Advice

As we approach the end of the 2025 admissions cycle, you may still be undecided about your next steps. Every year, over a million students register for a Ucas account and yet 400,000 of those registered in the system never reach the stage of submitting an application. This shift reflects a broader trend: more students are delaying their decisions, reassessing their options, and using Clearing not as a fallback, but as a strategic route into higher education.

If you’re receiving your A-level results this year, you may have heard of clearing. This is the process students can go through if they don’t receive the grades they were expecting and miss out on their first and insurance places.  

Our guide to Ucas clearing explains what clearing is, how to apply for clearing and when, so you can use clearing to your advantage.

With A-level results day fast approaching (results are out on 14 August), students will be eager to find out whether they have secured their first (or second) choice of university.

The Rhodes Scholarship opens for applications in June 2025 for applicants who will begin their postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford in October 2026. 

As a former admissions counsellor who reviewed applications at the university level and as a university and careers counsellor guiding students internationally, I’ve seen firsthand what makes an applicant stand out. 

In today’s admissions landscape, students need to find ways to distinguish themselves outside of GPA and standardised test scores.

As global conditions evolve, so too do the processes and policies governing international student mobility. 

Recently there has been a spate of changes and announcements regarding applications for US international student visas. One current development impacting students seeking to study in the United States is the temporary freezing of student visa appointments at US consular missions around the world. 

If your student visa application gets refused, it’s natural to feel disappointed or stressed about the outcome.

Remember that you are not the first international student to have their visa application rejected, and a range of support is available.

See below for our guide on what to do after having a student visa application refused, including why it may have been rejected and whether you can appeal your result.

Starting university can be exciting and overwhelming. There is so much to manage, from keeping up with lectures and deadlines to making new friends and finding your way around. It is easy to feel a little lost. That is why Happy Student was created, by international student Aram Tufan, to help make the university journey as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Did you know that you can try university classes before you apply for them? 

If you are thinking of studying in the UK, a platform created by Ucas and Springpod provides the opportunity to sample lectures and seminars in a range of subjects before applying. 

Courses are available in a range of subject areas including finance, computer science, engineering, medicine and history.