UCAS forms sent - just the waiting game now !

[snowyowl70]

My super organised DD1 has had email today to say her forms/reference have been received and should be at her chosen Unis in the next 48 hrs !!!!! So the waiting begins - to those seasoned parents who have done this before can you remember how long they had to wait for their first responses ? At least 2 out of her 5 may call her for interview (MFL) so am guessing these might be fairly on the ball ?

Needmoresleep both my DSs have studied economics at university - both doing more mathematical BSc courses. The temptation to then go for city jobs is great because of the pay. But there are still alternatives. DS1 is currently an ODI fellow in a developing country getting far wider experience than a back room job in the city would offer. He has no interest in working in the city, is leading a life that his friends envy and has great future job prospects.

DS put in his UCAS about 2 weeks ago. He got a fairly quick A* AA offer from Southampton but has to wait until new year for the others.

Ok - next step - when is your DC going to firm/reject any of their offers. My DD1 99% sure of her decision but going to revisit her insurance offer on a visit day to check she's doing the right thing. That's in March but she doesn't need to decide til May I think ?? Is there any virtue in just submitting your decision once made or is it wisest to sit on the decision until the last minute?

Good question - don't know!
DS has a couple of applicant days coming up to help him make up his mind. I guess they can apply for accommodation earlier, and stand a better chance of getting their preferred halls, when they have made their firm choice.

Agree that it helps with getting first choice of halls but getting the uni right is the main thing. My son will probably go to a few applicant days, although came away from the open days thinking they were all fab so suspects he'll feel the same after applicant days.
Once he has decided he'll just firm so he can get on with the next stage.

My DD1s first choice though don't do accomodation on when you apply they just have a deadline of 1st August and as long as you apply by then you are guaranteed a place but not necessarily what you want !! However her second choice open their accomodation applications in March . So if she changes her mind about which way round to place them then it would benefit her to accept her place so she can book accomodation - all very confusing !!

Re. Firm & Insurance places .......

Please don't pressure your DCs into making this final choice too early.

They have MONTHS to decide. Many make the choice way too early and then regret it, not be fully aware that 'you can't change your F&I' means exactly that.

Their ideas will flip back and forth in the next few months. Let them mull over things quietly, and reach an informed considered decision.

Encourage them to go back to basics - re-read course-descriptions, including details of all the optional units (is this really the course I want to spend 3 years doing, or am I being a bit blinded by 'brand' of the University?).Think about the value of any Year Abroad or work placement that is on offer, look at their photos from individual Open Days, look at Open Day videos on Your Tube.

If you can be bothered re-visit the potential Firm on an ordinary working day for a quieter, more reflective walk around than was possible amid the circus of an Open Day. They really do need to do the 'What would leaving home and coming here for 3 years really mean?' bit, away from all the marketing nonsense.

Remember, anyone who makes this decision in April is far more likely to have made a wiser, more carefully considered decision that anyone who made it 2 weeks after they got their final offer.

Very good advice MrsBright, thank you :)

DD 1st interview down and an offer!

Huge relief as it was her second choice (out of four choice made) and to be honest the top three are all so good it was almost impossible to rank them anyway.

Although some applicants will have a very clear idea of their preference list well before they applied and will also have avoided official Open Days and visited in ordinary term time instead. I think you may be underestimating plenty of applicants MrsB - you make it sound as though the vast majority are completely naive and have failed to think about their application prior to applying.

venturabay - MrsB's advice is spot on. As a sixth form tutor I am witness to many students who have not gone to visit any uni before completing their UCAS, failed to read through the entry requirements despite many advising them.

I currently have a tutee who has not visited a single uni and will not go to any applicant day I also have another who is currently sitting on 4/5 rejections...

On a good note - my DS had his 5th offer through today so he has a number of applicant days to do (although he is convinced of his firm and insurance but I've put my foot down over him confirming on UCAS )

I read a thread on TSR about the perils of making a decision too soon, can't find it now to link to.
DS still undecided.
One thing that worries me is the prospect of not getting accommodation in halls if you end up at insurance uni.

