University Admissions - I'm willing to answer any questions!

[MrsBright]

I have worked in Uni Admissions at several different Unis, RG and non-RG, for over 20 years and am very happy to answer any general questions about UCAS/Offers/F&I Decisions/Clearing/Adjustment etc.

ByTheSea - extra-curricular at short notice
Most top Unis want evidence of relevant outside interests to the course they are applying for - so not just 'I do ballet' (assuming it not a performing arts course!) but that they have bothered to go to relevant public lectures at local Unis, that they have done reading outside the A level syllabus, that they have done other things that show they are good community members and in particular have started to engage with the world beyond school.

Your child could organise some volunteer work (local charity shop, local cubs/brownie pack, visiting at local care home etc etc) or run in Race for Life or similar. If they explain WHY they did this and (importantly) what they got out of it (working to a goal, working outside their comfort zone, changing their attitudes towards the elderly, learnt communication skills etc etc) then this has as much value as anything like DoE.

Circular - dropped grades
See my previous reply about this. The scholarship may make a difference but equally any sensible Uni will still not want to drop more than one grade in one subject. If grades are very dodgy, be careful about making this Uni a Firm - a safer choice without the ££ could avoid damaging disappointment on Results Day.

MrsBright I notice that I've been studiedly missed out. Please could you confirm whether you're an academic or on the admin team and if the latter, are you in the first port of call admin team or in a departmental team? If the latter, sciences or arts? That will help those you're responding to weigh what you say in relation to their own situation.

Many thanks, MrsBright. Very helpful.

Littleham - mitigating circumstances.

Each Uni handles this differently. Some pick out comments from References, others require forms to be completed/supporting evidence, others wont allow any more 'allowance' than the exam boards would give.

To be on the safe side, you should contact each Uni and explain briefly what has happened. They will tell you what they require you to do. They wont adjust offers at this stage but if they are prepared to take this into account at Confirmation, it usually means that if the applicant is a near miss they become a first-pick for 'still accept'. Be aware that it doesnt mean 'any grades, we'll take you' - if they fail badly, regardless of the circumstances, most Unis wont be interested.

And, please be aware that going to Uni is stressful/difficult enough for most newbies. With any unresolved 'issues' floating about this can often be much harder. Nowhere does it say you can only go to Uni straight from school. Sometimes withdrawing from UCAS, getting the grades, and taking some time out to reapply/get their head in a better place can be a wise move.

shockthemonkey - widening participation

Only UK schools are listed for WP consideration.

Mrs Bright - regarding accommodation - have seen scary stuff re people who have to go to an insurance offer being treated appallingly (friend's DC has this at Birmingham last year) - what happens re accommodation - allocated to firms only?

Hassled - EPQs

I can't speak for Oxbridge, but in itself at most Unis it usually makes little difference to the 'scoring' any applicant gets for their academic profile.

If the EPQ topic is relevant to the subject applied for and this can be brought out in the PS, that is a definite plus, but ultimately most Unis are interested in grades - an EPQ/no EPQ is unlikely to be a deal breaker.

However, on the plus side an EPQ is a very good preparation for the intensive independent study required at Uni - if thry have enjoyed doing the EPQ, then that may give them great confidence/valuable skills for what lies ahead, and it can give them an obvious topic to discuss at any interview.

Molio

I am both an academic and admissions staff. Most Unis have centralised admissions depts now, with academics often only involved in setting the decision criteria and sorting out any tricky cases.

Any 'admin staff' employed to make decisions will not be clerical staff and will be graduates, often with postgrad qualifications as well. So please dont assume that if 'an academic' isnt involved in reading your child's PS you are getting some sort of shoddy service. THe days when academics had time to read hundreds of applications are fast disappearing - both because of our teaching/admin workload and because of the expansion in HE numbers.

I am offering general advice here because I know many parents get confused about admissions and don't know who to ask for advice or info. You don't have to take my advice or you can disagree with it.

I'm probably in the happy position of not currently requiring advice MrsB but I do think a health warning should be given about 'general' advice. That said, your advice so far seems very grounded, I would say that. Are you arts or science?

In my department (humanities redbrick) we make differentiated offers for subject-relevant EPQs - usually one grade below the standard offer.

Just goes to show: you should always direct your queries to the department in question and please don't rely on well-meaning advice offered here.

THe days when academics had time to read hundreds of applications are fast disappearing - both because of our teaching/admin workload and because of the expansion in HE numbers

Again, this is the peril of generalisations: of the the 3 (RG) universities I've worked at in the Humanities, all decisions about whether to invite to interview or make an offer were made by academic staff in the Arts faculties. And in my experience across the last 20 years, yes we do read the application forms.

