Improvements to the 2022 application
We’ve listened to feedback from teachers and advisers and students and are making some exciting improvements to the UCAS application for the 2022 cycle.
What to expect
- One place to register and sign in – students tell us having multiple usernames and passwords is confusing, so there’ll be a new centralised area for students making 2022 applications. They’ll register once with the UCAS Hub and use those credentials for their entire UCAS application – including tracking offers and decisions.
- Improved design – we’ve redesigned the application to make it more responsive and user-friendly. The design will be consistent with ucas.com and the adviser portal – giving you and your students a more consistent experience.
- Clearer help text – in response to our most frequently asked questions, we’re updating our help text to give the best advice, guidance, and signposting to students as they complete their application.
- Tailored sections - we’ve updated the flow of the application to provide a more intuitive experience. For example:
- We’ll only ask questions relevant to the applicant for example, UK applicants won’t be able to see questions for international students.
- We’ve updated the name of specific sections to make it them easier for students to understand and navigate.
We’re working with user-experience experts, and students and teachers to test the designs ahead of launching the 2022 cycle.
We hope these changes will make the process feel more seamless and will provide your students with a better experience - we also wanted to confirm we’ve not made any changes to the application cycle or the information students need to provide – only how we present the application.
When to expect it
The UCAS application will be available from May 2021 for 2022 applications. As usual, we’ll make the adviser portal available ahead of the application to give you time to set-up your centre (Buzzword, rollover of staff and groups, etc.).
In March, we’ll share resources with you so that you can update your guides and workbooks with the new screenshots. We’ll also update our:
- pre-application toolkit
- application toolkit – including screenshots of the new designs so you can drop these into your resources
How we’re supporting you
We’re working on an online module which we’ll make available via our professional development portal. Plus, in the spring we’ll run a series of webinars which you can watch live, or on-demand, to walk you through the updates.
What can you and your students do now?
Students can start registering with UCAS on the UCAS Hub now – they can start personalising their space, thinking about their personal statement and shortlisting courses, so when we open applications in May they’re in the best possible position to get going.
Find out more
Watch a demo of the upcoming changes: