be completed

If appropriate: – EPQ – research, drafting, logbook – Admissions test practice – Work experience – Portfolio/Audition – Interview practice – Written work for submission to selected universities such as Oxford

Autumn Term Year 13 September – December

Fortnightly Uni Prep and Uni Prep+ sessions

1 September

Testing window for LNAT begins

12 September

Oxbridge and MDV applicants submit UCAS form including final draft of Personal Statement for checking

End September

Students should inform Director of Sixth Form if they intend to apply to universities outside of the UK or US

15 October

UCAS deadline for Oxbridge and MDV applicants

21-27 October (half term)

Pre-interview admissions assessments for courses at Oxford and Cambridge and some other universities sat externally

November TBC

Oxbridge submitted work deadline

1 November

Early Decision US applicant deadline

November – December

Further practice interviews in school and online, including MMIs for MDV applicants

10 November

Non-Entry applicant deadline for submitting UCAS Form and final draft of Personal Statement for checking

25 November

Final deadline for submission of Art Foundation applications

22 November

Oxbridge and MDV interview practice day

Early December

Oxford and Cambridge interviews

Spring Term Year 13 January

Oxford and Cambridge applicants receive decisions

1 January

Deadline for most Regular Decision applications to be received by US institutions

14 January

UCAS deadline for all other applicants

May - June

UCAS applicants submit decisions about Firm and Insurance choices

June TBC

STEP II and STEP III tests

13 August

Release of AL results/confirmation of university places

Registering with UCAS www.ucas.com – Follow instructions to register for 2026 entry and make note of your password – Enter ALL of your given names - as they appear on your exam certificates – Use your school email address – You are applying through school so find and select St Helen’s – School buzzword to connect with St Helen’s is Mackenzie26 – Select your form – Make note of your UCAS ID number (e.g. 100-352-7252) at this stage because you will need it if you contact UCAS or your universities – Verify your email address by logging in to your email account to complete the registration process

Guide to completing the form These are the sections of the form shown in the boxes 1. Personal details

8. More about you

2. Nationality details

9. Education

3. Where you live

10. Employment

4. Contact details

11. Extra activities

5. Supporting information

12. Personal Statement

6. Finance & funding

13. Choices

7. Diversity & inclusion

Personal Statement and Choices to be completed by: – Early Deadline Applicants by first week of September.

– Regular Deadline Applicants by the first week of November.

To be completed by all applicants in June.

Tips – dos and don’ts Registration

As part of the registration process, UCAS ask a few questions.

To be able to move on from this question, you must put three subjects for the first question which can be annoying when you are only interested in one! Just add two others that are similar as it is just to tailor some of the content.

It will not impact your application in any way.

Perfectly ok to answer unsure for the other two questions.

When you have registered, you will see this screen: click start application!

To link your application to St Helen’s, which allows us to check your form and input your predicted grades and reference, enter the buzzword.

Mackenzie26

At the end of each section, you will see this box. Mark it if you have completed the section and it will go green. You can always go back and change information, and this will need to be ticked again.

Nationality details

When answering this question, UK passport holders should choose UK Citizen – England. If you have any questions about answering this, come and ask Futures.

Where you live

The answer to this question is your borough.

Contact details

We recommend you choose someone to be your nominated person to access your application should you not be able to at a vital time, such as on results day. This should be someone like your parent or a responsible older sibling. They do not have access until you tell UCAS that they need to access your application.

Finance & funding

If you are asking for a Student Loan from the government, choose ‘UK, CHl, IoM or EU student finance services’.

If you are certain that you will not be taking a loan, you choose ‘Private finance’. If you are unsure, it is best to choose student finance as you can opt out later.

The following question would be your borough again.

For this question, please answer ‘Yes’ if you are in receipt of a 100% bursary at St Helen’s. You will not need to pay the applicant fee at the end of the application process if you are in this category.

Education

When adding St Helen’s as your school, check your date of entry below.

If you entered in... Year 7: Sept 2019 Year 8: Sept 2020 Year 9: Sept 2021 Year 10: Sept 2022 Year 11: Sept 2023 Year 12: Sept 2024

07

2026

After adding St Helen’s school under Education, add each qualification. An entry would look like this:

06

2026

Make sure to check your exam boards carefully and all dates should be June 2026 to match your certificates. If you have taken any qualifications early, adjust to suit. There is no need to add anything in the second set of boxes/module information so just press save afterwards.

The EPQ is added in the same way. Put the subject area and then a brief topic area. For example, ‘Art History – classical Greek mythology’ or ‘Medicine - paediatric diabetes’.

Follow suit for GCSEs but be careful to add them under the right school if you joined St Helen’s in Sixth Form.

Check your entries against your certificates. Save a scanned copy of your certificates on Unifrog in your Locker.

You can also add Music, Dance, LAMDA, Duke of Edinburgh Award, UCAT, LNAT. Enter your highest level qualification, no need to add all levels.

06

Employment

If you have no paid employment to add, you can just mark this section as complete. If you do, this is an example entry:

2024

Extra activities

Adding information to the Extra Activities section is optional and does not have an impact on your application.

The best way to check if you can add something is to look at the provider and see if it is on there. For example, you can add NCS.

Personal Statement

Work in Unifrog, gaining feedback from your Uni Prep Mentor. When approved by the Futures Team (see deadlines at the start of this guide), copy and paste the final version into the box on UCAS. Check that it has not cut off the final line by previewing it.

Refer back to the Higher Education Applications Guide 2: PERSONAL STATEMENT shared with you on Teams in May.

Choices

It is useful for us for you to complete this information if you have definite favorites that are within a reachable entry requirement range, but we appreciate your uni choices may change come final submission.

Make sure to double check you are selecting the correct university and course – check the course code on the university website.

How to share your UCAS form with the school for checking When all sections are complete and you have checked them through, follow the instructions via the ‘pay and send’ function. You will need a debit/credit card to pay the administration fee. Those receiving free school meals will not pay an administration fee. It does not get sent to UCAS. Your form will then lock for editing whilst it is being checked by the Futures Team. They will let you know if any changes are required and unlock it for you.

When asked to make an amendment, make sure to ONLY make that one and not change anything else as that will slow down the checking process or may result in an error going through.

At this point, please make sure you have completed the Universities Choices Form and forwarded it to Mrs Sheerin to add to your UCAS pack. This is a vital stage and your UCAS application will not be checked without it.

What you should be doing now Working on building your supra-curricular profile through exploring your subject area more deeply. Your Uni Prep Mentor is a great person to turn to for ideas.

Explore universities via Unifrog and other websites. Refer to the Higher Education Applications Guide 1: CHOICES for tips on making the most of Open Days which you are attending this June.

Arranging work experience placements for this summer if it is relevant to your application (Accountancy and Finance, Architecture, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Physiotherapy, Sport Science, Veterinary Medicine and so on).

Studying towards your admissions tests and booking them if that is to be done independently of school (UCAT and LNAT).

St Helen’s School Eastbury Road Northwood Middlesex HA6 3AS enquiries@sthelens.london 01923 843210

@sthelensnorthwood

www.sthelens.london

@sthelensnorthwood