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Overseas study intelPublished 2026-11-02

UCAS allows only five choices: you can still add courses with a later deadline after 15 October

The official 15 October entry says you may add choices with a different deadline later, but five choices in total; school applicants have their own deadline.

Gradepath@BeBuddiDigital editor

Key date2027-01-13

Official notice

UCAS's official dates and deadlines page notes, under the 15 October 2026 entry (18:00 UK time, the equal consideration date for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and for most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine/science): you can add choices with a different deadline later, but do not forget you can only have five choices in total. The same page gives 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time, as the equal consideration date for most undergraduate courses, and states that if your completed application - including all your personal details and your academic reference - is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered. Applicants applying through a school or college are told to check their school's deadline and follow it, because the school needs time to read the application, check the qualifications entered, write and attach the reference, and submit it.

Gradepath analysis

Five is a total, not five per round - and that is where students get confused when they map UCAS onto a local joint admissions system: you get five slots for the whole cycle, and whatever you used by 15 October does not come back. The useful part is the sentence allowing choices with a later deadline to be added afterwards, which makes 13 January 2027 the real battleground: fill all five slots, put the safest option highest, and use any remaining slot for courses you decide on later. The second trap applies to anyone applying through a school or college: UCAS tells you to follow your school's deadline, since the school must read the application, check your qualifications and attach a reference - so you cannot work only to UCAS's date. Third, guaranteed consideration is conditional on the whole application, reference included, arriving by the deadline.

Gradepath@BeBuddi action step

Work back from the calendar: open the admissions timeline →

Official source：UCAS 官方日期與截止日 ↗

Dates, quotas and admission arrangements follow official and school announcements; the analysis here is general information and is not individual admissions or professional advice.

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