Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 3, UCAS & offers

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Wow that last thread filled up quickly. Well done to your DS, Piggy!

Thanks. What is the TRACK system?

She has her numbers - references? - to include from school. She set up a UCAS account recently at school. She's going to go to post 16 admin at lunchtime to ask for help.

For those who are going to offer holder days, do the uni invite your DCs to them?

DD has three offers and I'm aware from websites two of them have offer holder days lined up. Also, found out that Warwick have a particular offer holder day for her course in February, but we're still waiting for an offer/reject.

Yes they know she's applying but I agree there has not been much info or support. However she does have her references now - last one just received a minute ago!

TRACK is the UCAS account your Dd will have set up. That’s the name all the pupils call the system.

Thanks. Ok, yes her ucas account is set up. I've emailed school and they've said she needs to complete her application with A levels etc, choices ...

Try and get her to do as much at school as possible as they will be able to help her. She needs to know the main earners occupation (lol my Dd needed to clarify what category to put her dad in?!!!) and how you except to be paying for tuition and maintenance. This last bit isn’t set in stone so she put she’d be getting student loans for it. Hope that helps.

Bettydaviseyes you and your DD should be able to complete the application in an hour or so, as long as she has her personal statement ready to go and has decided on her university/course choices. Good luck and welcome.

Thanks. Personal statement is ready. She's going to get it all ready at school so there's as little as possible to complete tonight.

Is your daughter in year 13 Betty?
Are there no other students applying for university at her school?

Quite frankly I am shocked at the lack of support she has received as tomorrow is the UCAS deadline. I would have thought that all post 16 educators would be familiar with the UCAS application process.

Yes most friends are applying ... heaven knows what they talk about ... as she doesn't seem to have discussed uni with them!

Yes I'm appalled at the lack of info. We missed one info evening because we were only informed on Twitter and I'm not on Twitter ... I wasn't informed that's how we would be informed of appointments and the school website was down at the time . However I'm sure there's an element of dd not paying attention too ....

I seem to recall somewhere on MN last year that there was some real helpful Mumsnetter who had a list of all the university courses and how often they'd appeared in Clearing over recent years. We need them to reappear and help us/our DC.

We used to get letters from school for important stuff like that. TBH I found mumsnet was the best resource for university application advice, but at DD's school the assistant principal of post 16 was really on the ball and supportive.

They also had assmeblies and used tutor time for UCAS stuff. This is really poor of your DD's school, just shocking.

DD is on a gap year and her old school have still supported her application. She is all sorted now and has accepted her offer, and will be off to an offer holder's day next month.

Threeforfree - Great minds .

OP there finitely was a brilliant posterwhohad all the data. I even asked for some data on clearing but unfortunately DS has now changed his course o it’s no longer relevant.

I think school communication is currently stuck between a rock and a hard place. DS's school communicates very well and often (with emails coming from relevant SLT members or via the school office). DD's on the other hand is a nightmare - very little communication, what does come through tends to be via ParentMail (which I don't like) and I'm never convinced we get everything.

To use Twitter to communicate everything is really a mistake. I still prefer emails but I know others will favour texts, FB posts or even tweets. There are too many e-comm options and not everyone uses the same one necessarily.

Dds school doesn't send letters anymore, unless they need a signature. I just wish they'd sent a letter informing us everything would be on Twitter instead of just telling the students. Or email us ... or text ...

LoniceraJaponica - I guess now they're older, the schools are hoping our DCs are mature enough to deal with things themselves and let us know what we need to know.

Other than tweaking her PS statement, we're so lucky DD's school have totally supported them and also gave them an early submission deadline so no last minute panics. DD knew what she had to do and when. We haven't even seen her application or what's on track - have to assume everything is ok as offers are coming in.

Hi all. Still nervously waiting to hear back from uni's but wanted to ask - did I read that some universities make conditional offers and then change/reduce the grades that they want from the student. Is this done after you have accepted or if they have not heard from you and want to encourage you to accept with them. What about rejections, can the uni reject your application and then change its mind. Thanks

minesawine - my friend's son has received two reduced offers and he hasn't been in touch with either uni or accepted offers yet. DD has had no such luck, although, she's applied to higher ranking unis who probably want entry levels to be higher to keep reputation up. Both DD and friend's son are predicted exactly the same grades.

minesawine I believe it's a bit of a waiting game. So far DS has five offers, one of which has changed from AAB to UIF (York), although Track has not been updated to reflect this. Various people have suggested up thread that offers could potentially be reviewed (hopefully to UIF or at least downwards) once tomorrow's deadline has passed (and universities are in a better position to see whether their applications are up, down or the same). Once this has happened some candidates may receive better (lower grade or UIF) offers. I'm not convinced that an initial rejection would then turn into a revised offer though - that seems like a long shot?

I know lots of us on here are under the impression that no one reads the personal statements but DS was offered a place at Lancaster and got a letter today with others bits and pieces in and the covering letter form the admissions tutor refers to two separate things from DSs personal statement!

glitterbiscuits well done to your DS. I thought the geography courses at Lancaster looked excellent but couldn't persuade DS likewise! It's also a very positive sign (in my book) that he has got a letter (and bits and pieces) from them. I think DS got something similar from UEA, a less personal letter from York but nothing from the other three (to date).

@glitterbiscuits Northampton definitely read my sons statement because they referred to it frequently in the email they sent with the offer. They also took great pains to point out that it really made a difference to the overall application.

We didn't go to the Lancaster Open Day so I'm not sure why DS applied there.
I know nothing about it.
I suspect we will go to the offer holder day ( I'm hoping parents can and will attend)
But it's so far away and difficult to get to from us. Not really in 'pop home for the weekend' territory.

But the ref to his statement really surprised me.
He has also been offered reduced grades to ABB if firmed but he knew that before this letter. I'm Holding out for Birmingham! ( not sure about DS )

Nokidshere I think you are the first person to tell me that. So, that's 2 of us.

personal statement is important for the courses dd has applied to at Southampton - they made a point of that on the open day. I'm sure Bangor & Liverpool didn't pay much attention to it, not sure about Cardiff.