What does a informal offer mean?

[strgirl]

I applied via clearing to go to university as a mature student, applied for a part time course with foundation year, just wondering what a informal offer means and what I need to do next? All the email says is we have given you a informal offer. Very new to all of this!

Hi, OP -

As a former admissions tutor, I think the answer is, it signifies a good intention.

I assume you are in the U.K. and the university is not a private one. In that case nothing counts as firm until you see your offer on UCAS. In my School we would have said ‘we will be making you an offer’ or something similar. If you don’t get an offer through UCAS in a day or so you need to go back to the School for clarification. The language wasn’t helpful. Good luck

Pinched this from a random university's website from a Google search:

Informal offer – Through UCAS Clearing, you may receive an informal offer. Once you add this as your clearing choice in UCAS Hub and it has been processed, it will be confirmed.
(University of Stirling, UCAS Clearing glossary)

Thanks, @MarchingFrogs I should have remembered this!

On the actual UCAS site, it says in the FAQs:

• Get informal offers over the phone – maybe from a variety of universities and colleges – then decide which one you want to accept.

Then...

Add your Clearing choice in your application
Only add a Clearing choice once you have permission from the university or college.
Click 'Add Clearing choice', and fill in the course details by the date the university/college gave you on the phone.
This counts as you definitely accepting the offer, so if they confirm, it'll show as an acceptance on your 'Choices' page in your application.

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/results-confirmation-and-clearing/what-clearing#how-do-i-apply-using-clearing-

Good for you! Just out of curiosity, what are you studying?

Thank you, do I still use ucas even if part time? I'm studying biomedical science!

None of ours has used Clearing, but I had a memory from having a general rummage on the UCAS site (am genuinely bemused at how little other, obviously in other ways way more invested, parents on MN never seem to do this😃) that it involved a sort of 'collection of offers' stage, which then had to be reduced to just the one actual application.

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/mature-undergraduate-students#how-to-get-into-higher-education

According to this, for part-time study, you apply directly to the university - did whoever you spoke to know that you wanted to study part-time? I would get back to the university admissions people and say that you have an offer that you want to accept as the part-time option, and see what they tell you to do?