After you apply

Once you have submitted your application, the Admissions team will begin to process your application. You will receive email confirmation from the Admissions team that the University has received your application, regardless of which application method you used. Once you receive this email, you should not expect to hear from the University until a decision is made on your application.

All offers will be sent primarily in the form of an email, and successful applicants will also receive a letter and booklet containing more information about your offer.

If you applied through UCAS, your offer will also be confirmed through UCAS Hub.

The responsibility for making decisions on applications rests with Admissions in coordination with individual academic Schools. We take into consideration not only the current and expected grades of your qualifications but also the context in which you achieved (or will achieve) them.

We also rely heavily on your personal statement and referee's report as the University does not interview for most undergraduate programmes. Applicants for Medicine, our Supported Pathways programmes, BA International Honours and some part-time courses may be invited to an interview.

The decision-making process for students applying to transfer to the University is slightly different and is outlined in the transfer students section below.

You can read more about the decision-making process in our admissions policy.
Pre-payments

If you are an applicant who meets the following criteria, you are required to pay a pre-payment fee of £2,000 GBP against your first year’s tuition fee:
- You have applied to an undergraduate programme.
- You have a fees status of ‘Overseas’ in your offer letter.
For applicants who require a Student visa, the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) will display the total amount paid to date, including any pre-payments made, where applicable.

Conditional offer
- If you firmly accept a conditional offer, you are only required to make a pre-payment once you have met your stated conditions.
- Please do not make a pre-payment whilst you are holding a conditional offer.
- All the conditions stated in your offer must be satisfied before your admission can be finalised.
- Once you have accepted your conditional offer and met your stated conditions, you are required to make a pre-payment within four weeks.
- If you are holding a conditional offer through UCAS you are required to accept your Unconditional offer, before making your pre-payment.
Unconditional offer
- If you firmly accept an unconditional offer, you are required to make a pre-payment upon acceptance.
- A pre-payment must be made within four weeks of you accepting your Unconditional offer.
- If you applied through either the Direct application or Common Application form and received an offer by 14 March 2024, you are required to make a pre-payment within 4 weeks of acceptance and no later than 9 May 2024.
- If you applied through UCAS, please check the UCAS Hub or the UCAS website for the response deadlines that apply to you.
- If a pre-payment remains unpaid, this will be taken as an indication that you no longer wish to take up the offer of a place at St Andrews. 
Insurance choice
- If you accept a conditional or an unconditional offer as your insurance choice through UCAS, you are not expected to make a pre-payment.
- Pre-payments are required only if your status changes from ‘insurance’ to ‘unconditional firm’.
Deferred offers
- If you hold an unconditional offer and have been granted deferred entry, you will be required to make a pre-payment.
- If you hold a conditional offer and have been granted deferred entry, you will be required to make a pre-payment once you have met your conditions of offer.
If a pre-payment remains unpaid, this will be taken as an indication that you no longer wish to take up the offer of a place at St Andrews.

You will not receive your entrant email and the CAS process if applicable will not commence until pre-payment has been made.

How to make a pre-payment
- Pay by international bank transfer (preferred method of payment)
- Pay by credit or debit card
After you have accepted your offer and made the pre-payment
- You have a 14-day statutory cancellation period during which you can change your mind about accepting an offer to study at the University.
- After accepting your place and making the pre-payment, your offer will become a binding agreement with the University of St Andrews. The terms and conditions of this agreement will remain in force for the duration of your studies at the University. Should the University require to make changes that materially affect your programme, the University will inform you.
Pre-payment refunds

Pre-payments will only be refunded under the following circumstances:
- Medical reasons for withdrawal evidenced by supporting documentation.
- You are not successful in securing a UK student visa.
- It is within the 14-day statutory cancellation period during which you can change your mind about accepting an offer to study at the University.
Pre-payments are not refunded under any other circumstances. To request a refund, you will need to complete the Pre-payment refund form. The request must be submitted along with any evidence to myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk within 30 days of the official start date of your programme which is listed on your offer letter.

International Foundation Students progressing onto an Undergraduate programme

If you are a University of St Andrews International Foundation student progressing on to first or second year of an Undergraduate programme, you are not required to make a pre-payment to accept your offer.

International study abroad programme students

If you are an incoming international study abroad programme student, you are not required to make a pre-payment to accept your offer.
There are three responses that you may receive in response to your application. These are:
- An unconditional offer
  
  This means that you have already achieved the required grades or qualifications to study your selected course, and your offer has been confirmed.
- A conditional offer
  
  This means that you have not yet achieved the required grades or qualifications to study your selected course, and your offer will only be confirmed if you obtain the stated grades or qualifications. If you meet the conditions of our offer, we will confirm your place, but if you do not achieve the stated grades or qualifications, your offer may be withdrawn.
- We are unable to offer you a place
  
  Regrettably, we receive many more applications from well-qualified applicants than we have places to offer, and we have been unable to offer you a place on your selected course.
If you have yet to complete your school-leaving exams, you should not expect an unconditional offer. Conditional offers are made to suitable applicants on the condition that they achieve certain grades or qualifications, at which point their offer will be confirmed.

