There's a reason shops have windows – and it's not that they're scared of the dark. Your UCAS application is your own shop window. Dress it up right and the unis will be your customers.

• Before you start
• Techno stuff
• Completing 'courses'
• Completing 'education'
• Completing 'about you'
• Completing 'personal statement'
• Completing 'references'
• Before you send

No trees dies for the sake of your future, because it's an online form which you can find at UCAS's website. Very roughly, it boils down to four parts:

• You, your exam results, the exams you’re going to be taking and stuff like that.

• What course you want to do and where. You have five spaces, which can be five different courses at five different universities, the same course at five different universities, five different courses all at the same university or any combination of the above.
  
  Most people tend to choose five broadly similar courses at five different universities, which not only hedges your bets as far getting in is concerned, but it also makes it look like you’ve got a good idea what it is you want to study and you’re committed to it. It doesn’t have to be that way, though.

• A space for a personal statement where you’re supposed to sell yourself to the universities by convincing them that not only are you a hard-working goody-goody, but you’re also ever-so responsible, with broad interests and a host of sporting, artistic and other talents.
• Your school or college also have a bit to complete where they'll also try to sell you to the universities. Or, if they don’t like you, it’s a great opportunity to slag you off and ruin your life. (So, now you know why brown-nosing your teachers is worth the apples.)

When the application’s complete, you submit it to UCAS and their team of elves distributes it to the universities on your list. The universities make the decisions, not UCAS. They just handle the administration side of things.

For more information on how the process all works, see Procedures and Offers.

More in this section:

• Before you start
• Techno stuff
• Completing 'courses'
• Completing 'education'
• Completing 'about you'
• Completing 'personal statement'
• Completing 'references'
• Before you send

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