UCAS Registration

The process of applying for university is done on line through a system called UCAS Apply. UCAS(opens new window)

(Universities and Colleges Admissions Services is an organisation which sorts all the applications going through it and sends the details to the relevant universities. Later in the process, it is possible to logon to the UCAS website and track the current status of your application. Submitting an application through UCAS apply costs £28.50. This allows to you apply for up to five courses. (From 2025 entry, students in receipt of free school meals will not be required to pay this fee.)

To use UCAS Apply, you must first register with them.

Registering with UCAS

Open Student Sign In(opens new window) and click on Register

Make sure you select Apply 2025, do not select Apply 2024.
(Until late September, Apply will still be open for courses starting in 2024.)

Completing the Registration Process

To confirm that you are applying through Linlithgow Academy and to link your application to the school, you will be required to enter the school's buzzword. Our buzzword is Christmas24.

(This is not essential, but if you do not link to the school, your Head of House will be unable to see your application and check it over before it is submitted to UCAS)

When asked which tutor group you are in, select your Head of House from the menu.

Remember to save your application on a regular basis as you work your way through it.

Completing the UCAS Application Form - Things to look out for

Personal Details: It is important that you select the correct fee code in the student support section. This indicates how you will be funded when you go to university. From the drop down menu, select 02 UK, Chl. loM or EU Student finance services. Then, select Student AA Scotland from the alphabetical list of organisations in the next box.

(The Student Awards Agency for Scotland is the organisation who will pay your tuition fees. If you get this section wrong, you may have to pay your fees yourself!)

Personal Details: Try to avoid using a silly, rude or potentially offensive email address when entering your contact details. Although you and your friends might find it funny, the universities you are applying to might not. In oversubscribed courses, where admission tutors are finding it difficult to decide who gets accepted, it might be a factor that counts against you. If you have an email address which might be interpreted as immature, set up a new account for the duration of your UCAS application. Do not use your glow email address; use a personal address - the UCAS process may still be in mid-cycle after you leave school and your glow address is de-activated.

Personal Details: If you are going to be away from home for a long period of time, e.g. on a gap year, you can nominate someone who can make decisions about your application on your behalf. Enter their name and relationship to you in the Nominated Access section. (You will need to give them your login details so your nominated person can track your application.)

Education: In this section, you are required to enter the details of all qualifications you have already passed as well as the qualifications you are hoping to achieve this year. For this year's subjects, select Pending. You are also required to enter your exam candidate number in the box provided. If you do not know your candidate number, ask at the school office or check your exam certificates.

Education: When you come to enter some of the courses you have sat or are sitting, you will sometimes be faced with more than one choice for some subjects. These choices will have different course codes. it is important that you choose the correct one. Check your exam certificates, check here

SQA Course Codes (Word doc) [15KB] (opens new window) or see your Head of House.

Submitting your Application

Once you have completed all the sections of the UCAS apply form, the final stage is to 'pay and send'. Check all the details are correct first of all. Payment is done via credit card. Once you have paid, your application is effectively sent to your Head of House who now has control of it. Your Head of House cannot edit your application, but can return it to you for you to edit if there is anything which requires to be changed. Once you and your Head of House are happy with it, your reference will be attached and then the application will be submitted to UCAS by school.

You can find a series of short video guides to help you with your UCAS application at UCAS TV