Writing undergraduate references for independent applicants

What's on this page?

Why have you been asked to write a reference?
What should you include in the reference?
How to complete the reference?
Predicted grades

If you’re a teacher, counsellor or tutor of an applicant in full-time education at school or college, please also refer to the guidance for UCAS registered centres.

And take a look at our reference processes and terminology.

Why have you been asked to write a reference?

Applicants who apply independently must ask for a reference from someone who knows them in an academic or professional capacity. It must not be a family member, friend, partner, or ex-partner, and they must not write it themselves.

Typically, you'll fit into one of the following categories:

You know the applicant in a professional or academic capacity (not as a family member or a close friend).
You have a good understanding of/specialism in the subject or course they’re applying for.
You can comment on their suitability for their chosen course.
You’re able to comment on the applicant’s career ambitions, work ethic, and insight into their personal strengths.

We ask applicants to make sure they have the agreement of their chosen referee before entering their details into their application.

The UCAS reference is the only part of the application not written by the applicant. You won’t be able to read the whole application so we advise you to speak with the applicant to check which courses they've applied for, if you don’t already know. Avoid direct reference to any particular university or college, because at this stage they cannot see where else an applicant has applied.

When writing a reference for any applicant, including those outside the UK, please remember that, under the Data Protection Act, the applicant can ask for a copy of the reference and any other personal information we have about them.

What should you include in the reference?

The UCAS reference is split into three sections. What you include will depend on how you know the applicant, and how familiar you are with their plans and experience.

We recommended you speak to the applicant to understand any specific requirements and find out what they feel is important to include before you write the reference.

Many universities and colleges provide details of the selection criteria and attributes they are looking for in their prospectuses, websites, or specific course entry requirements. If you know which courses they're applying for, this will be a helpful starting point, particularly if you're writing a reference for a course in an area you are unfamiliar with. It’s good to align the reference with what’s in their personal statement.

Common themes can include:

academic achievements – not just grades, but specific successes as well
reasons why they want to return to study – maybe a personal goal, a career change, or skills development
their commitment and enthusiasm to the chosen course or subject
skills used as a volunteer, especially if they’re related to the area of study

Remember: Avoid mentioning any specific university, as the applicant may be applying to more than one, and the reference will be sent to all of them.

A standard employment reference, detailing dates of attendance, is generally not accepted as a reference for the UCAS application process.

Section 1: Provide an overview of your relationship with the applicant (mandatory)

You must include a brief overview of your relationship with the applicant, but remember to be concise and to the point.

You could include:

your current position or role e.g., are you an employer, an academic tutor, professional colleague or a previous teacher
how long you have known the applicant

If you're a teacher, counsellor or tutor for an applicant still in full-time education at school or college, please also refer to the guidance for UCAS registered centres.

Section 2: If applicable, enter any information about extenuating circumstances which may have impacted the applicant's education and achievement

It's likely you will not be able to provide detailed extenuating circumstances. Therefore, please confirm there is no information by ticking the box.

It may be appropriate to highlight there are extenuating circumstances in this section and encourage the applicant to contact the provider directly.
As has always been the case, information about personal circumstances is only ever used to help universities and colleges to better understand individuals’ contexts and support needs – it is never used to decide whether to make the applicant an offer.

Include relevant information that contextualises the educational journey. This should be concise and reflect the breadth and depth of impact the circumstance had on the individual. This could include:

individual circumstances (with applicant consent) – e.g. if they are a mature student, have a disability (including learning difference, long-term illness or mental health condition) or experienced any adverse personal circumstances, such as bereavement, caring responsibilities or experience of being in care
support you have put in place (in an academic or employment context) to support the applicant – highlight any access needs or accommodation that may be needed to support the admissions process, e.g. at interview or with assessment testing

If you work in an education setting, you must identify if any of the circumstances outlined in section 2 have already been considered by the student’s examination boards or awarding organisations for the qualifications taken.

Do not give information about an applicant's health or disability without their agreement. Applicants may share information about any disability (including learning difference, a mental health condition or long-term illness) in a separate section of the application. They are not obliged to, but early sharing of this information gives universities and colleges more time to put any reasonable adjustments in place and arrange support as needed.

Section 3: Outline other supportive information specific to the applicant and relevant to the course(s) applied for that you think universities and colleges should be aware of

Information should be provided in short, clear, factual statements to help universities and colleges digest the information. The focus is on providing concise, specific additional context to the application.

Ticking ‘no information to enter’ for this section will highlight to universities and colleges that no information has been supplied. Please tick in circumstances where you are unable to provide any additional supportive individual context to the application.

Useful information could include:

performance and academic ability in relevant UK Level 3 or equivalent qualifications supported by evidence, e.g. assessment scores
performance in specific specialisms or projects

For applicants no longer in full-time education you could additionally comment on:

relevant work history or transferable skills
applicant’s ambitions, work ethic, and insight into their personal strengths
if your applicant is reapplying, or following a gap year, a brief explanation of those circumstances can be helpful

For applicants still in education you could additionally comment on:

any barriers the applicant has faced in accessing work experience opportunities (only if relevant to the course applied to, e.g. part of the entry requirements)

As a referee you may not be able to provide any additional information in sections 2 or 3. We encourage you to speak to the applicant about their application before writing the reference. 

If you cannot provide any additional information, ticking ‘no information to enter’ for this section will highlight to universities and colleges that no information has been supplied under these headings.

How to complete the reference?

If you’ve been asked to be a referee for an independent applicant you’ll receive an email from us with a password, which allows you to input and submit your reference into the UCAS online reference system. The applicant cannot submit their application to UCAS until a reference has been submitted online by their chosen referee.

The easiest way to write a reference is to use a word processing program first, and then copy and paste copy it into the boxes when you sign in to the system.

A few things to be aware of

You must complete the reference in one session, as we're unable to save incomplete references. The system will time-out and close after 35 minutes of inactivity and you may lose your work if you do not submit within that time.
Make sure you use the 'Preview' option to check it carefully before you submit it. Once the reference has been submitted no further amendments can be made. We'll email you a copy of your reference to confirm it has been received by us.
There is a maximum of 3,800 characters within the reference.
You cannot use bold, italics or underlining in the reference. If you do, they will be removed when your reference is pasted into the application and saved.
References are shared with universities and colleges with all line-breaks and formatting removed. Please rest assured that your reference will appear on our records and be forwarded to universities and colleges exactly as you provided it.
UCAS reference examples for independent referees (278.88 KB)

Predicted grades

If the applicant has any pending qualifications (still being completed) these will be listed in the reference and you will be asked to provide predicted grades for each.
If the applicant does not have any pending qualifications you will not be asked for predicted grades.
If you're unable to provide predicted grades, please tick the box 'I am unable to provide any predicted grades'. An email will be sent to the applicant to let them know.

Referee independent applicant 2024 sign in

Referee independent applicant 2025 sign in

Independent referee writing a reference on computer

Additional information

All references must be written in English. You will need to write in English, unless the applicant is applying to Welsh universities or colleges and the rest of their application is completed in Welsh – in which case the reference may, of course, be written in Welsh.
When writing a reference for any applicant, including those outside the UK, under the Data Protection Act 2018 the applicant can ask for a copy of the reference and any other personal information we have about them.