Your reference

All applicants applying to an undergraduate course via UCAS at the University of Warwick will need to submit a reference as part of their UCAS application.

What is a reference?

The reference is a chance for your school or UCAS centre to make us aware of any significant information relating to your application.

References should be submitted as part of the UCAS application form. Where this is not possible, we will consider references up to 4000 characters or 47 lines long that are submitted from an official school, college or institutional email address rather than an unofficial email address such as gmail/outlook.

What has changed?

UCAS have reformed the reference section of the application for applicants applying for 2024 entry. These reforms are designed to provide Universities with only the essential information they require to assess an application and allow advisers more time to support students in other areas of the application journey.

The reference has three distinct sections. We are not expecting to see a copy of the 'old style' UCAS reference. Applicants whose referees only complete section one will not be at a disadvantage. Warwick will not request an additional reference where sections two and three have not been completed.

Compulsory - Enter a general statement about your school/college/centre

For example:

Context of the school, college, or centre e.g. performance, intake demographics, progression rates to higher education etc.
The portfolio of qualification provision and any restrictions on options students may have
Information about the school, college or centre which may affect performance, such as significant staff changes, or damage to buildings
Any policies or processes used for predicting grades (e.g. internal assessments)

Optional - If applicable, enter any information about extenuating circumstances which may have impacted the applicant's educational achievement

We anticipate that this section will not need to be completed for the majority of applicants, as it is only for applicants who have faced significant mitigating circumstances. Referees should ensure, if completing this section, that they make clear whether the student's exam board has been made aware of any extenuating circumstances

Examples of this could include but are not limited to:

Commentary on discrepancies between GCSE and A Level performance
Disability/special educational needs
Illness
Bereavement
Caring Responsibilities
Whether an applicant is a refugee or asylum seeker
Lack of suitable home study environment
Support in place to help a student succeed

Optional - Outline any supportive information specific to the applicant and relevant to the course(s) applied for that you think universities/college should be aware of

Examples of this could include short, focused information about:

Applicant’s suitability for the course
Relevant academic skills and achievements - it is not necessary to write a paragraph for each subject
Relevant work experience
Relevant extra-curricular activities

Please visit UCAS's official website for more information about the UCAS reference reforms from 2024 entry onwards.

Visit UCAS website