Problems accessing the Agents’ Portal

If you are having problems accessing the Agents’ Portal, please contact your International Officer.

About the Agents’ Portal

The Agents’ Portal is an online system which allows you to submit applications on behalf of Postgraduate applicants applying to study at the University of Aberdeen. Undergraduate applications must be submitted via UCAS. If you wish to submit an undergraduate application via UCAS, please contact your International Officer.

You can use the Agents’ Portal to check the progress of applications that your Agency Branch has submitted and to upload documents after the application has been submitted, for example, documents required in order to satisfy offer conditions.

Please note that all decisions, including offers and rejection decisions will be sent by e-mail to the Agency Branch general e-mail address. To change this email address, please contact your International Officer.

Completed Acceptance and Financial Guarantee Forms should be sent by e-mail to pgadmissions@abdn.ac.uk.

How does the Agents’ Portal work?

All staff in your Agency branch who have an Agents’ Portal account can see applications submitted by other staff in your branch. For example, if one staff member starts an application, a different member of staff can complete and submit it and any of your branch colleagues with access to the Portal can view the progress of applications submitted by you any of your branch colleagues can upload documents in support of an application already submitted by you.

Applications are transferred to the University's Admissions System, this transfer occurs every 5 minutes.

Decisions are processed by the University's Admissions Team within the Admissions System. The Agents’ Portal receives instant, live data from the University of Aberdeen's Admissions System.

Your responsibilities as a user of the Agents’ Portal

• Information supplied to you by applicants and contained within the Agents’ Portal is confidential. You must never share information about applicants to anyone outside of the University of Aberdeen or outside of your Agency.
• When you are allocated with a log in and password for the Agents Portal, you must never share your log in or password details with anyone else.

Application statuses

The Agents’ Portal reports the following application statuses:

Application submitted

The application has been submitted and currently being considered by the University of Aberdeen.

Decision approved

The Admissions Team has received a decision about the application from the Selector.

Decision letter issued

The Selector's decision has been processed by the Admissions Team. An e-mail containing the decision will be sent to the Branch general e-mail address.

Decision processed

The application has been unsuccessful. An e-mail confirming this will be sent to the Branch general e-mail address.

Offer declined

The University's offer decision has been declined.

This can happen for a number of reasons: the applicant has decided that they do not want to accept the offer of admission; the applicant had applied for more than one programme and held more than one offer for programmes which had the same start date or for durations which over-lapped, as soon as they accepted one of the offers, the other offer was automatically declined; the applicant closed their PG Applicant Portal Account while holding an offer of admission which resulted in the offer being automatically declined.

Withdrawn

The application has been withdrawn and is no longer being considered by the University.

This can happen for a variety of reasons: the applicant has decided they no longer wish to be considered; the University has requested additional documents so that a decision can be made but the documents were not uploaded on time; the University is unable to accept the applicant due to visa sponsorship or other administrative reasons; the applicant has accepted an offer for a different application while this application was under consideration; the applicant has closed their PG Applicant Portal Account resulting in this application being automatically withdrawn.

Navigating around the Agents’ Portal

My applications

After logging in, the Agents’ Portal always opens on the 'My Applications' page. You can return to this page at any time either by clicking on the My Applications link which appears at the top of every page within the application, or by clicking on the 'My Applications' link which appears in the navigation bar to the left of the screen.

Search

The Search field is found on the 'My Applications' page. You can search for an applicant by Personal ID Number, First name, Surname, Firstname and Surname or by e-mail address. Enter the search criteria in the Search bar. Use search to check the status of an application. The search functionality will only return data if an application has been submitted by the Agency Branch or Branches that you have been assigned to.

My branches

The 'My Branches' link can be found in the navigation menu to the left of your screen. Click the My Branches link to check which branch or branches you are assigned to. If your Branch details are incorrect or if they change, click the 'Details incorrect?' button to send an e-mail to your International Officer.

Contact us

The 'Contact us' link can be found in the navigation menu to the left of your screen. Use the Contact Us link to find contact details of the University of Aberdeen's International Office team members.

Refresh

The Refresh icon () in the address tab can be used to gather the most up to date live application status information from the University of Aberdeen's Admissions System.

