What are Entry Profiles?

Entry Profiles can help you make that important decision about which universities or colleges and which courses to apply to. Many courses with the same title are actually very different in terms of content and methods of study. Which one will suit you best? At which university or college will you be happiest - a city university, a small college, a rural campus? Each offers a unique experience. But which one is for you?

If you are thinking about applying to higher education, you will need to gather and consider a lot of information before you are ready to make a choice. Entry Profiles provide details about courses, about the university or college offering each course, and about the information you need concerning their entry qualifications, selection criteria and admissions policy. This information is essential to enable you to make fully informed choices about entry to higher education.

Entry Profiles are compiled by staff at the university or college, who understand the kind of detail you need to know about their courses, and what kind of personal qualities, interests and experiences will be helpful for you to have, in order to be a successful student on the course you ultimately choose.

How do I find Entry Profiles on the web?

  • Entry Profiles can be found via Course Search.
  • When you find courses which interest you (by searching for a particular subject, or for courses at a particular university), look for the Entry Profile logo symbol after the course title on the results page. If the symbol is present, it means that the course has an Entry Profile.
  • When you click on the course title you will go to the main course information page. You will find the Entry Profile link below the information required to complete the application. This link will take you to the profile for that course.

Once I have found an Entry Profile on Course Search, what should I look for?

  • Read the information about the course. Ask yourself if this course covers the aspects of the subject that particularly interest you. How will it be taught? What career opportunities are open to you, if you study this particular course?
  • Does the Entry Profile tell you about the personal qualities the university or college is looking for in applicants for that course, or the experience that would be beneficial? Does this description sound like you?
  • Check the academic entry requirements. Are you studying the right subjects for entry to this course? Are you expected to achieve the grades or Tariff points required?
  • Make sure that you know where the course will be taught - sometimes it is not at the main campus. Will you be able to travel to lectures and tutorials easily, if you live some distance away?
  • Will you need to take an additional entrance test for this course? If so, you must find out how to apply for it. Is there an audition or interview as part of the selection procedure?
  • Look for comments about the course or about the university which have been written by current or former students. What they have to say will help you imagine what it will be like to be a student at that university or on that course.

The Entry Profiles are subject to a process of continuous development and updating. To help us with this task, we welcome your comments. Please send them to profiles@ucas.ac.uk.

Minimum entry requirements

Minimum entry requirements exist as a guide to the level of education required to study on each course. The universities or colleges you apply to will decide if your qualifications meet these requirements when they consider your application. It is important to realise that a university's or college's decision is likely to be based on your overall suitability for the course and not only on whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

You can find out which entry requirements apply to the course that you are considering by checking the university or college website, asking the university or college for a prospectus or by using Course Search and looking in the Entry Profiles section.