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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

UCAS forms sent - just the waiting game now !

999 replies

snowyowl70 · 27/09/2013 23:07

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 ?

OP posts:
HorsePetal · 03/02/2014 17:59

Thanks Smile she's feeling a bit fragile just now anyway so keeping fingers crossed for news.

Keep us updated if you hear anything x

venturabay · 03/02/2014 18:13

17leftfeet just e-mail the university direct and ask the question. it can't do any harm and may do some good.

HorsePetal that must be extremely difficult with the two twins so out of kilter,? What subject has DT1 applied for - some subjects, especially sciences, are far quicker to get out their offers than so many English faculties. DS2 has history offers from York, UCL, Bristol and Oxford but still hasn't heard from Durham. In fact lots of his friends have still not heard for humanities subjects from Durham, though I think most scientists and MFL have. Is Durham her current top choice?

HorsePetal · 03/02/2014 18:22

DT1 has applied for Psychology so that may explain it Grin

Yes I think Durham top choice for her although we'd be thrilled with Kings as nearest for us Grin

thecalicocat · 03/02/2014 19:00

I we would like Kings too but not sure about the cost/dynamics of a London university...do you think it has a lot of international students or ones that live in London/nearby and go home at weekends so it's not very 'social'?? Slightly worried about DS2 if he gets an offer as has never really been to London or lived in a big city...we live in A Nice Town so he is a bit cossetted really in the whole scheme of things.....aaargh, but does go to a state school so isn't too cossetted :)

JugglingFromHereToThere · 03/02/2014 19:21

Haven't read the whole thread but can I just put a word in for Bath since I see it mentioned here - I visited recently and thought how lovely it would be to spend 3 (or 4) years at Uni there - just gorgeous (Passes the tea room test with flying colours!) And I saw that it does indeed come top in student satisfaction - so overall I was very impressed.
I went to Bristol which was also a good Uni city - very pleasant memories of my time there.

HorsePetal · 03/02/2014 19:26

calicocat I'm sure your DS would love it Grin and if you need someone to meet up for coffee so that we can stalk our offspring then I'm your girl!

Not sure of student mix - i can't think many people would be able to afford to go home at weekends. Just think how much fun they'd have living and studying in London!

HorsePetal · 03/02/2014 19:28

juggling DT1 has an offer from UWE - I think she'd like Bristol too although she's hoping for Reading x

JugglingFromHereToThere · 03/02/2014 19:36

I think I will be stressing to the DC to choose a place they'd like to be in for 3 years. Reckon I'd pick Bristol over Reading for example HorsePetal (but tbf I haven't spent much time in Reading) BTW Did you know Miranda Hart went to UWE ?! (Isn't she great in CTM ? Smile)
Anyway hope MNers will still be around in 2/3 years time when my dd is visiting/applying

HorsePetal · 03/02/2014 19:44

I didn't know that about Miranda Hart Grin

Did Bristol feel like a safe city to live in? Any areas to avoid?

thecalicocat · 03/02/2014 19:49

My DN went to Bristol for his MA and loved it! We live not too far from Bristol and it is a lovely place.Thanks for reassurance re Kings. Just need an offer now though....

JugglingFromHereToThere · 03/02/2014 19:59

Yes, I felt very safe in Bristol. There are nice studenty areas like Clifton and Redland. St. Paul's was the dodgiest area. That's where there were riots (not when I was there) and some friends of mine had their student flat burgled whilst they were in it. So an area to avoid I'd say.

FirConesAtXmas · 03/02/2014 22:15

For those looking at Warwick, my DS is in his first year there. The campus is fantastic, massive arts centre with lots of live entertainment.
His flat mates include students from Greece, Italy, France, HK and Uk students obv!
After the first year, students seem to move en-masse to Leamington, so don't seem to bother with Coventry, except for the train station.

HorsePetal · 03/02/2014 22:20

Thanks for that FirCones - the campus does look fantastic but I was a bit worried about the location :)

FirConesAtXmas · 03/02/2014 22:32

You're welcome. Smile

I think a campus university can be a great choice, specially in your first year if its the first time living away from home. We disliked that most of the uni accommodation in bristol was so far from the university (& having spent a week there DS was unimpressed by the lab kit they had compared to other unis he had visited)

But it's horses for courses, and the world would be a dull place if everyone had the same views.

yourlittlesecret · 04/02/2014 10:35

FirConesAtXmas Good to hear that about Warwick. DS is looking forward to his subject visit day next week. Did your DS have any difficulty in getting accommodation in halls?
I think he might go for Warwick as insurance but is worried about not getting accommodation. He's not as capable and confident as some 18 year olds. Living away from home in halls will be challenging enough for him without the prospect of having to rent outside.