Applicant Personal ID Number and Application Number

Each applicant is allocated a unique Personal ID Number which is a 10 digit number starting with the number 8.

Applicants and Agents can submit multiple applications for the same applicant using the same Applicant Personal ID number. Each application submitted will be allocated an Application Number which consists of the letter D followed by 3 digits, each allocated in sequence, e.g. D001, D002, D003 etc.

Starting an application

Create new applicant

The Create new applicant button is found on the My Applications page. This button allows you to create an application for an applicant who is new to your agency.

Create another application

The Create another application button will be displayed on the My Applications page after you have search for an existing applicant. This button enables you to start a new application for that applicant.

Selecting the programme

If you know the name of the programme the applicant wants to study

You should enter the name of the programme in the search box and then select it from the search results.

If you are not sure about the name of the programme

You can use the search facility to find groups of programmes, e.g. searching for 'PhD' will bring back a list of all PhDs currently on offer at the University of Aberdeen. Alternatively, you can click on the List of Taught Programmes or the List of Research Programmes. Most entries will have a link to the prospectus entry for the selected programme where you can find more information about it.

Application form

The application form is broken down as follows:

Summary page

Contains a summary of the progress on every application form page

Page 1: Programme Details

Details of the programme start date, mode of study and funding source are required here. For research applicants you can optionally enter the name of a proposed supervisor, upload a research proposal and enter a Scholarship / Studentship Title or code, if applicable.

Page 2: Personal Details

The applicant's name, date of birth, permanent domicile, country of birth, country of legal nationality and residential category, are required here. Some parts of this form will be pre-populated with information provided when the application was created but can be updated here if necessary.

Page 3: Address

The Branch address is pre-populated in the background but you must provide details of the applicant's permanent home address. If the applicant's permanent address changes after you have submitted the application form, please contact Postgraduate Admissions so the record can be updated.

Page 4: Educational Qualifications

Details of the applicant's academic achievements should be provided in this section. If the applicant is from outside the UK or European Union, you are asked to provide information about any and all study they have previously undertaken in the UK.

Page 5: English Language Skills

Information about the applicant's English language ability should be provided on this page. If English is not the applicant's first language, evidence of English proficiency must be supplied during the Admissions process. Details of acceptable evidence of proficiency in English can be found here.

Page 6: Employment History

Please enter details of the applicant's current or previous employment, paid or unpaid, or research that is relevant to their application. If it is a requirement of the programme that the applicant is applying for, a Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resumé should be uploaded here.

Page 7: Disabilities

If the applicant requires any disability-related adjustments or support, it is helpful if the University is informed at an early stage. You can optionally supply information regarding any disabilities, medical conditions or specific learning differences in this section or, the applicant can contact us directly by e-mail at student.disability@abdn.ac.uk.

Page 8: Referee Details

If it is a requirement of the programme the applicant is applying for, please enter details of up to two referees. Referee(s) must give their permission before their details are submitted.

Page 9: Supporting Documents

Use our enhanced document uploader facility to upload documents to support the application. A degree transcript and personal statement must be uploaded for every application.

Page 10: Additional Information

Personal information about the applicant is gathered for statistical purposes only and will not be made available to staff considering the application for admission.

Declaration/Submit Application Page

Prior to submitting the application you will be asked to sign a declaration stating the information in the application is correct and that the applicant has been informed of agrees to the University's regulations.

Remember that you cannot submit an application unless you upload the applicant's transcript and personal statement before submitting the application.

Completing the online application

Delete

This button is displayed on each page of the application while you are completing it. It is also displayed in the applicant record if an application has been started but not submitted. This button allows you to delete an application which is incomplete and which hasn't been submitted yet.

Edit

This button will be displayed on the My Applications page after you have searched for an existing applicant who has an incomplete application which hasn't expired yet. Use this button to continue and complete an application started by you or by a colleague in your branch. This button will only be displayed if an application has not been submitted yet.

Extend

This button will be displayed on the My Applications page after you have searched for an existing applicant who has an incomplete application which hasn't been submitted yet but which is close to expiring. Applications should be submitted within 30 days of being started. However, if the application hasn't been submitted within 25 days you will be given the option to extend the submission date by a further 30 days. This option will expire if you did not request an extension before the 30^th day. Any applications which are not completed and submitted before the expiry date will expire and can no longer be edited. If this happens, you should simply start and submit a new application for that applicant.

