UCAS gives us data on applications for the currently active cycle three times before results day.

The October deadline data shows applications to Oxbridge and to medical school, while the January deadline shows the vast majority people applying direct from school or college. The June deadline is very much a way of capturing some of the other activity that happened between January and when Clearing opened (this year it was on 5 July).

It was more significant (including roughly 20 per cent of all main scheme applications) before 2009 – in the years since then it has dwindled to around 11 per cent. Since 2020, the October deadline has been more significant in terms of applicant numbers than the June one. It mainly covers activity in UCAS Extra (where applicants who did not get suitable offers from their original applications can add other ones), but there is a small amount of other activity, especially from mature and international students.

If you were hoping a strong June deadline performance would boost faltering application numbers you will be disappointed – the 2024 cycle saw a little over 60,000 applications between the January deadline and the June one, which is the lowest number on record.

[Full screen]

For these reasons, most of the analysis we did back in January still holds. Applications from England-domiciled 18 year-olds ended up very slightly higher than last year (still lower than 2022), while for Wales 18 year old applications are down on the last three years.

However,, international (non-EU) applications via the UCAS main cycle are also down on last year, despite looking like the healthiest on record back in January. This tallies with what we know from the Home Office and other surveys, even though UCAS entry is not always the way international undergraduates get places.

Personal statement reform

Instead of talking about the data, UCAS has chosen this data release point to promote long-planned changes to the personal statement for the 2026 cycle (all applications submitted from September 2025 onwards). Rather than the open 4,000 character personal statement, applicants will be asked to answer three questions within those same 4,000 characters:

• Why do you want to study this course or subject? (at least 350 characters)
• How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject? (at least 350 characters)
• What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences helpful? (at least 350 characters)

This brings some of the previously existing guidance on personal statements (this is exactly the kind of material applicants have always been encouraged to incorporate) into the form, itself and is designed to be more approachable for applicants approaching the form without school or college support.