Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 3, UCAS & offers

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

Wiifit, I suppose as Imperial will have a limit on the numbers they can admit they may wait until 15 January so that they can consider the gathered field all at the same time.

(Obv I realise all univs have a limit on numbers they can admit but it isn't always an issue in practice! Whereas for Imperial, LSE, Durham etc, it would be)

Good luck to ds!

Also I suppose what Durham may be waiting to find out is how many students withdraw their applications in order to firm Oxbridge - though of course they may not, as they're waiting to see if they get an offer from Durham to put as insurance!

(Though am I right that Durham often offer similar grades if not higher? Seem to remember a conversation about this earlier this year! So may not be that sensible as an insurance offer - which I did read somewhere was fine by Durham, as they find it difficult to balance numbers if people have them as insurance. but that was just chat, not official, obviously)

*I want that name.
*
My DS is lucky enough to have conditional law offers from Oxford and Durham. The Oxford offer is AAB and the Durham is AAA!

Mind you, these requirements are for Scottish Advanced Highers, not A levels. An 'A' grade at Advanced Higher carries as much weight in UCAS points as an A star at A level.

I think Oxford is similar offers to Durham, so probably not used often as insurance. Cambridge asks for STEP, which I don't think Durham does, so may be insurance for that.

Dd got her offer from Durham after she sent her MAT results to them. It came through quickly then.

Iwantedthatname19 in the arts, humanities (except Geography) and social sciences Oxford offers are lower than Durham's but they're generally similar in the sciences, and Cambridge and Durham offers are approximate, with Cambridge sometimes higher.

Durham recently told one of my DCs explicitly by e-mail that if he put them as insurance and was a near miss on grades then, as a matter of policy, they would not consider him. This is obviously correct (it was for History) as they also included numbers of applicants who'd missed/ how many got through the central panel etc etc (answer: not many!). The uni only considers near misses if they've firmed it. That was news to us - my three eldest all put Durham as their insurance hoping to find wriggle room if they missed their grades for their firm. Very lucky it never came to it!

Durham recently told one of my DCs explicitly by e-mail that if he put them as insurance and was a near miss on grades then, as a matter of policy, they would not consider him.

Edinburgh deals with having to admit those who only made it their insurance choice by putting them in bunk beds. Funny how different prestigious places cope with being slighted.

A bit of an exaggeration!

"Edinburgh deals with having to admit those who only made it their insurance choice by putting them in bunk beds".

I believe there are a small number of shared rooms and one or two these may have had bunks in the past (not sure this is still true). However the majority of new UG students regardless of whether chosen as firm or insurance will not be in bunks or indeed shared rooms.

Glasgowegian defending Edinburgh !!!

interesting - so there are a few stem subjects where a Durham offer may 'work' as insurance, but generally not, it seems.

Would be interesting to know whether anyone has ever put Durham firm and Oxford as insurance.

There was a discussion about the bunk beds in Edinburgh on mn last year - certainly at that point people seemed to think they were real, and a real issue (so more than one or two). It was definitely thought of as a factor to weigh in the balance when deciding on insurance choices.
But I think on that thread it was concluded that accommodation for insurance was quite often a Problem, and that it might even be worth taking a gap year and starting again rather than have some of the insurance accommodation (or lack of it, in some cases)!

When my older DC put it as insurance (two for Law, one for History), the Oxford offers and the Durham offers were equal at AAA. They just bunged it down hoping Durham might be kind if they slipped a grade, because they all liked it a lot, far more so than their other choices. It clearly wasn't going to work for DS with A*AA for Durham History compared to AAA for Oxford - not even sure why he wrote an e-mail! It was a very useful response back though, and the strong implication was that it applies to all insurance applicants where they're a near miss on their grades - so put it as insurance at your peril!

Confused now, are you saying unis. sulk if you pick them as an insurance choice??

A bit of an exaggeration!

www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/ug_accoms_guide_2018_0.pdf

Confused now, are you saying unis. sulk if you pick them as an insurance choice??

