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Tracking your offers online

If you submit your UCAS application by the 15 January deadline, you will usually receive offers from your universities by the end of March, although for popular courses you may not hear until May.

You can track the progress of your application through the Track service on the UCAS website. For this you need your Personal ID, username and password. You can also use this service to check for any offers and reply to them.

• UCAS Track service - follow your application Opens new window

Conditional or unconditional

Conditional offers are tied to you achieving certain grades in your exams, or a certain number of points in the UCAS Tariff. If you don't secure high enough grades or don't score enough Tariff points, you may not be accepted.

An unconditional offer means you have already satisfied entry requirements and can be accepted to study.

• UCAS Tariff Opens new window

• Conditional and unconditional offers Opens new window

Replying to offers

Once you have received decisions from all your universities or colleges, and provided you have at least one offer, UCAS will send you an email asking you to look at your Replying to Offers letter on the Track service on the UCAS website. This letter will list the decisions and your reply date. If you don't reply to your offers by the deadline, you may lose them.

You reply to your offers online using the Track service. For each offer, you can choose one of three options:

You can only accept two offers at the most - one firm acceptance, and one insurance acceptance. For their insurance acceptance, many people usually choose offers requiring lower grades than the firm acceptance.

For full guidance on replying to offers, see the UCAS website.

• Rules for replying to offers Opens new window

• FAQs about accepting offers Opens new window

Changing your mind

If you change your mind after you accept an offer, you may have to withdraw your application and will not be able to use Clearing to look for another course. Contact UCAS for advice.

• Changing your UCAS application

• Contact UCAS

If you don't get any offers

If you don't get an offer from your initial application or you turn down any offers you do receive, and you have already applied for five courses, you can use the UCAS Extra service from the end of February until the end of June.

If Extra does not produce a suitable offer, you can go through the Clearing system, where universities and colleges advertise - and fill - their last-minute places. Vacancies are advertised on the UCAS website and in the national press from mid-August.

• UCAS Extra: your second chance to get a place

• Clearing: last-minute places at university or college

More useful links

• Student finance

Useful contacts

• Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS)

• Universities and higher education contacts

• Education and learning contacts