Applying for Uni 2019 Part 5: UCAS, offers and exam season looming

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

New thread started. Here's the previous one

yes, definitely as above. Students know if they have a place but don't know grades (all the legions with unconditionals know very little of course!)

And likely even more so this year, Piggy.

Due to the low birth rate (I predict) many more will get their places with dropped grades (except the most competitive courses) so a Yes email from your Uni at 12.01 am won't mean much.

Oh I didn't realize that the universities know the grades before the students do (sorry this is all new to me!!). How long before 15 August results day do they get the confirmation email from uni. Not sure if that is great because you know you have a place or bad because you are waiting for the email. Do you get a reject email as well as a confirmation?

I think unis literally know a few days before so they can organise stuff.

I was under the impression, based on what happened with a friend's daughter, that applicants hear from the universities the same day as results are due but just earlier on in the morning. However, that probably doesn't factor in places like Durham (which I have heard can take up to a week to decide whether to take young people who may have (just) missed their grades).

minesawine, as I understand it they know the grades, but don't confirm place until results day. I've heard/read about the odd ones getting confirmation of their space an hour before results, that's great if they get the place but, if not, it's going to be a long wait.

As I understand it, results will be emailed out to pupils as many are from abroad/out of county. The school will be open from 8am to help with clearing/anything else arising.

How much revision are others putting in? DD is aiming for six hours a day, allowing herself time for online shopping, seeing friends, fresh air, free treat to cafes provided by Mum and annoying parents talking around her - my thoughts, not hers! One of her RE teachers will be pleased, she's got five timed essays for him to mark on return to school!!

I reckon DS is probably doing six hours a day too, ifonly4, although he does seem to have lots of breaks. He's doing loads of practice papers.

I think our school have the results the day before as they put everything in envelopes etc and they are open from 8am on the day so I’m sure they must do it all the day before.
Unis probably have the same as it seemed like many had their confirmation emails before coming to school at 8am.

I only learnt last year that schools get A Level results the day before. But it's strictly restricted to the exams officer and the head, I believe.

Universities have the results the previous weekend, so that they have time to check whether offer holders have met the conditions of their offer, make decisions re near misses etc. So no real excuse for Durham to keep people hanging on on results day. Those who would rather go to their insurance university (assuming they have met their offer there) or into Clearing than hang on can request to be rejected, I think.

DS had an email from uni saying “welcome” several hours before his school online portal opened for results. They weren’t encouraged to come in unless they needed advice re clearing etc

From past experience ucas opens at (just before) 8am and you can then check if your uni place is confirmed or rejected. However individual unis can send out emails confirming your place from any time after midnight. (Or not at all, depending on their own policies.)
Each school will have its own opening time for collecting or emailing the actual results with the marks for each paper. If you have to go into clearing (or want a re-mark) then that’s the info you need.

Just to clarify ucas won’t give you your results, several of DS friends were upset to discover they had lower grades than hoped for once they got into school. As their uni place had been confirmed by ucas, they had wrongly assumed they had met their offer,

DS1 got his welcome to UEA email about 7am on the results day. Tbh, the actual results didn't matter much after that though he exceeded his offer.

If same as 2018 results your child will need to going school to collect their grades, just like GCSEs. Unless the school allows other routes.
UCAS updates early on results day. Either says you are accepted for your firm. Accepted at any insurance or say unfortunately you need to access clearing.

Universities definitely learn about results around a week before results day. So they can organise. Ds last year accepted an UiF from Lincoln. He got a phone call on the Friday the week before results day from a lovely admin officer at Lincoln to say you are definitely coming.
On the Thursday he found he had got 3 Cs and D. Then in post that morning he received his gold enveloped welcome pack.

Hth

So, DS pushed his button and has sorted the accommodation. Does anyone know when his offer should update on Track? It confirms he has withdrawn from all the others, but his Lincoln offer hasn't changed to unconditional yet.

Piggywaspushed, it can take up to a couple of weeks, I think.

It's decision time and I can't help but feel nervous for everyone's DC.
DD has firmed her offer from UEA but their accommodation page says it will be 'opening shortly' for applications so she's waiting to do that. Meanwhile I've gradually been buying things she will need for her room etc to avoid a huge outlay during the summer.
She's working really hard and seems to be balancing the need to revise with some time to socialise and exercise quite well.
This whole process is new to us, is there anything else we should be doing now? She needs to sort out a student bank account but that can wait until after exams I think.

Juicy My DS2 is waiting to choose UEA accommodation too, I think it's been delayed for some reason.

Finance is next on our list I guess. Never stops. If DH had his way we would have chosen only the cheapest accommodation . However, at Lincoln you have to choose six , so you do have to be careful as some of their halls have a price range from cheap to quite expensive and you can't pick. Weird!

I agree sluj, it initially said March then changed to the end of March and now shortly. At least there aren't too many options to choose from when the time comes.

My DS is waiting to sort UEA accommodation too. Fingers crossed they won't change how they have done things previously and move to first come, first served.

It does say that they don't operate that policy but I'm not sure how they do allocate it goldenruby

Ooh that’s interesting re UEA accommodation, DS is still got to go to visit Bath but UEA is very likely to be on his final 2 so I was wondering if it had opened yet, when he last looked it said soon.

Student finance sorted
Accommodation booked. Although it is a lottery as to where DD will end up.

Re results. Last year DD checked on UCAS track before going to school, and saw that her university had accepted her. Her (old) school won't send results by email nor does it have a portal where they can be accessed. Students have to collect them in person or have signed a letter to say that they can be posted.

Being out of the country on results day is poor planning if the student wants to go to university the same year as there is a lot of admin to sort out.

DD didn't go to university last year as she wasn't that interested in the course, didn't want to go where it was and didn't want to go through clearing/adjustment. So she took a gap year and applied with A levels in hand. The school weren't impressed as they couldn't add her to their destination data.