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Higher education

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Original poster

Support thread for anyone applying through UCAS this year

999 replies

Lorelai · 02/09/2011 18:34

Following on from a thread in chat I thought I would start this so that we can hold each others' hands through the UCAS process with all its challenges.

Who's with me?

OP posts:
ellisbell · 02/11/2011 15:05

offer received from back up university, hopefully it will not be the only one.

adamschic · 02/11/2011 16:12

ellisbell, it's always a relief to receive the first offer. DD is still waiting to find out what exactly hers is as track still hasn't updated but she has had a couple of emails from the uni about it.

ucasfracas · 02/11/2011 17:23

An offer here, a backup really but very pleased:-)

lazymumofteenagesons · 02/11/2011 18:55

Unconditional offer received here from Kings College. He is very pleased.

adamschic · 02/11/2011 21:13

Offers coming in thick and fast :)

Wondering how the legal challenge to the fees is going, hearing yesterday and today. Worth keeping an eye on.

ellisbell · 02/11/2011 21:35

adamschic it is, isn't it. Would be better if they were more enthusiastic about it but this child is an academic snob. Lazymumofteenagesons was Kings the first choice? It would be great to have the certainity of an unconditional.

Yellowstone · 03/11/2011 11:47

Wow, that's bad ellis, what an attitude. Why would she even apply to a university that she feels is beneath her? Especially since a more humble student might have been glad of the place.

I'm very glad that none of mine are snobs, academic or otherwise, it's not a quality their school or I would encourage.

adamschic · 03/11/2011 12:27

Just for the record when I said 'offers coming in thick and fast' I meant generally not for DD. She is only waiting on another offer/rejection. Her other choices will be either rejections or a very slim but hopeful chance of interviews. Fingers crossed!

We are planning on going down south for offer open day in February, as her one offer is from somewhere she hasn't visted yet.

lazymumofteenagesons · 03/11/2011 18:19

Ellisbell - he went to an open day at Kings and really liked it. He says his first choice is UCL but did not manage to get to an open day. If he gets an offer he will need to go to a post offer day in order to make his decision. I think UCL as first choice is based on its general reputation and the fact that he has alot of friends there. Accomodation wise he stands a much better chance of getting into halls for UCL than Kings.

It is only unconditional cos he already has his A levels.

mrswoodentop · 03/11/2011 18:28

Ds form is finally going in this week ,much young and froing over whether to try for Politics and Parliamentary studies as Leeds instead of straight Politics,very put off by the inter row.However apparently almost everyone who applied for PPS gets considered for politics too so he has decided to chance it.

One friend already has an offer from Bristol for geology ,just hope ds gets at least one offerConfused

quirrelquarrel · 03/11/2011 19:49

I'd be kind of happy going to the one I've got an offer from...it's a good uni! But when I told my dad he was all, "ah...that's the rubbish one out of the way then" Grin think it'll be rather a letdown for him when I get rejected from Oxford, it's all he can think about (MLLAT went terribly yesterday).

ellisbell · 04/11/2011 15:49

what makes you think this one is a girl, yellowstone? Their school actually encourages academic snobbery. As it's a back up university its grades are below the ones they are predicted but I dislike the concept of "beneath them"

Yellowstone · 04/11/2011 17:58

It's pretty irrelevant whether it's a DD or a DS, surely?

The school encourages arrogance! That's hardly to its credit. How absurd.

ellisbell · 04/11/2011 18:12

had to dash of earlier - lazymumofteenagesons mine did get to the UCL open day and really liked it, as did the people they went with. However they thought the accommodation was "a bit scrappy". (They saw 2 or three different places.) Post offer days seem to me essential, even if you did get to the open day.

javo · 05/11/2011 18:17

Don't worry if all the offers do not arrive quickly - DD had to wait on Bristol last year until 4 days before the deadline for confirming your firm and insurance (in March or April I think) even though her UCAS form went in first week of October- as did many of her school mates (all got rejections! -seemed unfair to make them wait so long).

quirrelquarrel · 05/11/2011 18:30

Well, that's not exactly enouraging, is it! Whether it's a rejection or a no-reply...

ellisbell · 06/11/2011 09:02

some universities take longer than others to decide, checking out the student room website will show whether your child's combintion of subject and university are making offer yet. Universities clearly have different policies on when they start to issue offers and even within a university subjects seem to differ.