Should any details that influenced our initial offer decision change, for example the fee status, we will reassess the offer and reserve the right to withdraw it.
The University of St Andrews evaluates every application based on its individual merits, and we are obligated to give equal consideration to all applications submitted by the appropriate UCAS deadlines. Every year however, the University receives many more applications from well-qualified applicants than there are places to offer.

Once we have made a decision, you will be notified by UCAS and any offer conditions will be visible through the UCAS Hub. All applicants who applied by the relevant UCAS deadline will receive a decision no later than the UCAS deadline in May.

Details of application deadlines for St Andrews can be found on our applying through UCAS page.

If you have been offered a place at the University of St Andrews, you should use UCAS to alert us whether you wish to accept our offer. You can hold up to two offers at UCAS: one firm choice and a second insurance choice. The offer you confirm as your firm choice is effectively your first choice of university, whilst your insurance offer is your second choice in case you do not meet the required grades to fulfil the entrance requirements of your firm choice. Due to this, your insurance choice will often be an offer asking for lower grades than your firm choice.

If you wish to accept an offer from the University, you are required to indicate whether it is your firm or your insurance choice through the UCAS Hub. You must respond to your UCAS offer in good time to ensure that your place is not declined by default.

You may wish to decline our offer, in which case you should also respond through the UCAS Hub.
If you are an international applicant who applied through a direct application or the Common Application, you will receive a response to your application through the St Andrews applicant portal. This will outline your offer and conditions. You should respond to your offer in the portal, indicating whether or not you will be taking up your place.

If you have any questions relating to your offer, please email myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk. You must reply to your offer by the following:
- 11 April 2024, if you have an offer by 14 March 2024
- If you get an offer between 15 March 2024 and 1 June 2024, you will have 28 calendar days to respond.
- If you get an offer after 2 June 2024, you will have 14 calendar days to respond.
International students may require a visa in order to live and study in the UK. Whether or not you need a visa, and the type of visa you will require, depends on your nationality and the length of the course you are planning to undertake.

In order to apply for a Student visa, you will require a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) number, which is issued by the University. You cannot apply for your Student visa until you have received your CAS number. The CAS number will not be issued before March.

You are unable to apply for your visa more than six months before the start of term.

Further information relating to the CAS process, and who to contact if you have any questions, can be found on our support for international students web pages.
If you have applied to the University as a transfer student, consideration of your application will involve several stages:
1. Investigation of whether your grades and qualifications meet our entry criteria.
2. Analysis of the subjects you have taken or are currently taking, ensuring the content matches subjects offered at the University in first year or second year.
3. Reading of your personal statement and references.
4. Ensuring that you have the necessary qualifications to study your second subject.
Once we have made a decision on your application, we will inform you via UCAS Hub. If we are able to offer you a place, we will specify the point of entry (first year, second year or third year) in our offer to you.
If you have applied for a course which accepts students directly into second year, you should expect a response in the usual manner for your chosen application process – for example, if you applied through UCAS, your offer would be sent through UCAS Hub.

Usually, any offer for a course which accepts direct entry into second year will state the year of entry, but opportunities for entering second year of appropriate courses can also be discussed with your academic adviser when you arrive.
If you wish to change the start date of your course, you can submit a formal request to defer your admission by contacting myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Deferral requests are considered on a case-by-case basis following the guidance basis outlined in the Admissions Policy. There is no guarantee that a request will be granted.

Deferred entry requests will only be considered for those seeking admission immediately following the admissions cycle initially applied for.

If your request is unsuccessful:
- you may be required to withdraw your application and reapply in the year prior to your intended year of entry.
If you request is successful:
- you must meet your offer conditions within the cycle in which you applied.
- Any offer of accommodation may be rescinded, and you may have to reapply in the year prior to entry
- Any University scholarship awarded to you may be rescinded and you may have to reapply in the year prior to entry.
- If you have been classed as Overseas for fee purposes, you will be required to make a pre-payment to secure your offer of a place. Failure to submit the pre-payment will be taken as an indication that you no longer wish to take up the offer of a place to study at the University and your offer of a place will be rescinded.
If you wish to be considered for a change of course, you can submit a request via email contacting myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Each request is considered on a case-by-case basis following the guidance outlined in the Admissions Policy. Due to the high level of competition for places, there is no guarantee that a request will be granted. If your request is granted, you will be issued with a new offer letter which will include any new offer conditions associated with your new course, where relevant.

If you are unsuccessful in your request, please refer to our flexible degree structure to understand about the different routes available to students at St Andrews. To have a chance of securing an offer on your selected course, you may be required to withdraw your application and reapply in a subsequent cycle.

If you have been classed as Overseas for fee purposes, changes to the course will not be considered if you have received a Confirmation of Acceptance for Study (CAS).
We aim to let you know our decision on your application as quickly as possible. If you applied through UCAS you can track the progress of your application through UCAS Hub.

All candidates can track their application through the My application portal.

To avoid missing out on key information, consider linking a personal email address to your application, not one for a school or college. Sometimes institutional filters might prevent information reaching you.