UCAS Qs....

[mulranna]

PFB sent ucas form & payment last wednesday - ucas note says that it then goes to school to attach reference....

Should we expect a lag now? Will unis only see application once school have added the ref? Not sure how long this will take...

Just trying to manage expectations with PFB in the run up to the Christmas close down period.

Also how do they hear of offers - post or email?

yes unis see once ref attached and then application sent off. 2 unis made offers that week for my son, another the week after and we are still waiting to hear from 2 about 6 weeks later. we had acknowledgments from a couple of unis immediately saying they had received his application

Offers - sometimes post generally you get an email from UCAS saying a change has been made to your application.

They don't go to unis without references or didn't when I applied anyway.

You generally won't hear anything until Jan/Feb offer wise anyway now even if it all got sent today.

Good luck to them!

Some schools are slow and some are quick so you've no way of knowing unless you ask.

Likewise it's impossible to know how long the Unis will take to give out the offers - some may come back immediately while other may take ages.

What sort of course and what sort of Uni is your son applying to?
It be nice to get an offer or two before Xmas. Even if the DC are almost certain that they will get offers its still nice to actually get them

You'll get a confirmation email from UCAS when it receives the application from the school. After a few days you will be able to log into UCAS Track, which will keep you updated with any changes - you'll also get an email from UCAS when anything changes, eg an offer. Some universities will email and/or send a letter as well. Remember to check your spam box.

You may or may not get offers before Christmas - just depends on the course and the university as to how quickly you get a response.

Dont know how long school will take to attach ref - I imagine they would be pretty efficient though.

He has applied to do architecture at Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle and Queens - courses are vv popular so lots of applications to sift through -- also most shortlist to request a portfolio for review - before deciding to make an offer or not, so likely to be a while before we hear....

Do the uni admin dept shut down when the courses close for xmas ie end of this week? Or do they trundle on for another week or so?

Think I need to prepare him not to hear back until well into the new year...

DS2 sent his last week.
The college go over it with a fine tooth comb and then put their reference on, before sending it off to UCAS. Your DS will get e mails from UCAS when that has been done and he will get acknowledgements from each uni.
At DS's college each subject teacher writes a reference and then the HE team merge them into one. All of this is openly available on college website for student and parent to log in and view.
DS had to go and see the HE person who went through the form with him checking for errors (he had missed a "learner code" but that was all).
The universities all differ about how quickly offers go out, it also varies by subject within the uni.
I am not expecting DS to start getting offers before January.

With architecture I think you are right to think it might be a while before your DS hears anything. You could look on TheStudentRoom forums to see if other applicants have heard.
Good luck to your DS

Thats interesting - I was not aware that you can see the ref....also v good tip regarding checking in spam email....and will have a nosey in TSR

I think for Architecture you will be able to have a dig around to see when the interviews are likely to be held or portfolios submitted. Other students will have commented on this in the past. I would advise him to get the portfolio together over Christmas so there is not a mad scramble if he has to submit it in January.