Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 3, UCAS & offers

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

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

Some firm choices allow accommodation booking, conditional or unconditional. The first UCAS deadline is May 1st assuming you have had 5 replies by end March.

I agree blame the parents. We are going to Dd offer day at Cardiff. 6 hour drive for us or £250 on the train. We can’t do it in one day so we need to stay over. Thankfully her other offer choice we can do in one day. Really appreciate DS who only went to one offer day (Leeds 1 hr away)

The unis say they are opening accommodation soon, but he has not had an unconditional offer so how on earth can he book anywhere.

Surely most people still don't get unconditional offers, so of course they open up booking to anyone who has made them their firm choice. They can't leave it all till after results/clearing. Actually, two years ago DD was also able to make an accommodation choice at her insurance too - don't know if they, or anyone else still does that. There's no money nor contracts involved at this point, it's just preferences so they can start allocating the halls I think.

Anyone's DC applied to Durham for BioNatSci? DD's UCAS was sent in & acknowledged at the end of September. All her other choices have offered/interviewed except for Durham. She was asked to complete an online form asking which options she intended studying, submitted it online and received an acknowledgement but since then heard nothing.

She is getting impatient as every other institution was quick to respond. I suggested that they might be waiting until after 15th January, but that was a week ago now and they have had her form for almost 4 months now. Anyone in a similar position, or has heard back?

Can I ask when is DS going to be making his firm and insurance choice? Do UCAS tell you when it is time?

I'm really grateful that the university which is a long way away from us has scheduled its offer day to start at 1.30pm. That is so helpful.

Kent accom is open now and you can apply even as an offer holder, no need to firm. I know this is unusual though!

Malbec - ds's friend is waiting to hear from both Durham and Warwick for a similar course. He heard from his other three instantly too.

www.ucas.com/events/2019-entry-if-you-receive-all-decisions-31-march-reply-1-may-331861

ElizabethBennet - I’ve just paid £225 for return tickets to Loughborough in a couple of weeks. They’ve made DS a great offer so it makes sense to see it, it’ll be an expensive day out though.

@DitheringDan - I had a look at AirB&B and Travelodge, but I thought that with that, plus food etc it probably wouldn’t work out much cheaper. Also, I’d have needed to sort childcare for my DD for another evening.

Ah well - it’s done now. Loughborough had better make as either a Firm or Insurance choice!!

justasking11 "By clicking this button, you’re opting in to the UCAS direct contact service. This means we will share key information from your application with universities, so they can contact you with offers, between July – September 2019."

My DS got the same message from UCAS and signed up. Hope this is the right thing to do. Did you sign up?

My DS got the same message from UCAS and signed up. Hope this is the right thing to do.

Well, presumably the proof of the pudfing, so to speak, will be how suitable any courses offered are, should he need to go into clearing?

Our direct contact service is designed to help you get a place at university or college. By signing up to the service, universities and colleges with spaces on courses similar to those you have applied for can contact you with an offer – you don’t have to accept it, but it gives you more options should you find yourself without a place.

What information will universities see?

The universities and colleges will be able to see key information from your UCAS application. This includes information such as your name and contact details, your qualifications, personal statement, and the subject areas you originally applied for with your 2018UCAS application. This information will help them to decide if they have a place on a course that could be right for you

Yes, hopefully he wont have to go to clearing because he will do so fantastic at his exams, but I guess it will not do any harm to have options, just in case.

Malbecfan - different course but my DD applied for Combined Honours in Social Sciences three months ago at Durham, and hasn't heard. I wonder if they've held off decisions firstly to know numbers after 15 January, but also to see how many Oxbridge rejects firm with them.

Thanks ifonly4 and Danglingmod. At least she's not alone. She has started to convince herself that they aren't interested and she is erring towards her UiF offer. We've persuaded her to wait a bit longer.

I was talking to 2 of her mates at school yesterday. One has already decided on her offers, despite being told to wait and has accepted them. The other applied for medicine, has had 3 interviews but heard nothing back. It's all a bit crazy!

ifonly4 well, except that if Durham hasn't offered to lots and lots of students incl those who applied to Oxbridge, it can't really work out how many are going to firm Durham! You need an offer before you can firm! Durham just seems to be generally slow (by which I mean even slower) this year, from what I hear anecdotally. Unless an applicant has decided they don't want a particular uni any more, I'd say just hang on and wait until all offers are in. The big rush of offers with Durham always tends to be late Jan to mid Feb, so almost there.

minesawine. DS did sign up. He has received conditional offers. Awaiting two more interviews. It gets very expensive visiting all the places.

I want to thank the people on this thread. DS is not forthcoming at all, we have to ask for anything he may have received and then it is offered reluctantly. You would think we were asking him about his love life.

I know he is stressed, because he is being a bit shouty. which is so unlike him. A friends normally placid DS is the same.

Hello - I wonder if anyone more experienced can help?

Dd has 4 offers (still waiting for Bath) but wants to firm NTU and keep Oxford Brookes as a back up (offer not unconditional but as near as dammit as she only has to get an E in one of her exams to get the place! NTU offer much higher (eqiv of ABC - she already has a C).

Anyway, can she register for accommodation for Oxford B even though they are her back up choice? We have both read the website and its not entirely clear .

And is anyones dc considering Swansea? DD got a good offer from them but despite visiting is very unsure.

justasking111 my DS is the same. He is very loathe to give me any information at all (thank goodness I can log in to his UCAS account otherwise I would be almost totally in the dark). He is adamant he doesn't want to do the offer holder days (although we've held on to the Durham one...). I have to say they do get very expensive unless nearby and doable in off-peak fares in a day...

Hmm, you might be wise to phone up Oxford Brookes to ask, Fazackerley. I think for some universities you can apply for accommodation at the back-up option as well as the firm one but it's by no means a given.

newmodel, I have no idea how to get into DS UCAS account, does your DS have a password.

Ds is still waiting to hear from Imperial. Considering he took the MAT test (maths) months ago, and they don't interview, you would have thought they would have made up their bloody minds by now!

For those of you talking about travel expenses, I sympathise. DS is also applying to degree apprenticeships so we keep forking out for trains to assessment days for those as well as the open days he did for Unis and he did the whole Cambridge interview thing too (unsuccessfully). I had no idea how expensive this would all be.

justasking111 the wisest thing I ever did was to get DS to come downstairs to complete his UCAS application on my PC (and I have log-in details written down in case DS forgets them which is more than likely!). Ideally I shouldn't have to be hands-on but he is very economical with info about his applications etc... so I feel I need to be in the loop. Luckily he has told me about the two reduced offers emails but he's not even mentioned about the offer holders open days.

Yes, it's all getting very expensive Wiifitmama and this on top of the open day visits already done last summer/autumn. I would have thought that you should be able to claim travel expenses for degree apprenticeship assessment days?

Right newmodel, someone is going to be giving me his log in details tonight. His form was completed by teacher at school so I have not even seen his personal statement.

justasking111 that will be very helpful (getting his log in details) but it does look as if most of the really relevant info comes via email (to which I have no access).