My applications

This link can be found at the top of each page of the application or in the left hand navigation menu. If you need to exit an application while completing it, you can click on the My Applications link at any time. So long as the expiry date is not arrived, the data entered so far will be saved and you can return to the application, using the Edit button later. You can also exit an applicant record by clicking on the My Applications link at any time.

Summary page

The Summary Page within the application shows how much of the application has been completed already, before the application is submitted. While you are completing the application, you can click on the Summary Page button at any time.

Managing submitted applications

View

This button will be displayed within the applicant record on the My Applications page after you have searched for an existing applicant who has a submitted application. Use this button if you want to upload documents to an application that has already been submitted.

Download PDF

This button will be displayed within the applicant record on the My Applications page after you have searched for an existing applicant who has a submitted application. The button is also displayed via the View button. You can download a PDF of the application. The PDF will display the details contained within the application as they were at the point of submission.

Withdraw

This button will be displayed within the applicant record on the My Applications page after you have searched for an existing applicant who has a submitted application. The button is also displayed via the View button if the application has been submitted. This button is displayed and allows you to withdraw the application only if that application that doesn't have a decision yet.

Direct applicant switching to an agent applicant

If an applicant applied directly but wants to employ you as an agent, simply contact your International Officer, using the appropriate form (Request for Approval to Assist Direct Applicant or Request for Approval to Assist Direct Applicant for Immigration Advice and Visa Processing). If the request is approved, the International Officer will transfer the application over to your Agency. There is no need for you to submit a new application on behalf of the applicant. Once the transfer has been done, you will see the application in the Agents’ Portal.

Applicants with multiple applications

The Personal ID allocated to an applicant may already have been allocated to that applicant if they have applied directly to the University of Aberdeen using the PG Applicant Portal.

Therefore, you might notice that the first application you submit for an applicant might have an application number D002 or higher. Similarly, an applicant may have applied using a different Agent so the same Personal ID would be allocated. If the applicant has applied directly via the PG Applicant Portal or via a different agent, you will not be able to see those applications. The applicant will be able to see applications in the PG Applicant Portal that you have submitted on their behalf, if they have PG Applicant Portal Account.

If an applicant has submitted a direct application or has submitted an application via a different agency from yours, you may find that the application you have submitted on their behalf has been declined without your knowledge. This would happen if the application start dates overlap and the applicant has accepted an offer for one of their other applications.

Why can't I submit an application?

Overlapping applications

When trying to submit an application, you may get a message telling you that an application already exists for this applicant for the same programme and same start date or that the applicant has already accepted an offer or has been cleared for admission the same programme or overlapping dates.

You will be given the choice to change the programme and/or the start date but, please consult with the applicant first.

Why has an offer been declined without my knowledge?

Overlapping applications

If an applicant holds offers for two or more programmes with start dates and/or durations which overlap, as soon as one of the offers is accepted, the other offer will be automatically declined.

If the applicant subsequently decides to decline the offer that they originally accepted and now wishes to accept the other offer, please contact pgadmissions@abdn.ac.uk.

Applicant has closed their PG Applicant Portal account

If the applicant has decided to close their PG Portal Account while holding an offer of admission for an application submitted by you, this will result in that offer being automatically declined.

Should the applicant still wish to be considered for the application submitted by the agent, a new application must be submitted.

Why has an application been withdrawn without my knowledge?

Overlapping applications

If an application has been submitted on behalf of an applicant for a start date and/or duration which overlaps with another application for that applicant, if one of the applications results in an offer which is accepted, the other application which is still under consideration will be automatically withdrawn.

If the applicant subsequently decides to decline the offer that they originally accepted and wishes to be considered for the other application, please contact pgadmissions@abdn.ac.uk.

Applicant has closed their PG Applicant Portal account

If the applicant has decided to close their PG Portal Account while an application submitted by you was still under consideration, this will result in automatic withdrawal of that application.

Should the applicant still wish to be considered for the application submitted by the agent, a new application must be submitted.