UCAS Deadlines and Key Dates for 2027 Entry

The main UCAS deadline for 2027 entry is 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time, and it covers most undergraduate courses. Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and vet courses have an earlier date: 15 October 2026 at 18:00. Miss January and you can still apply until 30 June 2027; after that, applications go into Clearing.

The calendar below covers the whole cycle, with one action for each date. All times are UK time, and UCAS can edit dates mid-cycle, so check its official dates and deadlines page before anything big.

What are the UCAS key dates for 2027 entry?

When do UCAS applications open for 2027 entry?

They're open now. You've been able to register and start a 2027-entry application in the UCAS Hub since 12 May 2026, and to send a finished one since 1 September 2026.

UCAS won't take it until every section is complete, your reference is added and the fee is paid. The 2027-entry fee is £34.50; our guide to what the UCAS application fee covers explains who can have it waived.

The reference is what catches people out. A teacher usually writes it, it includes your predicted grades, and nothing can be sent until it's done. Your school may set an internal deadline well before UCAS's, so ask your tutor for that date and treat it as your real one. More in our guide to the UCAS reference.

The personal statement is now three questions sharing a 4,000-character limit (see personal statement basics). And if you're applying now to start in 2028, the same deadlines apply to you: here's how deferred entry works.

When is the October deadline for Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and vet?

It's Thursday 15 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time, for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and to most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine or veterinary science.

Your reference must be finished first, so talk to your referee in September. You can usually apply to only one course at either Oxford or Cambridge, not both (graduate medicine is the exception). And you don't need all five choices ready: send your early choices by 15 October and add ones with a later deadline afterwards, keeping to five in total.

Is 15 October a deadline or an "equal consideration date"?

UCAS's student pages and adviser timeline now call it an "equal consideration date", while its page for parents still says "deadline". Same rule either way. UCAS will still accept an application after 18:00, but the university can't promise to give it equal consideration.

In plain English: on time, you're in the same pile as everyone else; late, you lose that promise. Treat 18:00 on 15 October as a hard stop.

What is the UCAS equal consideration deadline in January 2027?

For most applicants, the deadline is Wednesday 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time. It's the equal consideration date for most undergraduate courses, and for most conservatoire dance, drama and musical theatre courses.

Universities must consider every application that arrives by then equally. They don't have to consider later ones, though they can if places remain once the on-time applications are dealt with. The 2026-entry date was Wednesday 14 January 2026, and UCAS said it stuck to mid-week to avoid weekends.

If your school closes over Christmas, your referee may not be around in early January, so aim to finish before the break.

Before you lock in five choices, check they fit your grades. Some offers are written in UCAS Tariff points, though many universities ask for specific grades instead. Turn your predicted grades into a points total, then compare it with how many UCAS points courses usually ask for.

Work out your predicted UCAS points

What happens if you miss the January UCAS deadline?

You can still apply. Applications that reach UCAS by 18:00 on 30 June 2027 are still sent to the universities you choose. The catch: universities no longer have to consider them, though they can if they have places left, so send yours as soon as you can, and ring the admissions team first to check your course is still open.

Universities then have until 14 July 2027 to decide; any choice still undecided becomes unsuccessful.

What is the last date to apply through UCAS for 2027?

30 June 2027, 18:00 UK time is the last moment for an application to go to the universities you picked. Anything that arrives later is entered into Clearing automatically. It matters if you've already applied, too: you can't swap one choice for another after 30 June, and if you used fewer than five choices, you can add more only before 30 June and only if you haven't replied to any offers.

23 September 2027, 18:00 UK time is the final date for any 2027-entry application. After that you can't send a new application for 2027. If you already have one, you can still add a Clearing choice until 18 October 2027.

When do you have to reply to your UCAS offers?

Your reply date depends on when your last decision arrives. Universities should aim to decide on applications received by 13 January by 31 March 2027, but that's only a target. The firm cut-off for those applications is 12 May 2027: any choice still waiting then is made unsuccessful automatically, which UCAS calls "reject by default".

You pick one firm choice and, if your firm is conditional, you can also hold one insurance choice. Every other offer is declined. Miss your reply date and your offers are declined automatically, though an automatic decline can be swapped within 14 days of being recorded.

Changed your mind? Within 14 days of replying you can change your replies once by contacting UCAS. After that you need the universities' permission. No reply swaps are possible after 18:00 on 22 July 2027. See how to accept your UCAS offers for each step, and conditional vs unconditional offers for what you're accepting.

When are UCAS Extra and Clearing open in 2027?

UCAS Extra runs from 25 February to 1 July 2027. It's free, and it's for you if you used all five choices, have decisions from all five and hold no offers. You apply to one course at a time, so there's no insurance choice. No answer after 21 days? You can keep waiting or swap in a new choice. Once you use Extra, you can't go back to your original five. Used fewer than five choices? You don't need Extra (see the 30 June rules above). See UCAS Extra explained.

Clearing opens on Friday 2 July 2027, and the last date to add a Clearing choice is 18 October 2027. It's for people who apply after 30 June, have no offers (or none they want), or miss their offer conditions. UCAS shows you your top 50 course matches, which it calls "Your Clearing matches" or Clearing Plus. Before adding a Clearing choice, contact the university and give them your Clearing number and Personal ID. You add one choice at a time, with the university's permission, and adding it counts as accepting the offer.

Holding an unconditional firm place but want to go elsewhere? From 2 July, the "Decline my place" button releases you into Clearing. It can't be undone and it cancels any insurance place too, so secure a new place first.

UCAS hasn't yet published the 2027 times from which you can add a Clearing choice on results day, so check its dates page nearer the time. Here's how Clearing works, step by step.

When is results day 2027?

These dates come from JCQ and Qualifications Scotland, which replaced the SQA on 1 February 2026, rather than from UCAS. If you're taking CCEA or WJEC exams, JCQ says schools should check those boards' own key dates.

On results day, your UCAS Hub shows whether your place is confirmed. If a university offers you a different course instead, you have five days to accept or decline that changed course offer. Once your grades are in, put them into the UCAS points calculator to see your real total, handy if you end up in Clearing.

Looking for the 2026-entry dates?

Starting university this autumn? You're in the 2026 cycle. For 2026 entry, UCAS's Clearing page shows Clearing running until 19 October 2026. The full 2026 calendar is on our UCAS key dates for 2026 entry page.