UCAS Application Receiving and Replying to Decisions
What happens after you apply through UCAS? Find out what you need to do once you start receiving decisions on your applicaiton.
1. You’ve submitted your UCAS application
What happens next?
Once your application has been submitted, each university will consider it separately. This means you may receive decisions at different times, so do not worry if a friend hears back before you or if one of your choices takes longer than another.
You will receive decisions from universities before you sit your Leaving Certificate / Post-Leaving Certificate exams.
You can follow the progress of your application by signing in to your UCAS Hub. UCAS will also email you when there is an update, but it is a good idea to check your Hub regularly and make sure your contact details are correct.
2. University Decision Types
There are several decisions a University can make in reply to your application.
Universities must reply to your application by 13 May if you have applied by the January equal consideration deadline.
A university can make four types of decision replies to your application.
Conditional Offer
This means the University is offering you a place provided you meet certain conditions. For a Leaving Certificate student, these will normally relate to your final results and may include:
- achieving a specified number of UCAS Tariff points;
- obtaining particular grades in required subjects; or
- meeting another course requirement, such as a health check, Garda vetting or Access NI check, portfolio, audition or interview.
Read the full conditions carefully in your UCAS Hub. A points requirement may not be the only condition attached to your offer.
Unlike the CAO points system, entry requirements at Ulster are published in advance. If you receive an offer and meet all the conditions stated in it, your place will normally be confirmed.
Unconditional Offer
This means you have already met the main academic entry requirements. Your place will be confirmed if you accept the offer, although you should still check whether there are any outstanding non-academic requirements or documents to provide.
Unsuccessful
This means the university has decided not to offer you a place for that course. Although this can be disappointing, your other choices are unaffected. Depending on the stage of the application cycle, you may also be able to use UCAS Extra or Clearing to explore other courses.
Withdrawn
A withdrawn choice means that either you or the University has withdrawn that course choice. Your UCAS Hub should show the reason. For example, a choice may be withdrawn if an applicant does not respond to a request for information or misses an interview.
3. Replying to Your Decisions
You will have a deadline to reply to any offers you receive. What replies are you required to make?
The replies you must make to any offers received are:
FIRM CHOICE
This is your first preference choice and will be where you are placed if you meet the conditions of this offer.
INSURANCE CHOICE
This is your second preference (back-up) choice. This will be where you are placed if you don't meet the conditions of your Firm Choice, but do meet the conditions of your Insurance Choice.
DECLINE
You must decline any remaining offers you receive.
Please note, you cannot swap your Firm / Insurance replies after 14 days of making them.
No. UCAS and CAO are completely separate application systems. You can accept a firm and insurance choice through UCAS while keeping your CAO application active. You can still receive and accept a CAO offer later. If you ultimately decide to take a CAO place instead, you should withdraw from your confirmed UCAS place and let the UCAS university know as soon as possible.
Reply Dates: 2027 Entry
5 May
If you have received all your decisions and offers by 31 March, you must make your Firm and Insurance Choices by 5 May.
UCAS will automatically decline your offers if you do not reply by this date.
12 May
Deadline for universities to reply to applicants who have submitted their UCAS application by the equal consideration deadline in January.
2 June
If you have received all your decisions and offers by 12 May, you must make your Firm and Insurance Choices by 2 June 2027.
UCAS will automatically decline your offers if you do not reply by this date.
I missed my reply deadline!
It may be possible to have your offers reinstated.
You have 14 days – starting on the date the automatic decline was recorded – in which the automatic decline can be swapped. Please call UCAS within 14 days to resolve this.
After 14 days, it may still be possible, but UCAS will need permission from the universities you want to accept offers from before UCAS can do so. You should contact the universities directly to discuss this. If they agree, you'll need to contact UCAS to give them your permission. Once all permissions are received, UCAS will swap the replies.
No reply swaps are possible after 24 July 2025.
Results Day
What happens now?
UCAS receives Irish Leaving Certificate results directly and sends them to the universities holding your offers. You do not need to send us your results unless we specifically ask.
If your results matches or exceeds your offer conditions, you will have your place confirmed.
If you have your place confirmed, you must then either accept or decline it using on your UCAS Hub. You will be given a deadline by Ulster University to accept your place.
If you do not meet the conditions of your offer, you may still be accepted onto the programme or you may be declined.
If you are declined and are no longer holding any offers, you will be entered into Clearing .
No, you can’t swap your firm and insurance choices once you have received your results.
If you now want to go to your Insurance choice, you need to go through Clearing. You need to check with your Insurance choice uni/college that they can accept you in Clearing.
Clearing
How you can still secure a university place if you are no longer holding any offers.
Clearing is the UCAS process that helps applicants find university courses with places still available. Unlike a CAO offer round, it is not automatic: you search for vacancies, contact the university directly and, if it offers you a place, you can add the course as your Clearing choice in UCAS. You may use Clearing if you have no confirmed UCAS place, did not meet your offer conditions, applied after the January deadline, or have formally declined an existing place.
Clearing does not affect your CAO application.
Clearing opens for application from the 5 July.