FirConesAtXmas · 04/02/2014 10:38

DS had warwick as his first choice, so accommodation wasn't a problem. He's in Sherborne.
The student room is probably a good place to find out how insurance students faired, or the uni themselves?

Needmoresleep · 04/02/2014 13:08

You could check with Warwick. When we looked round they made a big thing about all first years living on campus, so I assume they have some sort of arrangement.

There was quite a difference in price and my impression was that the cheapest went first.

The problem with Warwick is that second year are all off campus. Our tour guide claimed that the 24 hour library was a great place to sleep if you missed the last bus.

HorsePetal, I can keep you company. DS has been accepted by his fifth choice and rejected by his first. he would be more than happy with choices 2, 3, & 4, but no news. All his friends seem to know where they are going, so it is difficult. It would be really nice if he heard something and then had a positive incentive to revise for his mocks.

Schoolchauffeur · 04/02/2014 13:44

Still waiting here too. DD applied in October and has an offer from UWE but all her other choices are in Scotland and still nothing- despite one of them sending us invitations to Parents Info Evening, Applicant Day, offer of private visit if these don't suit. Tempted to write back and suggest that before I take time off work to book in for one of these and/or incur transport booking costs ( they are all within next few weeks) they might let DD know if she has an offer first! She knows someone who received this info who was actually rejected last week by the uni concerned- talk about rubbing salt in the wound!

If Michael Gove wants to reform something, maybe he could have a go at the uni admissions scheme in this country rather than introducing more exams at age 13/14! It is so much more stressful for the kids than it needs to be, especially at a time when they should all be concentrating on Mocks etc

Littleham · 04/02/2014 17:54

Thanks to everyone for pros and cons of the different unis.

No news from Durham yet (German Dept) so am preparing DD for a 'no' as I think someone said that they have handed out a lot of MFL offers.

I rang admissions and they said that they try to complete all subject offers by end of March (earlier than UCAS deadline) - kind of an internal deadline. But obviously they have until May I think if they want.

lalsy · 05/02/2014 09:06

Yes, my dd still waiting for Durham too (having had acceptances from the other four well before Christmas). I think if they do offer now, it will be hard to persuade her to consider it as she is very keen on two of her others (Exeter and Warwick), and has been imagining herself at one of them for ages. She hasn't visited Durham so was less committed to it anyway. I wonder if offering much later than others does have an effect on acceptances?

HorsePetal, that sounds really stressful - I do hope you get some good news soon.

Littleham · 05/02/2014 09:47

I think the UCAS system needs re-designing, so that they apply for places with 'known' grades. It is too stressful for the teenagers, parents and university staff. Universities don't start terms until end of September / October, so I'm sure it could be done.

Perhaps Durham is waiting to see which of the Oxbridge applicants firm or drop them, before handing out last offers or rejections? Shame, because my dd is saying the same as your daughter.

Bonsoir · 05/02/2014 10:04

I agree that the UCAS system is lengthy and unwieldy.

Slipshodsibyl · 05/02/2014 10:15

UCAS did canvas views fairly recently. Universities would not/could not do admissions over the Summer break; Schools would not/ could not bring exams forward; exam boards could not/would not mark more quickly.

But it would be so much easier. There are several universities which can be awfully late making offers so keep cheerful.

MrsBright · 05/02/2014 10:16

This idea comes up regularly with UCAS and the Uni Littleham.

It sounds great but in practice here in the UK there are too many applicants, too many Unis and too much pressure on places. For some Unis they would have to make instant decisions in late August on thousands of applications - the logistics of this just aren't feasible.

In Australia where there is an overall numerical score for 18+ not a series of grades, the Unis publish 'cut off grades' for each course just as the results come out, and there is a mad scramble with many kids suddenly realising they need an extra 0.5 of a grade this year for their subject when last year they could have breezed in. Awful. Stressy, Panicky. And thats when there is realistically only about 3 or 4 Unis that are in the mix (ie. 99% of kids don't go inter-state for Uni) - so imagine if it was Britain with 100s. Nightmare. Lets not go there.

MrsBright · 05/02/2014 10:22

PS. You can't enter any Firm or Insurance choice until you have all offers in, so the idea of Durham waiting for Oxbridge Firms then deciding is clearly not the reason for the delay.

Its probably simply that Durham gets thousands of applications and doesnt have the extra weeks that Oxbridge does (earlier deadline) to get through them. Or they are exercising what is known as 'gathered field' - they wait until the Jan deadline and look at all applications together rather than giving out offers as applications arrive. This may allow them to predict numbers better or be more certain of the overall standard of applications.