If you have received an offer from your chosen UK university, well done! Your next step is to now distinguish the terms of your offer, and ensure that you meet them in order to be able to take up your place on your UK master's course.

First of all, you need to determine whether your offer is conditional or unconditional. This should be clearly marked on your offer letter from the university.

A conditional offer means that there are some requirements from the university that you have not yet satisfied.

An unconditional offer means that you satisfy all the requirements from the university.

Until you meet all the conditions of your offer, you will not be able to receive a CAS letter from your university, and therefore be unable to apply for your visa. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you convert a conditional offer into an unconditional as soon as possible. You will also be unable to accept an offer until it is unconditional. At most UK universities, you will not be able to apply for scholarships or accommodation, amongst other things, until you have officially accepted their offer. The deadline for offer acceptance varies between universities, so it is always best to double check on your offer letter.

All the conditions you need to meet to convert your offer to an unconditional will be listed on your offer letter. However, listed below are the most common conditions, and how you can meet them.

Academic requirements – as soon as you have your undergraduate degree certificates, transcripts and references, you must provide your university with copies. (The entry requirements, i.e. what level of undergraduate degree you need, to be accepted onto your master's degree will be clearly set out to you. If you have not met these requirements, and your results were different to those that you were expecting, please contact us on info@applicationuk.com).

English language requirements – your chosen course will have its own IELTS requirement, set by the university as the level of English language skills they believe their students need in order to successfully complete their master's degree. As soon as you have achieved the results you need, as set out in your offer letter, you need to provide the university with a copy of your test certificate as proof of your results.

In regards to the above documents, unless otherwise specified, only send the university copies as you will likely need the original documents when applying for your visa and when you register as the university at the start of your programme. As the majority of applications are now done online, a digital copy of your documents will suffice, however it is always recommended that you double check with your university.

ATAS certification – this applies to certain courses and programmes only. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) requires all international students planning on taking a 'sensitive subject' to have an ATAS certificate before they can apply for a visa to study in the UK. If your chosen master's programme is classed as a 'sensitive subject' this will be clearly marked on your offer letter. Find more information on the ATAS certificate, click here.

Some universities will also ask that students pay their course deposit before they are able to issue them with a CAS letter. Guidelines on your deposit, and how to pay it, will be available from your university.