Negotiating a lower offer?

[cuttingcarbonemissions]

Is it possible to negotiate a lower offer from a University?

DD has been given the same offer by all of her choices - which presumably means she will not have a back up choice if she drops a grade.

I’ve never heard of anyone going this.

Has she been given higher offers than stated in the prospectus? Surely she should have chosen one that was lower if she wanted a back up?

Actually she has had a surprisingly low offer from her first choice - so she should make the grades - but it means that her second and third choices have offered the same grades.

Did any of them go into clearing last year? Pick one that did, or the least prestigious, as insurance as they'd be more likely to accept a near miss.

But no, you can't negotiate offers.

I would have thought that the important thing is to get to the right (for your dd) University. Not to get into any old University this year.
Pick the two she likes best. If the worse comes to the worst then she just re-applies next year - a year older and a year wiser, with a year's worth of travelling/earning under her belt.
These days, It's too expensive a decision to get wrong. A year out is better than three years in the wrong place.

My DD was in this same situation a year ago. She had 5 identical offers, even though she could have expected lower ones from a couple. I cannot advise about negociating lower offers, but one thing I would say is that she should not respond to any of them until closer to the deadline. My DD did nothing, and then two Unis wrote to her offering lower grades for a Conditional Firm. In the end she went with the 2 she liked best as someone else has said.

If she drops a grade she can negotiate with them at that point. If they have spaces to fill they'll probably still take her.

There's nothing to lose by asking, I guess. You could also try to find out which unis have historically taken people who've missed their offers on results day, or been in clearing, as this might be a safer insurance.

Even if all her unis have asked for the same grades, she should still pick an insurance choice, as it will give her an extra chance to get in if she misses a grade.

Universities say what their standard grade offer is so if she has a low offer, just accept that. She does not have to have an insurance choice.

You cannot really ask a university to lower an offer if they are an insurance choice. That is really cheeky. Just be pleased she has a good offer from her preferred university and leave it at that. If she does not get it, then she won't get the others either so she will have to start again next year or go into clearing like everyone else.

There is not always a difference between the grades required for first choice and second choice because you cannot be certain what a university will offer. Universities offer based on their own criteria, not what students are offered elsehere. If the low offer is trying to recruit, which is the obvious reason for the low offer, then they want her. Be pleased. My DD had a low offer from her first choice (because they based their offers on a portfolio and interview) and accepted. She never had an insurance because the others wanted slightly higher grades.

DD has virtually the same offer from her first and second choice and is considering asking number 2 if they would change the conditions (they’ve stipulated a grade in one subject which might be tricky). School have said it’s worth asking them to reconsider that condition. They can say no, but they can’t withdraw the offer. She’s got an offer holder day there the week after next so if she’s feeling brave enough and there’s someone there from admissions she might give it a go.

I wouldn't bother. Both of mine missed their offer grades at RG uni's , both were admitted. Both got A in the most important subject. DC2 had 4 identical offers and 1 with one subject one grade lower, so he accepted his favoured Uni and the lower one. One of the others emailed him in results week saying he could still opt for them and asking him to get in contact if he wanted to change to them.
DC1 had 3 offering the same highest offer, selected one of those, and the second highest. He let the lowest offer go. He missed the highest offer by one grade but they took him , in the highly competative year ( ie the last £3K fees !)
Select the 2 she likes best. If she is anyhere near , chances are she will get in.

One of my DC's classmates negotiated a conditional to an unconditional last year.

No harm in trying.

Surely it would be better to encourage your daughter to work hard and aim to meet her first choice offer. Rather than considering failure.

As another poster said, she can chose an insurance with the same offer- try to pick one which is more likely to compromise if needed when the results come out.

A lot of this will depend on the university. I cannot see UCL or Durham changing their offer. Other lesser universities might but if they stipulate a grade in a subject, then they have done it for a reason. If they need bums on seats, they can be flexible and probably will be. They will take a view based on whether the course is selective or recruiting.

I've never heard of anyone negotiating an offer! I doubt any Admissions Tutor I know would take kindly to a 17/18 dictating terms to them

But why do you think that your DD needs to have an offer lower than her preferred place? If the offer is achievable, then she'll be OK.

There's quite a bit of research emerging that having 'stretch' offers can actually be very motivating for pupils. Unconditional offers made before A Levels are achieved can actually lead to lower achievement.

Smething to think about.