For students and parents · Year 13, spring
Replying to university offers: firm and insurance
Once all your universities have decided, you accept one offer as your firm choice and can accept a second as your insurance, usually one with lower conditions, then decline the rest. The date you must reply by depends on when your last decision arrived, and if you do not reply by then UCAS declines your offers for you.
What are conditional and unconditional offers?
A conditional offer means the place is yours if you meet the conditions, usually particular grades in your exams, and sometimes something else, such as a grade in STEP for Cambridge mathematics. An unconditional offer means you already have the place, which usually happens when an applicant has their results already.
You do not have to reply to each offer as it arrives. UCAS waits until you have heard from all your choices, then gives you one reply date for all of them.
How do you choose a firm and an insurance?
Your firm choice is the one you most want to go to. If you meet its conditions, that is where your place is confirmed, so only make a course your firm if you would be happy to go there. Your insurance is the backup, and it usually makes sense for it to have lower conditions than the firm, so that it still stands if your grades fall a little short.
Choosing an insurance with the same or higher conditions than the firm protects nothing, since missing one would mean missing the other. You do not have to choose an insurance at all, and some students prefer to rely on Clearing, but an insurance that you would genuinely be happy with is the safer plan.
When is the reply date?
It depends on when your last university decided. For 2027 entry, UCAS’s rule is that if your last decision arrives by 31 March you reply by 5 May; if it arrives by 12 May, you reply by 2 June; and if it arrives by 14 July, you reply by 21 July. The dates change each year, and UCAS shows yours in the application.
If you do not reply by the date, UCAS declines your offers automatically, so it is worth making a note of the deadline as soon as the last decision comes in.
What if you have no offers, or change your mind?
If you used all five choices and have no offers, or declined them all, you can apply for one course at a time through Extra, which runs from late February to early July. An offer made through Extra can only be accepted as a firm choice, and if a university does not decide within 21 days you can add another course instead.
After results, a student who does better than expected and holds an unconditional firm place can release themselves into Clearing with the button to decline their place. Adjustment, the old way of trading up after results, has not been available since 2022 entry. The Clearing guide explains how that works.
Where to check
Checked against these on . The rules change from year to year, so the pages above are the ones to trust if anything here disagrees with them.
Common questions
What is the difference between a firm and an insurance choice?
Your firm is your first choice, where your place is confirmed if you meet its conditions. Your insurance is a backup, usually with lower conditions, which stands if you miss the firm but meet its own conditions.
When do you have to reply to university offers?
By a date that depends on when your last decision arrived. For 2027 entry, a last decision by 31 March means replying by 5 May; UCAS shows your own date in your application.
What happens if you do not reply to your offers?
UCAS declines them automatically once the reply date passes, so check the date as soon as your last decision arrives.
Do you have to choose an insurance?
No, but it is usually sensible to choose one with lower conditions than your firm, so you still have a place if your grades fall a little short.
Does UCAS Adjustment still exist?
No. Adjustment ended with 2022 entry. A student who exceeds their offer and holds an unconditional firm place can release themselves into Clearing instead.