The UK offers exceptional scope for acquiring academic and vocational qualifications to enable you to pursue a wide range of careers.

UK schools, colleges and universities pride themselves on helping international students find the most appropriate course.

British Council offices globally offer assistance to students seeking to study in the UK. Some offices advise students, help them fill in application forms and send the forms off for them. Some can help you apply over the internet. All offices have a wide range of information materials and resources, as well as university and college prospectus, which you can consult for reference. A good prospectus provides answers to all the questions you want to ask about an institution or a course.

The best time to begin preparing your application for degree courses is June to August a year before the September/October when you would like to start.

Career-based Courses

For all other career-based programmes, you should apply directly to the institution which offers the course. Contact the institution and ask for a prospectus and an application form. Alternatively, all British Council offices have standard application forms that you can use, or contact GEEBEE Education.

There is no standard closing date for applications to career-based courses but you will need to leave yourself enough time to apply for a visa, make travel arrangements and arrange accommodation.

In making a decision, the college will consider your background, interests and abilities and will treat your application on its individual merits. Once you have accepted a place, the college will send you a letter confirming this.

Degree Courses

To apply for full-time undergraduate degree courses, you simply make a single approach through the centralised application process. This service is provided by UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). All UK universities and most colleges of higher education are members of UCAS. Your route through the UCAS application process is described in this section.

Applications for part-time degree study are not made through UCAS and you should contact directly the institution in which you are interested. Increasingly, universities and colleges are making their application forms for part-time study available on their website, either to complete online or to download.

The UCAS application process- GEEBEE can help you with this.

Before applying, check the minimum entry qualifications in the prospectus of your chosen university or college. Be aware, though, that the institution may ask for more than these requirements. Any entry requirement will be shown clearly if the institution offers you a place.

You may apply to up to six institutions on a single UCAS application form. The current fee for applying through this system is £5 for a single choice and £15 for up to six choices. You can submit only one UCAS application form per year.

When UCAS receives your application form, it will send a copy to each of your chosen institutions. Each institution will consider your application and send details of its decision to UCAS. UCAS will forward the decision to you.

For each application, three outcomes are possible. You may be sent an unconditional offer which means you can begin the course at the start of the next academic year. Alternatively, you may be sent a conditional offer which means you have to achieve specific entry requirements in your qualifying examinations.

Finally, the institution may reject your application. If all your chosen institutions reject your application, you will still be able to apply to another UK institution through Clearing.

Do not respond to any offers you receive until UCAS asks you to reply. Then, you can accept no more than two offers. Your first choice will be your firm acceptance and your second choice will be your 'insurance' acceptance. But note that if your first choice is to accept an unconditional offer, you will not be able to make a second, back-up choice. Once you accept an unconditional offer, you are committed to that institution.

Universities will confirm or withdraw their conditional offers after they have been notified of the results of your qualifying examinations. Therefore, it is important that you send your examination results to the university or college from which you are holding offers as soon as possible. If you have not matched the entry requirements for either your firm or your conditional offers, you will be able to enter the Clearing procedure.

Clearing

Clearing is a process that matches students who have not been able to find a place with courses that still have vacancies. It occurs in August and September. You will be eligible for Clearing if:

• You have applied to an institution in the UCAS system but do not have any offers
• None of your conditional offers have been confirmed
• Your application through UCAS was made after 30 June (or 12 June for art and design courses).