With the number of private providers now running Uni accom, this isnt usually a major drama. If they do go to their Insurance, just get in the car and get down there and look at what is on offer fairly quickly - the Uni Accom Office will be used to this situation and will have sensible solutions

DS is going to Warwick next week for some kind of applicant day. I can't go with him but I'm hoping he can look at accommodation options.
I find the unis vary as to how much info is on their websites about accommodation.

just get in the car and get down there
I guess I should be grateful his first and second choices are only a four hour drive away it could have been worse, he didn't fancy Bristol or Edinburgh

yourlittle - we are purposely not going with DS to his applicant days as he needs to see it from every angle, including the travelling (he wants to come home at weekends in cricket season so he can continue to play for his club). I don't think he can make an informed decision if we accompany him as he will be the one living and studying there for 3 years

cricketballs - thanks for saying this!

Too many 17/18 year olds bring the parents with them to these events and learn bog-all in the process. They don't need that distraction folks! They need to look at things themselves and thing about the reality of being at Uni on their own. You aren't 'choosing a school for them', this is adult life - they need to make their own decision on this one. And yes, they need to travel on their own and cope with that on their own too.

Please, start to let go before they go to Uni!

Daughter has now had two replies after interview and two interviews left (she only applied to four).

Offer from her 2nd choice and rejection from her 3rd choice. She did love the 2nd choice even more when she went back for interview, so I really wouldn't be surprised if she ends up firming it in the end.

She will, certainly, be going to applicant day herself! She wouldn't want me there.

DS went to the original open day without me so I wouldn't have minded having a look at the accommodation.
While I understand the need to let go and foster independence it's important he might have a brain the size of a planet but he is daft and has no common sense

I'm still waiting to hear from Leeds trinity

My nerves are in tatters and I'm 35 so I'm not sure how teens do it!

cricketballs, the advice given by MrsBright may be good for some, but it's undoubtedly patronizing for a significant number of others. It's also inherently contradictory, in terms of are they adults or aren't they? Well meaning no doubt, but MrsBright underestimates Y13s, at least at the top end. Where do you teach, MrsB?

I have applied for psychology as a mature student. So far I have had offers from Loughborough (unconditional), Southampton and Nottingham (both conditional offers), and I am still waiting to hear from Bath and Kent. Frustratingly I am having to wait the longest to hear from the ones that are (at the moment) my favourites! 17leftfeet I can completely relate - I find myself obsessively checking UCAS Track multiple times a day! I know they supposedly send you an email when anything changes, but I saw my offer from Southampton on Track at least 3 days before I got the email from UCAS informing me there had been a change!

We will be going back to DD1s second choice (as she thinks at the minute) for their applicant day to check that she is making the right choices . She is adamant about her first choice because of the course and the Uni has excellent reputation for her subject and she just liked the feel of the place when she visited ! She did the open day before applying and then had an interview day which included sample lectures, viewing accomodation etc so think she is as well informed as can be .

Venturabay I'm sure you don't mean to be rude, but your comments regarding MrsB's advice are.

MrsB has said previously that she works in uni admissions. I, as a teacher and 6th form tutor echoed this comments as we are both aware of the significant numbers every year who have not taken on board this advice and found themselves in a situation that could have easily been avoided.

Just because your DC may not have needed to be reminded doesn't mean this advice is not needed

Thanks cricketballs.

Every year we take calls from kids who have made this decision as soon as they got their 5th offer and now regret it. From these conversations we know the most common reasons - they regraded the whole process as some sort of race within their 6th form or friendship group (first one to get all 5 offers and go Firm is the winner....), or they just panicked because they didn't actually understand the timeline and thought these offers, or accom, would disappear if they didnt make an instant decision.

Yes, heaps of applicants make good considered choices early on - but plenty don't. If only they had waited and thought about their choice a bit more they could have saved themselves a great deal of misery.

...and add to that, the fact it doesn't matter. So long as the decision is made by the relevant date then nothing will change in terms of the offers on the board or their conditions.

....or can you be first in the queue on halls if you firm early?