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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Idiot questions about uni application

7 replies

CrapBucket · 03/03/2023 12:09

I feel as though everyone else knows what they are doing and I didn't get the memo about UCAS etc. Can anyone please answer a couple of questions because I go round in circles online...

DS has 3 offers. He also has 1 no, and 1 he is waiting to hear about.

One uni (Uni A) have said he is guaranteed accommodation there, if he accepts them as his first choice. The accommodation booking opens in the next few days and the sooner you apply the better location you get.

He really likes it and wants to go there.

However, he has to get a certain amount of UCAS points. Ie it is a conditional offer.

Another uni (Uni B) have offered him an unconditional place.

If he accepts/confirms/whatever its called Uni A, does this mean all the other offers no longer apply?

Or could he fail everything and still go to Uni B?

Also - does every offer come through as points? On another thread everyone is talking about AAB etc.

OP posts:
LIZS · 03/03/2023 12:14

He can firm uni A and insure uni B. That way he knows he will go to either. Offers depend on what qualifications he is taking, can be A level grades, IB points, Btec grades, UCAS points. Ime the lower tier unis or vocational courses tend to use UCAS points.

LIZS · 03/03/2023 12:16

But if he firmed Uni B then other offers are redundant.

Onnabugeisha · 03/03/2023 12:17

I would firm A and have B as insurance.
There is no sense discarding a perfectly good opportunity to go to Uni A.

CrapBucket · 03/03/2023 12:20

Ah brilliant! Thank you. That is so helpful to hear. Yes it's vocational/creative so I felt rather out of place on other threads reading about all the AAA people waiting to hear from Durham ;)

That's fantastic to know he can aim for the place he prefers but it doesn't rule out the other option later on. Applying for uni is so different to applying for school, its been quite a mind bending thing.

OP posts:
Seeline · 03/03/2023 12:24

Check the uni B remains an unconditional offer if he has it as his insurance place - some are only unconditional if accepted as the firm uni.

He has to choose his firm and insurance places at the same time. This only becomes possible once he has heard from all his applications. OR if he is certain on his choices before all have responded he can essentially withdraw his application to a uni who hasn't responded via UCAS. That will then allow him to accept the 2 offers he wants.

Re accommodation - one person's 'best location ' is not necessarily the same for everyone. Some might desperately want en suite, some might want a larger flat, some might want a cheaper flat, others might want a quiet flat. Don't let him rush a decision purely because the accommodation is open.

Seeline · 03/03/2023 12:27

If he firms and insures two places on results day he will go to his first choice if he gets the grades. If he doesn't, he will get his second choice if he gets the grades to meet that offer (although if unconditional he won't have that worry).
It is sometimes possible to just miss the grades for your first choice and still get the place depending on course, number of other offer holders etc.

PhotoDad · 04/03/2023 13:03

By the way, if he really wants to go to Uni A or B, and wants to go ahead and book a room ASAP, he doesn't have to wait to hear back from the final place. He can withdraw that application at any time. (My DD got an unconditional offer for her first choice, also in a creative subject, and did precisely that so that she could go for accommodation as soon as the system opened!)

On the other hand, if the place he's waiting to hear from is up there with A and B, of course he can hang on.

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