Can uni force a deferral? Oversubscribed

[SunSeaSangria]

Posting here for traffic as we are currently away, though packing to come home, and my DD is worrying.

She has an unconditional offer for her preferred uni on a popular course. She should easily meet the grades required.

She has just received an email saying they are offering a small number of students the option to defer and in return she would be guaranteed a place next year, £5000 payment this year, £5000 payment on starting the course next year and a £2500 bursary for travel/accommodation.

She doesn’t want to defer, will be living at home anyway so no change to accommodation, but in the WhatsApp group for that intake, lots of people are saying the same. No one wants to defer. Some are guaranteed their places due to routes they took or from a previous deferral and some seem to be worried that if there’s not enough people taking they offer, they will be deferred anyway. Can they do that?

It’s hard to make 10k in a year doing absolutely nothing. Wether you get it all at once or not doesn’t really matter if she puts it towards a house deposit or her time at uni but if she doesn’t want to I’m sure lots of students won’t be in the good financial position she’s in and will take it. Even if they forced deferral there’s no reason out of likely hundreds of students it would be dd

What’s the course?
if it’s something vocational like nursing etc tell her to take it!!
These courses are not “fun”, they are jobs, full of mature students, far fewer opportunities for socialising and it won’t make any jot of difference if she starts a year later or earlier.
It’s also very hard to have a PT job around your course which is a FT job.
If it’s something a bit more traditional with more of a focus on Uni life I can see not wanting to be a bit older than your friends.

Although it sounds like a good offer and definitely worth considering for those who wanted a year off anyway it is important to consider that while 12.5k is a lot at this end of life, it might mean working one less year in a high paying job at the end of the working life.

So say retirement for an individual was fixed at 68 regardless of when you start work. A student on a gap year might earn 20k, plus the 12.5k so 32.5k in that gap year. Then work from 22-68 years, so 46 years on a graduate wage. The same student starting work at 21 will have 47 years on a graduate wage and in general the final years of working are the highest paid, so without a gap year that 47th year of work is likely to bring in much more than 32.5k. So over a lifetime being a year behind is financially more costly.

I am personally in favour of gap years. Took one myself. It is important to get a life balance and for some students it is a considerable amount and might mean they can access uni financially now when otherwise they couldn't at all. It doesn't though mean it is financially beneficial in terms of lifetime earnings.

Sorry, it’s a conditional offer! She is well on par to exceed the conditions though.

Paramedic science is the course, she needs to be preparing for her C1 license.

It doesn’t say they will force a deferral, this is her own concern.

She shouldn’t worry about falling behind her peers. Once you are at uni nobody worries about your age. You are just all in the year group together. DD was offered a confirmed place but deferred for a year (no money) and took it. She worked and travelled and said she was much better equipped mentally and socially to cope with uni. She said you could tell who hadn’t had a gap year. I;d take the money and travel.
I needed to add that if the course is oversubscribed they will make the end of year 1 exams harder in order to get some people off the course.

Take the money!! What an opportunity!

agree others will be accepting it and not posting online about it

If it is a conditional offer I am amazed they have sent an email out today. They won't be able to communicate with you from tomorrow

Thanks everyone. It has definitely given her something to think about.