When do most universities send offers?

Most offers arrive between October and January. In 4,787 offers reported by students, 61% arrived by the end of December and 82% by the end of January.

Which universities send offers late?

LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London send most of their offers later than average. LSE and Imperial often decide in February or March.

What is the latest a university can make a decision?

If you applied by the 13 January 2027 equal consideration deadline, universities have until 12 May 2027 to make their decisions. UCAS publishes the exact date each cycle.

Not usually. A university that has not replied by February is far more often a late sender than a rejection. Check the university's typical timing before you worry.

When do universities send offers?

Most offers arrive between October and January, but a few universities make you wait until March. Based on 4,787 offers reported by students on OfferCheck, 61% arrive by the end of December, 82% by the end of January and 97% by the end of March.

Data: UCAS End of Cycle 2025 and university course pages, updated November 2026. Methodology

Month by month

The busiest month is October: 21.3% of offers arrive in October, 19.3% in November, 20.1% in December and 20.6% in January, then the flow drops to 8.2% in February and 6.7% in March. Early applicants, especially for Oxbridge, medicine and courses that open in September, hear first.

Offers reported by students on OfferCheck (2023 to 2026 cycles), by month received
Month	Share of offers	Cumulative
September	0.3%	0%
October	21.3%	22%
November	19.3%	41%
December	20.1%	61%
January	20.6%	82%
February	8.2%	90%
March	6.7%	97%
April	2.7%	99%
May	0.7%	100%

Early and late universities

Timing varies more by university than by subject. York (82%), Southampton (76%), Edinburgh (76%), Bristol (75%) send most offers before Christmas. At the other end, LSE (4%), Oxford (7%), Cambridge (8%), Imperial College London (11%), University College London (22%) had sent only a small share by the end of December. LSE is the slowest: the typical offer arrives in March. Oxford and Cambridge send almost all decisions together in January after interviews.

Share of reported offers received by the end of each month (universities with 40 or more reports)
University	By December	By January	By March	Reports
University of York	82%	97%	100%	190
University of Southampton	76%	95%	100%	125
University of Edinburgh	76%	88%	98%	49
University of Bristol	75%	86%	97%	492
Queen Mary University of London	75%	95%	99%	485
University of Manchester	75%	88%	99%	386
University of Exeter	73%	94%	100%	263
University of Warwick	70%	80%	94%	604
University of Nottingham	69%	89%	99%	359
University of Leeds	69%	86%	100%	144
Lancaster University	69%	90%	100%	49
Cardiff University	68%	88%	98%	59
University of Birmingham	62%	87%	100%	185
University of Liverpool	54%	96%	100%	48
Durham University	50%	77%	99%	149
Newcastle University	49%	82%	95%	45
King's College London	42%	74%	95%	316
University of Bath	37%	64%	94%	142
University College London	22%	40%	89%	195
Imperial College London	11%	27%	100%	75
University of Cambridge	8%	98%	99%	88
University of Oxford	7%	99%	99%	68
London School of Economics and Political Science	4%	7%	65%	136

Timing by subject

Across the subjects with enough reports, mathematical sciences offers came earliest (72% by December) and business and management latest (52%). Social sciences and law sit in the middle at about 59% and 58% by December, partly because the selective universities that dominate those subjects decide late.

Subject area	By December	By January	Reports
Mathematical sciences	72%	85%	456
Psychology	71%	87%	129
Engineering and technology	69%	84%	380
Historical, philosophical and religious studies	69%	90%	141
Computing	68%	86%	658
Physical sciences	60%	77%	235
Social sciences	59%	80%	1,604
Law	58%	84%	637
Business and management	52%	80%	323

Why some universities are slower

Late senders are mostly the most selective universities. They receive many more applicants than places, so they wait until most applications are in before comparing them, and many use admissions tests or interviews that add weeks. Oxford and Cambridge send decisions together in January after December interviews. LSE and Imperial review large parts of their pool after the January deadline. Universities with plenty of places for a subject can decide each application as it arrives, which is why they send most offers before Christmas.

Where you apply within the cycle matters less than many people think. Applications made in October are often decided sooner, but a university that holds applications until after the deadline will not decide yours any faster for arriving early.

What to do while you wait

Check whether your university is a late sender before reading anything into silence. A March decision from LSE or Imperial is normal.
You cannot reply to an early offer straight away: you choose your firm and insurance once every university has decided, so there is no advantage in rushing.
If you get an interview invitation, the decision usually follows within a few weeks of the interview.
Use the wait to check that your choices are balanced: the lowest offer rate courses are the ones most likely to say no.

When the offers are in, read which offer to firm. If you have not applied yet, the UCAS deadline for 2027 entry is 13 January 2027.

See the odds for your own five choices

Add your predicted grades and courses. OfferCheck compares each one to its typical offer and offer rate, and flags the chance of ending up with no offers.

Check your 5 UCAS choices

Frequently asked questions

When do most universities send offers?: Most offers arrive between October and January. In 4,787 offers reported by students, 61% arrived by the end of December and 82% by the end of January.
Which universities send offers late?: LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London send most of their offers later than average. LSE and Imperial often decide in February or March.
What is the latest a university can make a decision?: If you applied by the 13 January 2027 equal consideration deadline, universities have until 12 May 2027 to make their decisions. UCAS publishes the exact date each cycle.
Is no news bad news?: Not usually. A university that has not replied by February is far more often a late sender than a rejection. Check the university's typical timing before you worry.