Not really (maybe with the exception of Durham?). Most are realistic and will be happy to pick up students who meet (or exceed)their standard offer but just miss their firm.

I suspect the situation with Edinburgh is that the bunk beds are understandably less popular and (along with other universities) sort out the firm accommodation before results day-so naturally insurance offers get the less popular accommodation.

Not all universities guarantee accommodation for insurance offers simply because they fill it up with the firm first.

justasking111 what I'm saying about Durham is that if you firm the uni and just miss your grades you get assessed by the department who then, if it still wants you, puts your name forward to a central admissions panel who decide whether to confirm the applicant as successful (presumably central admissions has to manage numbers overall). The number quoted by the department as being put forward was significantly higher than the number successful after the second sift.

But if you simply insure with Durham and just miss your grades, that's it. There's no further consideration.

The explanation given in the e-mail that there are very few spare places anyhow, so this seems a straightforward and fair way to cull. I doubt sulking comes into it.

If you insure with Durham and get the grades (but not the grades for your firm) then the only downside is that you don't get your college of allocation guaranteed in the way that you do if you firm. But that's not a big deal, and also perfectly reasonable in terms of managing college numbers.

If you insure with Durham and get the grades (but not the grades for your firm) then the only downside is that you don't get your college of allocation guaranteed in the way that you do if you firm. But that's not a big deal.. Except it potentially is if you've applied and been provisionally allocated a self-catering college and then get fully catered (thereby adding nigh on £2K to accommodation costs) instead...

Another question. Can the back-up university be chosen and confirmed ahead of the 'firm' one, or do decisions have to be made at the same time? It seems very unlikely that DS is going to budge from UEA being his reserve one...

Looking at the video here, the firm choice has to be entered first, then the insurance (if needed / desired):

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/types-offer/replying-your-ucas-undergraduate-offers

Btw my comments about the behaviour of 'slighted' universities wasn't entirely not tongue in cheek (sorry) and at least Edinburgh is upfront about the accommodation issue. Accommodation may be something to consider, though, especially when choosing an insurance option. I would say that the course would have to be very definitely the only (other) one for me the prospect of possibly ending up with unwanted and costly catering / shared rooms for the whole of first year not to matter (personally, I would actually rather share in a dormitory set-up, than in a room with one other random stranger, for instance).

I think it’s fair enough to give first choice students first choice on accommodation- the universities have to decide somehow and this seems fair. It was not however the case for my niece at Birmingham who applied after A levels and so only had one choice, accepted the offer straightaway, chose her accommodation in January and still ended up in the most expensive, fully catered halls.

While you’re applying done of the universities know which other ones you’ve applied to right? Does this change after you’ve made your decision - will your insurance & firm choice know which other ones you’ve picked?

While you’re applying done of the universities know which other ones you’ve applied to right? Does this change after you’ve made your decision - will your insurance & firm choice know which other ones you’ve picked?

They don;t know who else you've applied to when they offer. However once you have firmed and insured then yes they can find out.

LillianGish that's terrible for your DN :-(. I have to say that I would not be at all happy if DS ends up in the most expensive fully catered halls (wherever he goes). I find the idea that we are potentially going to have to subsidise DS more for accommodation or subsistence than we pay for our mortgage (on a monthly basis) quite alarming.

My brother was not too happy about it as he was the one who ended up footing the bill - couldn’t understand how it happened. Just mentioned it to illustrate that the alternative to giving insurance offer students second dibs on accommodation is that first choice students don’t get the accommodation they want. It is a bit of a lottery which back in the day when everyone had a grant was less of a problem, but now students (or parents!) are paying full price is rather less satisfactory.

They do all tend to move out of halls in the second year anyway.

Totally agree LillianGish. I would be furious if that happens to DS - we live quite frugally as a family, so would not ever encourage DS to consider the more/most expensive university accommodation options!

I would say that the course would have to be very definitely the only (other) one for me the prospect of possibly ending up with unwanted and costly catering / shared rooms for the whole of first year not to matter

This is precisely why neither of my children chose/is choosing an insurance option. Too much uncertainty