You can apply for up to five courses using the UCAS system. These can be courses at five different universities or several different courses at the same university. The exceptions to this are medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science. In these cases, you can apply for up to four courses. If this is what you want to do, you can still apply for a fifth course in another subject. UCAS has deadlines for applications. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's deadlines have been extended. 

When you apply, it's important to keep projected grades and entry requirements in mind. A good strategy is to apply for two courses that have entry requirements that match your predicted grades, two courses that are slightly aspirational, and one as a 'back-up'. This strategy means that if your final grades differ from projections, you still have a route to university. 

You will also need to write a personal statement, which will be read by the admissions tutor for each course you have applied to. We have provided help to write personal statements – take a look at our fact sheet. 

To complete your UCAS application, you'll need to pay a small fee. You can pay this fee online using a credit or debit card. Current charges for applications can be found on the UCAS website.

Universities begin considering applications as soon as they receive them. Every university receives lots of applications, so your offers may arrive as late as the end of March. During the window between applications and offers, you may be invited for an interview or a portfolio review. At a later stage, you may be invited to a post-offer visit day. These events give you the opportunity to meet current students and the academic staff you would be working with. On-campus events often include campus and accommodation tours and department taster sessions. If you are a parent or supporter, you will often be invited along too. 

Most offers for university places are 'conditional'. A conditional offer requires you to achieve a certain grade in your A levels or equivalent qualification. The grades you need to achieve will be made clear in the offer. In some cases, usually if you already have the qualifications required for entry, you may receive an unconditional offer. 

Some universities have a degree of flexibility around offers. These include 'grade drop' schemes, where the requirement for entry is lowered if a student has taken the Extended Project Qualification or has made the offering university their first choice. Some universities will also offer flexible entry requirements for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Once you've received responses from all of the universities you applied for, you have to make a choice. You will need to choose two universities. They will be your 'firm choice' and 'insurance choice'. 

Firm and insurance choices

• Your 'firm' choice is the university you want to attend if you get the grades you expect. You can be aspirational with this choice, but make sure to be realistic
• your 'insurance' choice is a university which you'd like to attend and which has lower entry requirements than the 'firm' choice: if your grades aren't what you were hoping for, the 'insurance' choice gives you a path to university.

Peace of mind

Having both a 'firm' and 'insurance' choice means that you can focus on exams without too much stress.