Unconditional offers - truly unconditional?

[ExcitementBubble]

My son has unexpectedly been given an unconditional offer from his second choice uni if he makes it his firm choice. He’s still waiting to hear from his first choice. He’s very happy though as he’s had a few educational set-backs and this would give him some certainty for a change.

My question is - is this truly unconditional? If he fails altogether will they still honour it?

He’s taking a BTec so a lot of the modules are in the bag so it’s an unlikely scenario but I would love to know....

[TheAlchemist101]

In 80s you got an ‘unconditional’ offer from Oxbridge of 2Es if you decided to take and pass the oxbridge entrance exam otherwise you accepted a conditional offer which was usually 3A’s. Everyone also had to pass the interview.

[KeepHimJolene]

We now have all 5 offers, 2 of which are unconditional, DD's 1st and 4th choices. I'm super proud of DD, she is accepting her first choice on an unconditional this week.

[bruffin]

Btec also offer a lot more practical experience. Dd has to do a day a week placement, so far a nursery, day centre for people with Alzeimers and a SN school. Also a week at a respite care holiday scheme. She did do volunteer work before but this gave her new opportunities and took her out of her comfort zone. Her uni course will have a 1000 hours placement so it will have been good preparation.

[ExcitementBubble]

My DS seems to panic in exams and not do as well as he is predicted to, hence the AS disaster that led him to the BTec. There are no exams in his degree course though so BTec grades are a far better indication of how he’s likely to do.

[raisedbyguineapigs]

I've taught both A Level and Btec in my time. Btecs are extremely challenging. There is no coasting as its constant coursework and exams from the start. Its not endless remarkings until they have it right either. If only teachers had the time!.

[raisedbyguineapigs]

When I was at 6th form many moons ago, someone in my class got an offer of 2 E's from Oxford to read English. They did it on his interview and application. I think some uni's do and should take into account more than just grades. If the course is vocational, most of the Btec units have been marked and he did a good interview and personal statement, that is good enough reason to give someone an unconditional offer. Many A level students are good at remembering facts but may have problems when they are away from pushy parents, private tutors and their teachers. Sometimes determination, enthusiasm and application are more valuable than just exam grades in most subjects.

[bruffin]

She got 2 D D in her first year, think she can lose the * but not the Ds ., i may have it wrong.

[bruffin]

Excitement
I was thinking that yesterday, She is going to do Camp America in early June so needs to be ahead of the game and self studying to make sure everything is finished by then. Lots of planning and talking to teachers to make sure she will be finished by then.
Some of the unis like Southampton want one A level alongside the btec for OT so dd didnt apply there.
She ended up with 5 interviews and 4 offers, one of which was a reduced offer of 96 (mmm). Big decisions now to make

[ExcitementBubble]

That’s fab Bruffin, DS’s course leader actually said at the open day that he preferred BTec students, the style of study being similar to the degree work. I wish it was a bit better known that A levels weren’t the only way.

[bruffin]

Dd just got an offer from an RG, the top uni in the country for her course and she is doing BTEC

[LadyLance]

That's great for your DS, I hope he has a great time there in September.

[ExcitementBubble]

Hi all,
Just an update to say we visited the unconditional uni, DS decided he preferred it to his previous first choice in any case and has accepted the place.
Very happy and relieved DS (and parents) here, the improvement in everyone’s mental health by the reduction in stress is not to be underestimated!

Dralon love the Russell Group / BTec warning - tee hee!! Sometimes on here it feels like kids that don’t do A-levels (and all A grades at that) don’t exist and certainly shouldn’t be getting above themselves with thoughts of university!

[user1469682920]

Yes we would definitely do that before making any decisions. Hopefully unlikely to need to but just seeking clarity in case. Thanks again.

[LadyLance]

@user1469682920 If you were in a position of having to drop a subject, I would try to get confirmation from unis in writing that it won't affect your offer. It isn't as legally binding as the UCAS form, but unis tend to be reluctant to go against things they have put in writing as obviously it leads to complaints.

[user1469682920]

Thank you so much for that and taking the trouble to respond so fully. That makes sense and ties in with what I was beginning to think. I guess The UCAS position gives the uni an opt out if they want to but is not automatic, which is why the people I spoke to perhaps weren’t so aware of it.

[LadyLance]

In all honesty, I'm probably a few years out of date. I used to advise applicants in a voluntary capacity, and that was what we were told during a UCAS training session. I've just trawled through the openly published UCAS terms and conditions, and can't find much. I did believe it was an option for the unis, not that your application would be automatically withdrawn.

I did find this page from UCAS that seems to vaguely suggest that unis can change your offers if you change any details of your exams (in the changes to exams and courses section). If you email the address provided, UCAS can probably/possibly give more specific advice. If the issue affects you directly, then having something in writing from UCAS would be very useful anyway.

I've never seen a real life example in relation to an unconditional offer (possibly because this has become the received wisdom, and there weren't so many given out when I was advising students) but I have seen a case where an applicant technically met a conditional offer, but it was withdrawn because they'd dropped an additional subject they were also taking. UCAS said this was allowed. I think it depends on how full the course is on results day.

UCAS do say that unconditional offers can be withdrawn because an applicant, for example, fails a DBS check. To my mind, this is a conditional offer where the condition is passing the check, but it shows these offers can be withdrawn in some cases.

I think if an applicant totally dropped out of Y13 following an unconditional offer, some unis (e.g. Birmingham) probably would try to find a way not to take them. However, the sort of student who tends to get these offers is probably not the sort of student who would do that. They probably also have supportive parents who wouldn't let them.

[Agyne]

Ive always been under the impression that if they have an unconditional all they have to do is turn up to sit the exam, ie doing what they said in their application.

[user1469682920]

ladylance have you seen that in writing anywhere. I ask because I heard it too but when I rang UCAS and a University admissions to check they knew nothing about it and weren't aware of any such condition. But reading your post again maybe its just that the UNis aren't 'bound' to the offer if you don't fulfil everything on your application, rather than actually saying an offer wouldn't stand. It would then be th eUni's choice in that situation - hope that makes sense. Grateful if anyone has anything definitive on this.

[LadyLance]

I don't think your DS has much to lose by calling a uni and asking. If he's polite, and explains they're his first choice, but another university has offered him an unconditional, and for personal reasons he wants to accept it, they might consider matching the offer. The might not, but they can't punish him for asking.

I believe it's a condition of UCAS (rather than individual universities) that offers are only binding if you don't change anything that you've put on your application. So, if you've said you're sitting exams in maths, chemistry and history, but dropped maths before the exams, unis could withdraw your "unconditional" offer- because you haven't kept up your end of the deal. If you sat the exam and failed, the uni would have to honour their offer.

I'm not 100% sure how this would work with a BTEC, but I guess your son would simply have to finish the course. Even if he failed all further units, he'd still be entitled to his unconditional place. If he dropped out, the uni could withdraw their offer.

Best of luck to him, whichever uni he decides to firm.

[bruffin]

D D

[bruffin]

Dd has a reduced offer of 96 points offer for her course but she has already has 112 (DD ) points from her first year btec, so is this unconditional?

[UsernameInvalid66]

One of my DC had an "unconditional" unconditional (ie they didn't have to make it their first choice, although as it happens they did anyway). They ended up getting disappointing A-level results (CCD) but still getting to do their chosen course (the "congratulations, you've got into X Uni" e-mail arrived at the same time as their results). Before the offer was changed to unconditional (on the strength of an interview) those grades would not have been quite enough. I think the subject might have been undersubscribed though.