The UK university Admission Process is greatly facilitated by UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), which, with few exceptions such as Art & Design foundation year, enables students to file a single application.

UK students must choose to follow a specific degree path and it can be a daunting task to narrow study choices down to the six (only four for medicine, veterinary science or dentistry) allowed on the application form that is submitted. (Scotland does allow more freedom of choice outside the major subject of study.) As you begin to explore subjects, be guided by your long-term interests, browse the Web sites of the universities you might consider and take some of the quizzes available on the internet. The UCAS Web site has a search engine that will help you narrow down your range of interest by area, size, and subject. Of course, make sure that you have taken the right courses to qualify; for example, a student who wants to study biology would need to have taken biology HL in the IB programme or a French Bac S, preferably with a specialité in Biology. Even if you do not have the qualifications for a specific course of study however, the Year 0 that several universities have instituted may help you qualify for your chosen course while simultaneously gaining university experience and in some cases university credit. Open Days, when students can visit universities, will help you confirm your choices of both institutions and courses.

At EABJM we use the UCAS apply system, which can be completed on-line from any place in the world. The buzzword code to enter the EABJM pool is goforthegold07. Unlike for the US, no standardized tests such as SATs are systematically required. Some universities, however, require that, for certain subjects, specific tests must be taken such as the BMAT (BioMedical Admissions Test), HAT (History Aptitude Test), LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law) or the TSA (Thinking Skill Assessment). You should therefore carefully review the subject requirements at each university you wish to apply to.

January of première (Year 12  in the UK) is the ideal time to begin researching possible courses of study and different institutions. Ideally, you should be writing your personal statement over the summer. The personal statement is 500-550 words in length (written in Times New Roman 12 point, 48 lines). It includes information about your background, interests, reasons for taking the specific course of study, and reasons for studying in the UK. It should be as precise as possible. Details about articles, magazines, books, theories that intrigue you will contribute to help the reader form a picture of you as an individual. Although the deadline is January 15 (October 15 for Oxbridge and medicine) of the terminale year, students should aim to apply as early as possible after returning to school in September of terminale (the UK equivalent of Year 13 or upper sixth form).

Predicted marks for the baccalaureate are a key element of the admission process. The College Counsellor reviews records, asks teachers for predicted marks and talks to the student. Predicted marks are important: if too low, the student will not get offers from his chosen institutions; and if too high, the student may find that he cannot make the offer and will have to enter "Clearing" in August to apply to any places that are still open at that time.

Upon submission of the 15-pound application fee you will receive offers, usually conditioned upon your achieving certain baccalaureate marks. You will only be allowed to keep two of the six offers - a first choice and an insurance choice (in case your final baccalaureate results don't meet the offer given by your first choice school).

Art and Design students are in a special category. Very few high school graduates enter Art schools directly; they usually apply to a Foundation Year to have the time to mature, prepare portfolio work and explore different art options for admission the following year. Although Foundation Year applications do not follow the UCAS procedure, the UCAS Web site has a useful link to Art & Design foundation studies. Students choose three institutions in any one grouping and may apply to one or more grouping. These applications must be completed by mid-December. The portfolio (around 20 pieces that show creativity, skills, and interests), may be either sent at that time, sent later, or the student may opt to present the portfolio work in person.