Questions and answers

We start processing applications on 1 October. We aim to send you an email to let you know that we have received your application within 24 hours. If you do not hear anything further within eight weeks, please contact Admissions.

Please bear in mind that many of our most popular schools receive several thousand applications, and it takes some time to consider them all carefully. Our undergraduate admissions statements provide details of the selection procedures and criteria used in individual courses.

If you applied by 15 January, the latest that most of you will hear from us is 31 March, but of course many of you will hear within a few weeks of applying. Decisions sent to UCAS can be viewed later that day by logging onto the UCAS Track System using your username/password.

No, we generally do not require you to take an external admissions test. We only ask you to take the Law National Admissions Test (LNAT) if you are applying to study Law. This test enables us to make fairer choices among the many highly-qualified applicants who apply to our law course. Applicants for Engineering Design are required to complete a University of Bristol test in Mathematics alongside their interview as part of the selection procedure for this course.

Extra is open to you if you have not been offered a place from your current five choices or you have declined a place. If you become eligible for Extra, UCAS will contact you automatically, and you can then apply for further courses through Extra. You can only have one Extra application running at any one time. However, Bristol does not have courses open in Extra every year. Please check the UCAS website to see if any courses at Bristol are open for Extra applications.

Clearing is a service run by UCAS highlighting any places still left on courses after August (when results are received). You can then apply for any places left, if you did not have an offer or did not meet the terms of your offers and are not holding a place. If you become eligible for Clearing, UCAS will contact you automatically. The University of Bristol is usually oversubscribed so does not enter into Clearing, however please check the UCAS website to see if any of our courses are open for Clearing applications.

If you are already a student at another UK university or college of higher education and wish to transfer to a degree course at the University of Bristol, you should apply through UCAS. Please contact Admissions informally first, to see if your application could be considered. Please note that unfortunately it is not possible to transfer to the Medical or Dental Schools.