It’s the beginning of the academic year again, and time to start thinking about UCAS applications! As soon as applicants register with UCAS, teachers can begin writing their UCAS reference – this blog will guide you through the process and provide some top tips on how to write an effective reference.
UCAS references can be crucial in determining whether an offer is made to an applicant, as they provide universities with an understanding of the education and home context for the student’s achievements. Together with the personal statement and predicted grades, they can provide informed assessments of applicants.
To ensure that admissions teams are provided with all the necessary information about an applicant, the UCAS reference is structured into three sections – much like the new Personal Statement! The three sections are:
UCAS References are limited to 4000 characters across the three sections, and teachers can begin writing once the applicant registers with UCAS.
Purpose
The first section of the reference is used to set the scene for your school/college and will typically be written by senior leaders at your institution. Once the final version of this statement has been agreed upon, it can be used for every application via the UCAS portal. The template can be added to the application centre via the “Centre Management” section of the UCAS website, and referees can use the “add template text” option to insert this into references automatically. You can find out more about this process here.
What to include in this section
Section 1 should give an accurate depiction of your school or college, and therefore provide context for the student’s achievements. To do this, you could include some of the following information:
It is also useful to include contextual statistics about your school/college where applicable. Some of these statistics can be found on the GOV.UK website, such as the percentage of students who progress to Higher Education at your school compared against national averages. You could include:
The University of Cambridge recommends that this section is no longer than 1000 characters, and Russell Group universities have highlighted school level extenuating circumstances, restrictions on qualification choices or combinations, and school catchment area (e.g., within a socioeconomically deprived neighbourhood), as the most crucial factors that they would like to hear about.
We recommend that you don’t use URLs within the reference – these will not be hyperlinked within the UCAS system, which make it difficult for admissions staff when reading the reference.
You should aim to include all relevant factors, but our sample of universities suggested that these were the top 3 factors they were most interested in: school-level extenuating circumstances (e.g., fire, flood, etc.), any restrictions on qualification choices or combinations, and whether the school catchment area is within a socioeconomically deprived neighbourhood.
Purpose
Section 2 invites you to enter information about extenuating circumstances which may have impacted the applicant’s education and achievement. It is likely that many applicants will not have experienced extenuating circumstances, so this section is optional. There is a box to tick on the UCAS application to indicate that there are no extenuating circumstances - applicants will not be disadvantaged if they have, or do not have, extenuating circumstances.
The crucial thing to remember is to seek the consent of the applicant before including any extenuating circumstances. Applicants can request a copy of their reference from UCAS, so remember to gain consent in all cases. If the applicant has mentioned extenuating circumstances in their personal statement, you should still give details of these in the reference.
What to include in this section
Factors affecting the applicant that could be included in Section 2 are:
What you should be aiming to provide in this section is context for inconsistencies between the applicant’s predicted results, and their performance in post-16 education. Aim to provide concise, specific information which will support universities to understand the context surrounding the applicant’s achievements. It’s also useful to include details of any support you’ve put in place to enable the student to succeed, as universities may be able to offer them similar support once they reach Higher Education. To avoid reducing the wordcount for the rest of the reference, use this section to give a brief snapshot of the applicant’s extenuating circumstances, and email the universities separately with more details if the case is particularly complex or sensitive.
Purpose
The third section will likely be the bulk of the UCAS reference – you can expect to write around 2000 characters for students applying for more competitive universities. Here, you should outline any other supportive information specific to the applicant and relevant to the course(s) applied for, that you think universities should be aware of. Because this section values information relevant to the course(s) applied for, you may not need to cover all subjects studied by the student. This information can be presented in bullet-point style.
What to include in this section
To describe your student’s academic abilities and suitability for their course, you could include information such as:
You could also write about barriers which the student has faced which don’t fall under extenuating circumstances – for example, barriers to accessing suitable work experience opportunities needed for their course, or difficulties faced in putting together a portfolio for an art or design course.
Admissions teams are ultimately looking for your student’s potential to succeed in a university setting, so this is what you should highlight through discussing their interest in their subject, their performance at school, and their skills and aptitude.
The key for this section is to show, not tell. To do this, put students into context. For example, if a student is near the top of their class in a particular subject, explain how you’ve arrived at this conclusion and what this means for the student. You might write:
“Alice’s average score in her last three assessments is the second highest in a class of 19 students and is consistent with students who have gone on to achieve a grade A* in previous cohorts”.
For each skill you mention about the applicant, include a specific example which demonstrates this aptitude. Then, link the skill back to the applicant’s chosen course, showing how it will help them to thrive within the Higher Education environment. These skills should be relevant to the student’s ability to study at degree level – for example critical thinking, research ability, written communication, or problem-solving. You could also acknowledge positive academic habits of the applicant, such as their ability to meet deadlines, study independently, or complete extra research beyond the curriculum.
Universities want to see facts and evidence, as well as detailed, specific information about the applicant. Avoid listing generic strengths and instead be selective in writing about qualities which enhance the student’s academic profile. This section should add to what the applicant has covered in their personal statement – there is no need to repeat information that they have already given.
The key for this section is to show, not tell. To do this, put students into context. For example, if a student is near the top of their class in a particular subject, explain how you’ve arrived at this conclusion and what this means for the student.
To conclude, here are some final top tips for writing an effective UCAS reference:
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