Are unconditional offers from Uni ever a good thing?

[LegoAndLolDolls]

Not that this applies to us yet as my eldest is in the first year of A levels and pretty adamant he doesnt want to go to uni. I'm not going to push him either way as the desision was easy after my A levels, back in the day before fees.

I remember my friend being really chuffed when her dd was offered a unconditional place, as it was kind of sold that she was so talented that they desperately wanted her. Two years later she didnt have any more points than one year of a degree and had got into such a mess ( unis lack of direction and input with her modules and letting her start modules only to be told they clashed and stopping them etc). She left near the end of year two with one years worth of points and two years of debt. If she want to carry on to get a degree she has to totally restart at another uni.

So, are unconditional offers always just a ploy to get bums on seats?

In my day (early 80s) it was real kudos to get an unconditional offer and they rwally were a sign that you were the brightest and the best and the university really wanted you. Certainly that was the case among my classmates (not me).
DH had an unconditional offer from Oxford, as did many of his friends.

The 80s were a totally different system though. Unconditional Oxbridge offers were only for applicants who had taken the entrance exam, which required knowledge beyond the A-level syllabus and critical analysis at a much higher level. You also had to state your first choice university on the UCCA form and the universities saw where you had applied, your preference and the offers other universities had made, whereas UCAS applications are blind. There were also far fewer applicants. There was very much a bidding war for the brightest students, whether you were a straight A student (no A stars then) or just the best applicant to that particular course at that university.

My interviewer at one university started the interview by saying that the tutor for admissions had told him to do everything to persuade me to reject a unconditional offer from my first choice but he had no idea how he was going to do that, although the fact that I had turned up was something Not that I was either the brightest or the best. It was just a different time and system.

In my day (early 80s) it was real kudos to get an unconditional offer and they rwally were a sign that you were the brightest and the best and the university really wanted you.

I'm a similar age and it was top unis and it was as rare as hen's teeth, I only know of one person (well it was EE - but you needed that for the grant) who got one, and that was from Oxford.

They were also sometimes given out if you had done well on the university's own entrance exams or in interviews.

The only lime it is something to be proud of is when a uni lowers its entry for a particular student eg a course that has AAA entry requirement but for a particular student it is lowered to BCC.

Also UCCA was JUST for uni, you applied for polytechnics individually.

Also UCCA was JUST for uni, you applied for polytechnics individually.

Polytechnics were through PCAS, not individually.

Polytechnics were through PCAS, not individually.

Not before 85/86 ish

@sashh

Polytechnics were through PCAS, not individually.

Not before 85/86 ish

Really?! I applied in 86 - PCAS must have been all new then. Didn't realise!

Ds got an unconditional offer from his first choice uni on AAA predicted grades. He went last September with grades of AAB. It worked for him as he knew he was going and where. Before he accepted he also had an offer reduced from another uni.

The poster who said unconditionals are not given to the brightest students, it’s untrue. Generally they do them to lock the brighter students in so they don’t go to higher ranked unis.

There will be no A Level exams this year. I bet a significant number of universities are happy to give unconditional offers because they think the grades awarded will be meaningless anyway.

Dd's bf got 5As in his highers sooooo...

@safariboot

There will be no A Level exams this year. I bet a significant number of universities are happy to give unconditional offers because they think the grades awarded will be meaningless anyway.

Really? They've campaigned for exams to be cancelled. I don't think they think exams will be 'meaningless'.

GRADES will be meaningless

Back in the day ( late 80's/early 90's) Oxbridge used to give 2 xE grade offers which I suppose were unconditional.

Someone in my year had one, actually ended up with poor grades and surprisingly Cambridge advised them to look elsewhere.

Not so unconditional after all