Clare Marchant, UCAS’ Chief Executive, said: ‘Following today’s message from the Government on university admissions, we have made the decision to give students more time to make their decisions about their future.
‘Normally most students would have until early May to make decisions on their offers, but in line with the Government announcement this deadline will be extended by two weeks.
‘Universities and colleges will also have additional time to assess applications and adjust their processes in these unprecedented times.
‘We will email students this week with information on their new May decision deadline, and ensure they understand they have additional time over the coming weeks to make their decisions.
‘This will give students, teachers, universities, and colleges time to reflect on their decisions and allow for further information on calculated grades and qualification awarding, such as A levels, BTECs, and the International Baccalaureate to be shared.
‘It’s important that students and teachers understand that we expect the admissions cycle to run broadly similar to previous years, with the flexibility for applicants to make choices throughout the rest of the year and a Clearing process over the summer.
‘In delaying May undergraduate deadlines, we can help keep the system fair to all and promote appropriate and informed decision-making.
‘Following today’s announcement, we want to let students know we are still here to provide support and our teams are on hand over the phone and across social media to help during these very difficult times.’
Ends
UCAS Press Office
01242 545 469
Notes for editors
UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, is an independent charity, and the UK's shared admissions service for higher education. We manage almost three million applications, from around 700,000 people each year, for full-time undergraduate courses at over 370 universities and colleges across the UK.
On Friday 20 March, the Chief Executives of UCAS, Universities UK, and the Office for Students collectively wrote to all admission teams to remind them of the importance of maintaining fairness in theses unprecedented times.
5 May 2020 was the deadline for many students to choose their firm and insurance offers, provided all their universities and colleges had made a decision on their application by 31 March.
6 May 2020 was the deadline for universities and colleges to make decisions for all applications received by 15 January.