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Experience UCL is an exciting opportunity for young people from our priority groups to visit UCL, learn about life as a student and hear about the support services we offer
Applications for this year's series of Experience UCL days are now closed. If you would like to be notified when the next series is running, please email us on wp.pre16@ucl.ac.uk.
Experience UCL is an exciting opportunity for prospective students to visit UCL and learn about life as an undergraduate. This activity is targeted at students from priority groups that are currently underrepresented in higher education and at UCL - see below for further details.
You will spend the day in a small group with other young people and will be accompanied by two current UCL students, who will show you around the UCL campus and share insights into their university experiences. During the visit you will also have the opportunity to speak to members of UCL staff to seek advice and guidance on topics such as applying to university, the support services available and financial support.
Experience UCL days will run on a weekday during UCL term time, meaning you may need to take time off from sixth form or college in order to attend.
Please ensure you carefully read the information below about the eligibility criteria for Experience UCL before applying.
- Who can take part?
Experience UCL is open to students who are currently in Year 12 or 13 (or equivalent in Scotland or Northern Ireland), studying at a state school or college in the UK.
Applicants must have achieved at least five A*-C/9-5 grades at GCSE and be currently studying a Level 3 qualification which would enable them to obtain a place on an undergraduate course at UCL. This includes A levels, the IB, a BTEC Extended Diploma or an Access to Higher Education Diploma. Applicants studying A levels must be taking at least two subjects from UCL's list of preferred A levels.
In their Level 3 qualification applicants must be likely to achieve a minimum of BBB at A level or the equivalent grades accepted by UCL in other UK qualifications, including the Scottish Advanced Highers and Welsh Baccalaureate. An overview of UCL’s entry requirements and policies for our undergraduate programmes, including details of grade equivalencies for accepted qualifications, can be found on our website.
In addition, applicants must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- are a student with a disability or long-term health condition;
- are a young carer;
- are a forced migrant (e.g. refugee or asylum seeker);
- are estranged from their parent(s);
- are currently or have experience of being in care (e.g. foster care, residential care, kinship care);
In the application form you will also be asked to provide the contact details of a teacher at your school or college who we can contact to verify that you meet the eligibility criteria for this activity. Please make sure you have spoken to your teacher about this before applying. Applications without a supporting teacher reference will not be considered complete.
It is advisable that you complete the application form with a parent/carer nearby, as they will need to complete some sections of the form.
Places on Experience UCL are limited. Whilst we will try to accommodate all applicants, this may not be possible and we will use the shortlisting criteria detailed in our Who we work with webpage to prioritise young people from the least represented groups. You will be awarded points based on the number of criteria that you meet. Applicants with the highest numbers of points will be offered the places available on the programme.
- Why take part?
- Learn about life as a UCL undergraduate student
- Be taken on a tour of the UCL campus
- Build your knowledge of the university application process
- Hear about the various support services offered at UCL
- Gain expert advice and guidance from UCL staff members
- When will Experience UCL days take place?
Event days will run between November 2024-January 2025.
Applications for Experience UCL days taking place in the Autumn term are now open and will close at 10am on Thursday 31 October. Any applications received after this time will not be seen. Click the button below to access the application form.
- Wednesday 20 November: Care Experienced and Estranged students
- Friday 29 November: Young Carer students
- Tuesday 10 December: Students with Disabilities (date option 1)
- Monday 27 January: Forced Migrant students
- Friday 31 January: Students with Disabilities (date option 2)
*Please note: You can apply to both dates for the event for Students with Disabilities, but you will only be selected to attend one of the dates. This is the same event, just with two date options to choose from.
Each day will be focused on a specific priority group or related groups, with the information presented on that day tailored to the needs of that group, so you are advised to apply to the day which is most suitable for your circumstances. For example, if you are a young carer, you should apply for the young carer day.
If you apply for a day that you are not eligible for (i.e. if you are not part of that specific group), if possible, you will be directed to other events and/or resources that may be more relevant to your circumstances. Applications from students not belonging to any of our priority groups will be rejected.
If you fit into more than one of the priority groups that Experience UCL is targeted at (e.g. you have a disability and are a young carer), you can indicate this in your application and we will allocate you according to availability.
Allocations will be confirmed and communicated to successful applicants once the application deadline has passed.
- What did past Experience UCL attendees think?
“I enjoyed all of today’s sessions, the campus tour was engaging and great to see what it’s like being a student. Learning about the finance applications and young carers was also really important. I also enjoyed meeting new people." (Experience UCL participant 2023-24)
"I liked that it was a small group of people, it felt a lot more relaxed and comfortable. I also liked that there were current students who gave us a tour." (Experience UCL participant 2022-23)
“Honestly, today was perfect! The presentation was clear and concise and the ambassadors provided relevant information and showed us the ‘UCL experience’. They were friendly and informative and just nice.” (Experience UCL participant 2022-23)
