Some Extra advice...

You may have heard your teachers or friends talk about something called Extra. This blog post will answer all your questions about what it is, who it’s for and whether it’s the right choice for you!

What is Extra?
Extra begins on 25 February and is an opportunity for you to apply for another course if you’ve used all five choices and don’t hold any offers. You can add one choice at a time, and if you’re unsuccessful or you decline an offer you receive then you can add another choice up until 2 July.

Is Extra for me?
Extra is available to anyone who has used all five choices and not accepted a place – it could be because they were unsuccessful with all five or they received offers but had a change of heart and decided the courses weren’t right for them. Either way, Extra is another opportunity to find a place on a course.

It’s worth keeping in mind that you can’t change your personal statement or reference on your UCAS application, so if you decide to apply for a completely different course, speak to the uni first to check if they’d like a different personal statement from you. If that’s the case, they’ll ask you to send it straight to them.

Where can I apply?
Not all universities will have places in Extra, so you need to do some research into what’s available in our search tool. If you select the option ‘Show courses in Extra’ from the filter, your search results will show only courses with vacancies.

Once you’ve found a course you like, add it in Track by clicking on the ‘Add an Extra choice’ option on the ‘Your choices’ page.



When will I hear back from the universities?
If you’ve not heard back from the university after 21 days of adding your choice, you can add another one in its place up until 2 July. By doing this however, you’ll cancel the one you originally applied for, so make sure it’s definitely what you want to do! If you want to wait to see if the uni will offer you a place (they have until midnight on 16 July to make a decision) you can do this – it never hurts to ring the uni if you want to check how long you’re likely to wait for their decision!

If you get an offer from the uni, you’ll need to reply by the date shown in Track. If you don’t then your place will be declined automatically – so pay close attention!

Have any further questions about Extra? Have a look at our website or get in touch with our advisers on Facebook or Twitter.

Three things to do while you wait for uni decisions

Katie Collins, Social
Media Exec at UCAS

So you’ve sent your application – great! Now it’s just a case of waiting for decisions, right? One after the other they’ll pop up on Track and you’ll get those notification emails. Right... BUT don’t expect it to happen straight away. You could find that it’s several months before you hear from a university, or for the lucky few it could happen straight away. The truth is every university and college will take a different amount of time to get back to you. It’s undoubtedly an anxious time and it can seem to last forever, but I assure you it won’t. Although you don’t know exactly when you’ll get all those heart-stopping Track notification emails, you can be certain that it will either be by 7 May (if you applied before 15 January) or by 16 July (if you applied after 15 January and before 30 June).

To pass the time as you wait for decisions, you – like many others – might find yourself compelled to log in to Track day and night to check for updates. Other than causing a repetitive strain-type injury, this isn’t likely to have any impact on how you feel. So if you want to use your time more wisely, here’s what I recommend you do between now and your last uni decision:

1. Figure out the next steps. When you’ve had all your uni decisions it’ll be time to reply to your offers. You’ll want to get this right, so have a read of our advice and watch our how-to guide to find out what you’ll need to do. It’s also a good idea to prepare for the unexpected: no offers. If you end up in this situation you could use Extra to apply for another choice, so make time to find out about this option.
    
2. Get to know the universities a bit better. Most of them are eager to meet you on social media, so what are you waiting for? Make the most of the opportunity to ask them your questions and stay up-to-date with what’s going on around their campuses. It could help you when it comes to choosing which offers to accept, plus you’ll get a feel for what it’s like to be part of their student community.
    
3. Suss out student blogs. Who else can tell you what it’s really like to go to uni other than real life students? A frank and honest account of student life is the closest you can get before embarking on it for yourself. Many unis feature student bloggers on their websites and there are lots of other students out there who blog independently.

An Extra opportunity...

Not holding any offers, either because you’ve been unsuccessful with all five choices or because you’ve declined all the offers you received, is likely to leave you feeling anxious about your application. Take heart, however, in the fact that each year there are many students in exactly the same position who go on to accept offers – even before Clearing.  Want to know how? In a word: Extra. Our guest blogger Amy Smith, Admissions Co-ordinator at Nottingham Trent University, explains how you can make the most of this valuable opportunity...

Amy Smith, Admissions Co-ordinator at
Nottingham Trent  University

UCAS Extra. One of the best kept secrets. Extra is an opportunity for those applicants whose initial 5 choices did not go entirely to plan, be that because they were unsuccessful, had a change of heart about the institutions they applied for (it’s amazing what you can find out about a place following an open day, check out the blog entry from Sarah at LSBU) or just want an entirely new direction from their university education (fancy going from a Science background to Art and Design?). As long as you don’t hold any offers elsewhere, Extra is your chance to get one!

Here are a few tips for applying through Extra:

Find vacancies

Courses that are open in Extra are advertised on the UCAS website through Course Search, as long as they have spaces available. For example, if you search for courses at Nottingham Trent University, you can tick the box to search for ‘Extra courses only’ to exclude all the courses that are full. Time is short though, as places will fill up and once they are gone, they are gone.

Be prepared

Do your research and see what’s out there. Check vacancies on Course Search, but don’t be afraid to look at institutions' websites, or contact the universities and colleges directly to get even more information about the courses you are interested in. You don’t get many second chances in life, but with Extra you can submit a new personal statement directly to your chosen institution if you wish. You’d need to check whether they’re happy to consider it first, but if they are then use it to your advantage - show you have done your research and explain why you are interested in your new choice. 

You don’t have to wait until August

Those eligible for Extra have the advantage of not having to wait until Clearing to secure themselves an offer or a place at university. You have access to a wide variety of courses and have until the 3rd July 2013 to make a choice through Extra. Courses may fill up in the meantime though!


Hit the button

If you’re eligible for Extra then an ‘add Extra choice’ button will appear in Track.  This allows you to enter your chosen institution and course details, and then your application will be sent for consideration. You can only choose one Extra choice at a time, so make it a good one!



It’s still not the end!

If you are unsuccessful in your first Extra choice, or decline an offer made to you, you can add another choice within the Extra timeline (25th February-3rd July 2013). 

Obviously, Extra is not without its risks. Remember:

• If you have chosen to decline all of your previous offers to enter Extra, you will not be able to go back to them at a later date, so think carefully about your decision! 
• You cannot change your Extra choice until a decision has been made or 21 days have passed.
• Not all courses at all institutions will be open through Extra, so if you are determined to apply for a particular institution or course and have been unsuccessful, you may have to wait until you have your results and apply again next year. 

Your university experience should be one that you remember for the rest of your life, so make the most of the opportunity and take advantage of what is available to you. 

Thank you to Amy Smith from Nottingham Trent University for sharing her advice on Extra.

You’ll find more information on using Extra on the UCAS website and in our UCAStv video guide below.