The universities in the United Kingdom (with the exception of The Open University) share an undergraduate admission system operated by UCAS. Applications are normally made during the final year of secondary school, prior to students receiving their final results, with schools providing predicted grades for their students. Applications should be made by 15 January to the majority of undergraduate courses, but by 15 October for admissions to most courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, and for all courses at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Some art and design courses have a later deadline of 24 March. Applications received up to 30 June are sent to universities, after this date they go straight into Clearing. Offers are made by early May for applications received by 15 January and by mid July for applications received by 30 June. Applicants who apply late, do not receive or accept any offers, or who do not meet the conditions of their offer, go into Clearing, which opens in early July although it is busiest directly after A-level results are announced. Most UK providers advertise courses they have not filled during the standard application period through Clearing.
Around half of British universities had one or more courses that require an entrance examination as of 2012 in addition to secondary school qualifications. These include many medicine and dentistry courses as well as popular courses in law and mathematics. Some highly competitive courses also require students to attend an interview or audition.
Many universities now operate the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) and all universities in Scotland use the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) enabling easier transfer between courses and institutions.