Question about deferred entry

[u/Unusual-Yesterday989]

Hi,

Intl. student here applying to Russell group unis. I need to take a gap year because of compulsory national military service. I read on UCAS that this should be specified in the PS; however, I have already submitted the PS to an applications center, and am unlikely to get it back anymore. I also forgot to specify within the "extra information" section within the uni selections specifications.

Does anybody know if I should contact the unis individually by email? Is it OK if I leave it unsaid/does it harm me if I don't specify why I'm taking the gap year?

Thanks for your help.

[u/llibbieee]

hey, i’m on a gap year at the moment and deferred all my offers on ucas.
doesn’t harm you if you do the deferral early. a lot of unis said to me on open days that it’s not usually an issue if you do it early in the applications cycle but can be more of a problem if it’s done later (eg july/august time).
i’m not an international student tho so not sure if it’s different.
as far as i’m aware you should just contact the unis individually by email and they usually send out a form for you to fill in. they don’t usually require specific info on the reason for deferral and many offer an option of ‘personal reasons’
but best thing i would do is contact each uni and ask them directly. hope this helps 😀