Making a UCAS application

This section is relatively straight-forward but take care to ensure that your name and nationality match your official documents, and your contact details are correct.

You have the option to add a nominated contact who may speak to universities on your behalf. This is usually a parent, guardian or teacher, and if you want, you can add more than one name. If someone contacts us about your application on your behalf, but they are not listed as your nominated contact, we will not be able to speak to them. 

Before fully submitting your UCAS application, please do remember to upload documents to UCAS which may evidence a change of name.  These can include a deed poll certificate, change of name certificate, marriage certificate and a civil partnership certificate.

In this section, you can choose up to five courses which you want to study. At this point in the application process you do not need to sort them in order of preference but do double check that you have entered the correct institution and course codes. You can apply for more than one course at a particular university if you want to. 

Loughborough’s institution name is LBRO, and our institution code is L79. The course code will depend on the degree to which you are applying. 

As well as the course codes, our course pages include details of our typical offers. It is important to research the typical offers for the courses you’re interested in and that you feel they are achievable. At this stage don’t be afraid to make a mixture of aspirational choices and ones with more comfortable typical offers. Also check that you meet any GCSE requirements that are stated, or contact the Department to see if they accept retakes.

You need to enter all formal academic qualifications that you have already completed as well as those you are currently working towards. We like to find out as much as we can about our applicants, so if you have any graded music, drama, dance, Duke of Edinburgh or sport leadership awards you should include these – they will help to demonstrate the breadth of your learning and that you have sought to develop skills that will be useful for higher education study.

All our courses have minimum GCSE English language requirements and some have GCSE maths and science requirements so make sure you have included these, especially if you are re-taking.  If you are a mature student or completed your qualifications in a previous sitting, you can also upload your official certificates to UCAS prior to submitting your application to help with the decision-making process

If you are an international student or have alternative qualifications check the English language requirements for the courses you are interested in applying for. 

International students can also upload their passport and current visa/immigration status and previous qualification documents to UCAS prior to submitting their application, these documents can include official and translated qualification certificates, official qualification transcripts and English Language certificates.  Uploading documents to your application will help ensure universities and colleges have all the information they need to support the decision-making process.

If you have any previous or current employment history, this is where you would list this information. This includes any work experience, volunteering, internships and part-time work. Not everyone will have employment history, which is why you have the option to leave this section blank. If you are applying as a mature student, remember that we will want to see everything that you have been up to since leaving education.

We normally suggest that you complete this section once you've selected your university course choices, as this will allow you to tailor your personal statement.

Your personal statement is a crucial part of your application, within which you should explain your motivation for applying to University. It's important to showcase your drive and passion for the subject area, and any skills or experience you may have which will help you be a successful student. When you are writing your UCAS personal statement, there are three sections, each with a specific focus. The three questions are:

1. Why do you want to study this course or subject?
2. How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
3. What else have you done to prepare outside of education and why are these experiences useful?

We assess the personal statement as a whole. It doesn’t matter which section you place your content in, just that you cover the key areas. You can find out more on the UCAS website.

It can be hard to write a statement which encompasses a diverse range of courses, so if you're applying for four courses in one subject area and one course in another, you should focus your statement towards the majority. Loughborough University will always accept an emailed additional statement which you can tailor appropriately, giving you a chance to explain why you have applied to study in a different subject area.

If you're currently studying at a school or college, your reference will usually be completed by a teacher or tutor on your behalf. If you've already finished your studies, you'll need to provide the details of a suitable referee, typically a former teacher or tutor, who can supply a reference through UCAS. Applicants who have previously studied at university should normally nominate their course tutor as a referee. Please note that all applicants to Loughborough University must provide a reference as part of their application.