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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:
mrswoodentop · 06/11/2011 21:04

Ds's also got bounced today for a minor mistake,we had already filled in the payment,he is going to sort out the problem and hopefully we don't have to pay again.Bit annoyed with him because I had asked him to check all these bits but hopefully it won't be too difficult to sort out.

lazymumofteenagesons · 06/11/2011 21:49

His got sent back and forwards a few times before it was okayed. The message on it then changed to reference written and waiting to be checked. Then reference checked and eventually application sent to UCAS. The last bit can only be done by the school. The deadline being so early is just so the school can check them all, sort out the references and then submit.

eatyourveg · 07/11/2011 08:41

Huge sigh of relief coming from this household this morning. Glad all is not lost. Thanks

adamschic · 07/11/2011 10:07

Glad you've got it sorted. DD's got sent in then she realised the next day there was a course which was worth applying for so we had to change it, fortunately it allowed her to do it but there was panic stations.

badgerhead · 08/11/2011 19:27

DD1 submitted her application at the end of half term, college added their reference at the beginning of last week & she had one offer on Friday with another three today! Only the last one to go & she isn't so worried about that as the main ones she wanted have all offered Grin. Celebrations in this house as that is the first hurdle crossed, she just now needs to get the grades & she will be off next September [sigh emoticon] Wine

eatyourveg · 08/11/2011 19:39

Blimey that was quick! her ps must be a corker. Well done to your dd. School sent ds's thing back ystdy and he's returned it today with the right ps just need school to get the thing off pdq, offers seem to be coming thick and fast according to tsr, don't want ds to miss out. His fail safe uni only takes 35 onto the course!

goinggetstough · 08/11/2011 20:18

badger well done to your DD, my DS is in the same lucky position, has 4 offers and just waiting for the last one which is also not one of the main contenders. Now he too can concentrate on getting the grades. Lets hope they are both working hard!

mrswoodentop · 08/11/2011 20:42

Ok getting worried now,ds's is with the school for references ,hopefully they will be pretty quick
Can I ask are offers in line with the guide offers ,have heard from two friends in RL whose children have been getting offers above those indicated on website/prospectus and they are getting feedback from others that offers ate very highSad.

goinggetstough · 09/11/2011 07:01

Mrswoodentop my DS's offers are exactly what was stated in the prospectus so maybe he was lucky.

ellisbell · 09/11/2011 09:36

offer was exactly as stated in the prospectus and so are those I have heard of from other students.

mrswoodentop · 09/11/2011 09:43

Oh good sounds like another nasty rumour then !

unitarian · 09/11/2011 10:24

I don't think they can make offers above what is stated in the prospectus. It would cause tremendous problems because students who applied in good faith would possibly be able to challenge such a decision legally.

More likely, some students have trusted information from the previous year's prospectus - or the current prospectus is worded so that the stated grades are the minimum that could be required.

eatyourveg · 09/11/2011 10:26

Ds's mate had a higher offer from Nottingham. Prospectus says AAB but offer came in as AAA. It was meant to be the insurance but its come in the same as all the others!

had always thought the prospectus as just a guide and they can offer what they like. Popular courses will be the first to up the requirements.

unitarian · 09/11/2011 10:29

In that case I stand corrected but I do think universities that do it are on dodgy ground.

unitarian · 09/11/2011 10:39

Googled subjects at Nottingham at random and got this for Pharmacy:

'Our typical A-level offer is AAB. One A-level must be in chemistry and at least one further science A-level from biology, maths or physics; the third subject can be chosen from a wide range of subjects, but general studies and critical thinking are not accepted; grade A in maths and grade C in english at GCSE are also required. '

Worded like this, they can offer what they like.

adamschic · 09/11/2011 10:55

When we went to a talk at Leeds they said that a typical offer was AAA-ABB what that means is that if someone is predicted AAA then the offer will be AAA as they want students to achieve their potential, however, someone with predicted grades of ABB will get an offer for ABB if the uni want them. I took this as meaning don't get your school to predict unrealistic grades, it's not always in your interest Grin.

I have also noted that a few uni's have upped their grade requirements from previous years but of course they will stand by what is in the current prospectus'.

We are getting seriously annoyed atm. DD had this email from one uni saying they are recommending her for an offer and has had nothing from UCAS, track hasn't updated and we don't know what they offer is. This was 2 weeks ago now. I've told her to ring but she is still waiting.

adamschic · 09/11/2011 11:11

Thinking about it, it was a science course so maybe it was code for 'we don't want would be medics choosing us as insurance'.

unitarian · 09/11/2011 11:19

It's perfectly ok for her to ring and ask what her status is. Uncertainty won't be helping her to get on with her studies so better to find out one way or the other.

lazymumofteenagesons · 09/11/2011 11:23

Adamschic - that sor tof wording usually means you are asked to an openday/interview. I think Bath word theirs in such a way. Has she been checking her emails as well as track because interview requests don't get updated on track. Is it a collegiate university? When DS1 applied to Durham the academic department recommend an offer and then it goes to the college.

mrswoodentop · 09/11/2011 11:28

One of the people we know with the higher offer is Notts too.The other was Leeds but for a design course

eatyourveg · 09/11/2011 11:28

It was engineering but they might make the higher offers to the early applicants on the basis that the candidates would probably also be applying to oxbridge and therefore not wanting them for their first choice.

adamschic · 09/11/2011 11:32

Oh I'm really confused about it. She had the email saying they (admissions) would be recommending her for an offer, it mentioned offer open days and she would be hearing from UCAS afaik. She then got an email from the uni with log on details for info about offer day that are scheduled and we decided on a date in Feb as we haven't looked round. It isn't a collegiate uni. No mention of interview or specific dates. Do you think we have misinterpreted it and it's not an actual offer?

Yellowstone · 09/11/2011 11:33

adamschic if it is Durham, the website will explain why there's this delay, which is now standard.

If it's somewhere else I'd definitely suggest a DC should ring, two weeks is dragging it out.

Yellowstone · 09/11/2011 11:36

Cross-posted.

I'd be completely confident it was an offer but I wouldn't want a DC to fret, so I'd get her to ring. She's hardly pestering after two weeks of no update on Track.

unitarian · 09/11/2011 11:39

adamschick It's not a rejection, that's for sure. She should ring and ask what her status is precisely.

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