Applying for uni in 2021...

[Parsley65]

Thought I'd start the ball rolling on this one...

Dd wants to study psychology and we've been checking out dates of open days.

Her school still does AS levels. She's doing psychology, physics & business.

Please come and join us on the long and bumpy ride past revision and exams and on towards the much anticipated start of uni life in Autumn 2021.

pistachioicecream sorry not clear, she chose deferred originally.

We are waiting on UCL, LSE and Warwick for economics. Ds had offers from Nottingham and Loughborough but the others are his top 3. LSE haven't offered any yet and I know UCL and Warwick made offers last year however DS only returned his UCAS form in December. I think if he gets rejections from these 3 then he will defer for a year and reapply with grades in hand and study further maths.
@ROZ12 DS is a lifeguard and is always being asked to work, although he has stopped now to concentrate on his A levels, he wants to get his swim coach qualifications which means double/triple the hourly rate.( Plus he can work part time throughout uni hopefully ) Has your dd got any hobbies she could turn into a part time job? Lots of facebook ads of sixth form/ uni students offering tutoring on zoom down here.

@ROZ12

Can you make contact with whoever is in charge of UCAS at your DD's school. They would presumably be best placed to advise you.

[quote calculatorqueen]@redsquirrelfan DS has had an email from York this week saying that accommodation is open. Very frustrating that they are putting pressure on them to firm/insure now since it's first come first served for accommodation choices.[/quote]
Yes it was from York. However, they are (currently) ds' highest offer and not his first choice, so I don't think it will pressure him, but it could if it was one of your favourites.

DS also has a lifeguard qualification but he was only doing very casual hours so wasn't prioritised for work once the leisure centres reopened and of course now they are closed again until goodness knows when.

I have suggested he should do his swimming teacher course too but he says he doesn't have the patience to teach kids ;) You're right that it pays well though. Maybe I'll suggest it again.

@SATSmadness will do thanks.

Just a bit worried about it all as say if she doesn’t make the grades, how do we really without the school helping us?

@nancypineapple

No hobbies only scrolling through tik Tok and Instagram !

@errorofjudgement would mind sharing how to defer after results? Do we have to accept on track and then contact the uni?

[quote ROZ12]@SATSmadness will do thanks.

Just a bit worried about it all as say if she doesn’t make the grades, how do we really without the school helping us?[/quote]
She should contact the unis who have made the offers direct and ask them if they are prepared to defer the offers. Some may say no straightaway but I think it unlikely.

DS called Bristol which was his firm choice last June and asked if he could defer. They asked him to submit an online form to request deferral and it said he would get a response on results day in august. However, he actually got confirmation 4 hours later and he had to "accept" and then they changed track on UCAS once he made the grade to show he had a 2021 place rather than 2020.

I work in a 6th Form?UCAS office; the school will tell you to contact the unis direct.

Start with the ones she is likely to firm and insure and see where she gets. She should contact admissions. If you have problems finding email addresses let me know and I will try to help.

As regards DS's gap year (this year) he works as a lifeguard (and furloughed as one), managed to go to some places in Europe in Autumn while those places were open and is currently in Central America.

As well as working as a lifeguard he worked for UberEats (by bicycle) and has done some volunteering.

As a potential law graduate your DD may find that the Citizens Advice Bureau would be a good place to start or a local Law Centre for voluntary work. I make these suggestions for after her school year finishes in the hope that world does open up more.

If when contacting they do ask what she plans to do (unlikely but some may) then she could mention this type of voluntary work they may see it as a positive.

She can either ask to defer now or after results.

@ROZ12 DD rejected her place rather than deferred. In fairness she reapplied in January and got her offer a week later. Having grades in hand does seem to speed up the process!
Also DDs school have been very happy to provide the references again so it’s been a very smooth process.
If only she actually wanted to go to uni rather than drama school, but that’s a whole separate thread!!

@errorofjudgement

Thank you for the info, so can my DD reapply for the same course at same uni if she rejects her current offer? This won’t go against her will it?

@SATSmadness

That’s very helpful so she can contact unis direct after accepting her firm and insurance and hopefully be accepted to defer. Thanks

@ROZ12, if being able to defer has any bearing on where your DD wants to go (e.g. she would ideally make X her firm and Y her insurance, but more importantly, wants to go to university next year, not this and Y will alow deferral, but X won't), then she probably ought to ask as soon as she gets offers, rather than waiting until after she has chosen her Firm and Insurance formally? What if neither will allow deferral, but one of the now formally rejected universities would have done?

@MarchingFrogs

Thank you, I will ask her to email her chosen uni today . Thanks

My DC deferred their place just before A level results came out after a change of heart.

They just emailed the admissions tutor and within 24hrs got the OK that their place was now deferred.

[quote ROZ12]@errorofjudgement

Thank you for the info, so can my DD reapply for the same course at same uni if she rejects her current offer? This won’t go against her will it?[/quote]
Hi @ROZ12 I can’t make any guarantees that declining a place this year would negatively impact getting an offer next year. I don’t think anyone can guarantee that, but I would be incredibly surprised if it did.

As suggested upthread if your DD is certain about where she want to go then it would make sense to defer.

For DD acting is her dream, and getting into the top schools is incredibly difficult so History at Exeter or Durham was always a back up plan. She chose the Exeter offer, but as explained decided to wait another year.
For her this meant she is able to try for drama schools again so she had to reject her offer and reapply this year.

@Olympicfan oh wow that’s encouraging , say if my Dd get accepted to defer and then doesn’t make the grades? Does she have to freshly apply or go through clearing and accept a new place or course and then defer again?

DC deferred 3 days before results, so the university knew their grades. However, if your DD does not get the grades, universities will often accept students with dropped grades, however, others are really strict with the grades required.

@errorofjudgement good luck to your dd on auditioning for drama school. Its incredibly hard especially for girls. Where does she want to go? I went to drama school at 19 as I didn't get a place at 18-my brother in law tried for 4 years before he went to the Royal Welsh as a mature student. It's a very difficult path but brilliant you are supporting her!

For DD acting is her dream, and getting into the top schools is incredibly difficult so History at Exeter or Durham was always a back up plan. She chose the Exeter offer, but as explained decided to wait another year

DD struggled with this for a long time, and in the end decided to go to Uni first, and maybe try Acting as a mature student. Her first choice, Oxford, which of course is also excellent for Drama Societies etc, hasn't worked out, so she is opting for Exeter. Lovely to hear that Exeter also is strong on Drama.

Additional to which, she has firmed her choices today - hooray. So she has firmed Exeter, and Warwick is her second. Quite excited now .

@nancypineapple and @BigWoollyJumpers thank you both x
It’s certainly a stressful journey!

@BigWoollyJumpers

Additional to which, she has firmed her choices today - hooray. So she has firmed Exeter, and Warwick is her second. Quite excited now .

Dd is firming Exeter and also loves drama and wants to go to drama school after - they'll probably meet!