What is UCAS Extra?
If you've used all five choices on your application, and you're not holding any offers, then you can add extra choices to your application - free of charge.
What is UCAS Extra?
UCAS Extra is an option that allows you to add more choices to your UCAS application.
The free service is available for everyone who has currently used all five choices on their application, and has offers for none of them.
This gives you another chance to get a place at a university even if they weren't initially part of your application.
UCAS Extra opens Thursday 23 February and closes Tuesday 4 July.
For information on applying to university after this date, please visit our clearing page.
How does UCAS Extra work?
When applying for universities through UCAS, you have a maximum of five options available to apply to. These are known as your choices.
If you have used all five of your choices, and currently don't hold an offer with any of them, then UCAS Extra will become available to you. The "Add extra choice" button will show up on your application portal on the UCAS website.
UCAS Extra allows you have a sixth choice. This gives you an extra opportunity to apply to a university or course that you didn't already apply for.
You can only apply to one extra choice at a time. If you receive an offer, but want to add another choice, you'll have to decline that offer first. You can withdraw your extra choice at any time before an offer is made, if you have changed your mind.
If you decline the offer, or don't get a decision with 21 days, you can add another choice. You can do this as many times as you want, but universities have to make their decisions by Wednesday 12 July.
Who can use UCAS Extra?
You can use UCAS Extra if you have used all five of your application choices and don't hold an offer with any of them.
Not holding any offers can mean any or all of the following:
- You have declined offers made by universities
- You didn't receive an offer from universities, or a decision wasn't made in time
- Offers made to you were withdrawn by universities
- You don't meet the conditions of a conditional offer from a university
If you think you meet these criteria, it's easy to check if you can use UCAS Extra. You can log in to your UCAS application hub, and you should see the option to add an extra choice.
Not everyone uses all five choices in their initial application. If you haven't, then UCAS Extra will not apply to you. In this case, if you want to add more choices up to a total of five, you can log in to your UCAS application hub and add more choices before Friday 30 June.
Frequently asked questions about UCAS Extra
You can add an extra choice to your application when you have used all five of your choices and hold offers with none of them.
To use the UCAS Extra service, log in to your UCAS application hub and use the "Add Extra Choice" button. You'll be able to do this until July 4.
UCAS Extra allows you to add an extra sixth choice to your UCAS application. This has to be done before July 4. Your sixth choice is subject to the same terms as your other five. This means offers can be unconditional, conditional or may not be made to you. You are free to withdraw your sixth choice, or decline any offers made under it.
Clearing is a different opportunity to find the right university or course for you. If you didn't secure an offer before June 30, then clearing is the next step in getting a place at university. You can find out more on our clearing page.
UCAS Extra has proved to be successful for people who want to secure a place at a university before clearing.
It gives you the opportunity to have an extra choice in your application. This is perfect for if you have changed your mind about your application, or only found a course or university you really like after applying for your initial five choices.
Your extra choice can be used as many times as you want, however you can only have one outstanding application at a time.
This means that if you apply for one university or course with your extra choice, you have to either wait for a decision, or withdraw that choice. You can decline an offer or decision from a university for your extra choice and then apply to somewhere else if you like.
Yes, you can.
You will either have to withdraw your current extra choice if you're still awaiting a decision, or decline an offer if one has been made. Once you have done this, you are free to re-apply elsewhere or for a different course using your extra choice.
There is no limit, however you can only have one extra choice applied for at a time. If you want to apply for more courses or university, you will have to free up your extra choice and apply again.
UCAS Extra is only available until Tuesday 4 July. Once this deadline has passed, you will use clearing to secure a place on a course at a university. You can find out more on our clearing page.