It may be different at other places but I've always worked in faculties, schools & departments where it's been thought (rightly IMO) that it's really only those who are actually teaching the courses who are equipped to make the judgements about whom to admit into those courses.

But as another academic in the Sciences writes upthread, they do it differently.

I think I"ve said this before, but really in my experience, there aren't "secrets" that we as academic staff won't or don't tell applicants. My advice would be fore parents to discuss the questions posted upthread with your DCs, and also discuss with your DCs how your DCs as the actual intending applicants/students -- will ask the questions at Open Days, Applicant Visit Days, or interview days (the discipline/s I work in still interview at the top end). Rehearse with your DCs how they can ask questions which wil help them make good informed choices that meet their individual needs & desires, and write an excellent application that will help them towards their goals.

Sometimes, it's all too easy to get the impression that parents think you can 'game' the system. I would advise against that way of looking at it.

MrsBright and namechange - many thanks, both of you - that's very useful.

MrsUltracrepidarian - accommodation allocations

This another one of those 'each Uni does things differently' questions I'm afraid.

Some Unis make guarantees to Firm choices, others to anyone who applies/goes Firm/get a confirmed place by a certain dates - and others use a whole raft of other criteria.

This is the sort of question to remember to ask at Uni Open Days - especially ask the student guides as they have the the experience of living in the accom provided and are more attuned to the current issues with their Uni's accom allocations etc. Or, at this stage in the admissions year I suggest you contact the Uni's Accommodation Office with any specific questions.

I'm not going to get into a bicker with any other University staff on this thread.

I will simply answer questions from parents and give out as much general advice as I can to clear up any simple confusions or misunderstandings about the UCAS admissions process.

upthechimney dd went to 10 different uni open days mix of offer only, visits, and open days. According to dd (shamefully us parents only went to 2 with her ) some of the questions that parents and dd asked relating to admission on the Q&A bit of the day the leader/lecturer of the talks for her course were unable to answer as they said that their uni admission process was centralised so can not give specific answers as they were not involved. Some lecturers did advise to go to the admission office to ask, dd say the line of peope was too long she gave up Would be great in the future if on these offer/open days if admission staff was present to answer those pesky questions.

I was surprised what you said, MrsBright, about personal statement showing commitment to things out of academia. I'm only saying that because I'm American. In our system extra-curriculars sometimes count for a huge amount (and sometimes not at all). I thought in English Unis that exCs virtually always counted for very little in an application, and that the application is all about having huge passion for the chosen subject. You seem to be saying the opposite.

My other question is...

Suppose bog-standard Uni has 40 spaces on a course. There are 20 applicants from China (high international fees!) and 200 from UK. Is there a guaranteed minimum number of spaces for UK students, or could the 20 Chinese all get in if they are indeed the best applicants?

Thanks MrsBright & others too.

I find this sort of advice really reassuring. I've noticed that universities are starting to post more individual advice online. So when a student or parent asks a question or wanders off down the wrong cul-de-sac, a university representative pops up online to put them back on the right track.

ragged

1. Extra curricular is still important here but is more focussed on 'subject relevant' or 'I am an interesting person who shows personal commitment/ambition via my involvement in ...'.

2. UK Unis have separate targets for numbers of Home and Overseas applicants, so there will not be a situation where an overseas applicant gets an offer/place that would otherwise go to a Home applicant.

coffeewith1sugar

At my current Uni, admissions staff are always at the big Open Days and do their best to be at as many 'Offer Days' as they can.

Emailing/phoning a Uni after an Open Day with specific questions can also clear up any other queries if there isnt anyone with the right sort of knowledge available for a chat on the day.

Are you science or arts mrsb? RG, former 94, million+ or.....? Just helps for context.

ragged and this sometimes means that having said we can take 150 home students because we have a lab that seats 50 and we have the staff to run each lab 3 times, we are then bullied persuaded to take the 20 Chinese students as well and somehow seat them on, er, what exactly?

Don't think we get an extra member of staff with the Chinese students' fees. They go to line the VC's loo seat in mink.

ooh... do courses publish how many spaces /target they have for domestic & international students? Is it a roughly same proportion for every course at every Uni? Does the proportion of international places go up for the more prestigious Unis or more prestigious courses, making them even harder for domestic kids to get in?

Which Uni (university.which.co.uk/) has some of this data in terms of how many applications vs. how many places, but this wont help you that much as it is by definition always at least a year out of date. With the HE arena likely to change again considerably after 7 May, it'll be even more useless.

Unis take vastly more UK/EU (home) students than Overseas. On some courses the target can be in single figures for Overseas, on others it'll be in double figures alongside several hundred for Home. Each Uni decides this sort of equation differently and for different courses - but it certainly isnt the situation that the grander the Uni the more Overseas applicants they take.

Thank you Mrs Bright.