Once all your universities have decided, you reply to your offers in UCAS Hub: choose one firm choice, optionally one insurance choice with lower conditions, and decline the rest. For 2027 entry your reply deadline is 6 May 2027 if all your decisions arrived by 31 March, or 2 June 2027 if your last decision arrived by 12 May. If you miss it, UCAS declines your offers for you. You cannot swap your firm and insurance on results day.
Offers arrive over several months, and the reply is the one decision in the whole process you cannot undo on results day. This guide covers how replying works for 2027 entry, and how to choose well.
The types of offer
- Conditional: you have a place if you meet the conditions, usually grades. Most offers are conditional.
- Unconditional: you have a place already, usually because you have finished your qualifications.
- Unsuccessful: the university has not offered you a place.
Some offers include extra conditions, such as an admissions test score (for example STEP for Cambridge Mathematics) or health checks for medicine and other clinical courses.
You reply once all decisions are in
You cannot reply until every university you applied to has made a decision (or you have withdrawn the rest). Then you choose:
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Review my statement → From £7.49 · Results in under 10 min- Firm choice: your first choice. If you meet its conditions, this is where you go.
- Insurance choice (optional): your back-up, for if you miss your firm's conditions.
- Decline every other offer.
Your reply deadline for 2027 entry
| If your last decision arrived by | Reply by |
|---|---|
| 31 March 2027 | 6 May 2027 |
| 12 May 2027 | 2 June 2027 |
Later dates apply if you are using Extra. Your UCAS Hub shows your exact date. If you miss it, UCAS declines your offers for you.
How to choose your firm
Choose the course you would most like to study, not the university with the best name or the place your friends are going. Ask:
- Does the course content suit what you enjoy?
- Can you realistically meet the conditions?
- Would you be happy living there for three or four years?
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How to choose your insurance
UCAS advises an insurance with lower conditions than your firm, somewhere you would genuinely be happy to go. If your insurance asks for the same grades, it protects you from nothing. If you would rather go through Clearing than attend any of your other offers, you can choose not to have an insurance at all.
If your firm is unconditional, you do not need an insurance.
More on the trade-offs: firm and insurance choices explained.
If you decline every offer
You can decline all your offers. If you do, and you used all five choices, you become eligible for UCAS Extra (from 25 February to 1 July 2027) to add one course at a time, and later for Clearing (from 2 July 2027). See UCAS Extra and Clearing.
On results day
On 12 August 2027 (A-level results), universities confirm places:
- Met your firm's conditions: you are placed at your firm. You cannot switch to your insurance.
- Missed your firm but met your insurance: you are placed at your insurance.
- Missed both: your firm may still accept you if you are close. If not, you are in Clearing.
- Did better than expected: you can look for other courses, but only by releasing yourself from your firm into Clearing, which gives up your place.
Mistakes to avoid
- Missing the reply date because you were waiting to decide.
- An insurance with the same grades as your firm.
- Choosing a firm you would not actually go to, expecting to swap on results day.
- Ignoring extra conditions such as tests or deadlines in the offer.
Related guides
- Firm and insurance choices explained
- UCAS Extra
- UCAS deadlines for 2027 entry
- How to fill in your UCAS application
Still applying?
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Sources
- UCAS, Replying to your UCAS Undergraduate offers
- University of Bath, Important dates for undergraduate applicants starting in 2027
- Loughborough University, Replying to your offer
Frequently asked questions
When do I have to reply to my UCAS offers?
Your reply date depends on when your last decision arrives. For 2027 entry, universities list 6 May 2027 if all decisions arrived by 31 March 2027, and 2 June 2027 if your last decision arrived by 12 May 2027. Applicants using Extra get later dates. Your exact date is shown in UCAS Hub.
What happens if I miss my reply deadline?
UCAS declines your offers automatically. If that happens, contact UCAS straight away; you may still be able to find a place through Clearing.
Should my insurance choice have lower grades?
UCAS advises choosing an insurance with lower conditions than your firm, somewhere you would still be happy to go. If your insurance asks for the same grades as your firm, it gives you no protection if you miss them.
Do I need an insurance choice if my firm is unconditional?
No. If you firmly accept an unconditional offer, your place is confirmed and you do not need an insurance choice.
Can I swap my firm and insurance on results day?
No. If you meet the conditions of your firm choice, that is where you go. Decide which is which carefully before you reply. If you change your mind after results, you can release yourself into Clearing, but only if a place is available elsewhere.
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