Even if offers are being issued for your child's choices it doesn't mean they won't be made an offer. Being kept waiting until 4 days before the deadline suggests they were borderline for offers and would have been accepted if a few more students had declined their offers. An early rejection might have been easier to deal with but woud suggest a poor choice.

mrswoodentop · 06/11/2011 09:21

It does seem odd that some places are offering so early ,one of ds' friends already has an offer from Bristol,whilst others wait for a gathered field.
Dreading this slightly as one of ds choices traditionally interviews in late feb and offers in early March.I suspect it is partly to make sure that people really want that course and are prepared to wait but nevertheless that seems the other extreme,especially if by them you are under pressure to register for accommodation at others

ellisbell · 06/11/2011 09:35

Well accommodation is always going to be a bit difficult because you don't know if your child will get the grades for their first choice/ if that university will accept them if they miss slightly. Uncertainty is never pleasant but they could always have taken a gap year, still could if necessary.

mrswoodentop · 06/11/2011 10:39

Gap year seems a bit extremeGrinWhat I mean is that it just seems odd that there isn't an agreed timetable for these things ,saying that you will offer accommodation on a first come first served basis and then opening accommodation before UCAS closes for offers just adds pressure at a time when they are already starting to lose perspective at a very stressful time.Agree it has to be lived with but irritating.
By the way unless you have a year off nearly all accommodation has to be applied for before the results are in

mrswoodentop · 06/11/2011 10:45

Sorry didn't mean gap year in itself extreme,just as a response to accommodation uncertainty.

Ds psychologically prepared for gap year should it come to that,we are lucky to have some options.

Yellowstone · 06/11/2011 10:52

I'd have thought it unnecessary to open accomodation before the main closing date for offers mrswoodentop, if some universities manage to hold off why can't they all?

The whole offer thing is extremely multi-layered. It varies between universities, between departments and within individual departments as well. It's hugely complex and very strong candidates can be kept waiting for offers right up to the deadline. It's nearly impossible to work out why some things are done the way they are, though there's always conjecture.

eatyourveg · 06/11/2011 19:02

Form went off today but with the wrong version of the PS!!!!

All my fault apparently because I "rushed" him, even though the school deadline was the last day before half term. ds has emailed school, not sure if they will let him change it - hope so as there's a blinding grammar gaff in the version thats gone. Ucas website says school check it and send it back if there is a mistake. I assume that would be if he left off exams or missed something like a course code, not grammar gaffs. Think he might have blown it - its an English degree too! Sad

lazymumofteenagesons · 06/11/2011 19:17

Eatyourveg - When you (your son) submit the form it goes to the school first and they send it back to you if they find a mistake. They also attach the reference at this stage. Do you mean it has gone all the way through with the grammtical error? DS1 got his back to change the fact that he had or hadn't put a capital letter after a semi colon (can't remember which!). I was impressed with their proof reading. If it has only gone to the school they won't have sent it through yet hopefully.

eatyourveg · 06/11/2011 19:37

lazymumofteenagesons Not sure what you mean by "all the way through". School gave him a paper copy of his reference on the day of the deadline just before half term. Does the whole application get emailed back to him to send through or just the ps? I thought school sent all the forms off in one go hence the deadline. Its only gone as far as ds filling in his choices, exams etc and pressing send which resulted in him getting an email to say something like school will attach a reference and arrange payment.

If your ds got it sent back for capital letters etc then it looks like he should be ok especially as he has sent school an email pointing out the mistake and attaching the right version. Fingers crossed.