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Higher education

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

Original poster

Late offers? Why?

28 replies

Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 16:17

So many seem to still be waiting.

Teens have been through a lot, am sure in my day we heard pretty promptly & if we had predicted grades I never even knew.

The American system feels much more straightforward & less stressful.

OP posts:
lovefizzycolabottles · 17/04/2023 16:48

My sense is that the TAGs meant that’s it been harder to differentiate between people on gcse scores, that there is massive competition for some courses fuelled by kids thinking about more ‘career focused’ options (real issues for comp sci, economics, medicine..), and that maybe for London lots are thinking of living at home and commuting in to save money - Dd got an email from UCL saying they got more applicants than they had expected. Or maybe there are more internationals or an overflow from previous years…?!

Original poster
Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 17:05

Thanks. Are Unis now keener on internationals as provide more income? Is there a limit on how many they can take?

OP posts:
KittyMcKitty · 17/04/2023 17:07

I think it’s also something of a juggling act. After 2020 unis are very cautious about over offering and so often make a batch of offers, see what’s firmed / rejected etc and then make more offers accordingly. I would imagine that this effects the more popular / competitive universities far more so then those lower down league tables etc.

NowZeusHasLainWithLeda · 17/04/2023 17:10

The universities/courses which are still to offer are the same ones as ever from what we're seeing at school.
Far fewer EU students obviously, and the deferrals due to COVID were mainly last year's cohort not this.

Original poster
Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 17:10

@KittyMcKitty Ah, so some History offers, ones they def want? Come out & then they wait & see? Then next batch & so on? Feels a bit unnecessarily nail biting for those who are ‘told’ last? Surely there’s a better way?

OP posts:
Original poster
Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 17:11

@NowZeusHasLainWithLeda ah, so some are the ‘usual’ suspects?

OP posts:
W0tnow · 17/04/2023 17:13

Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 17:05

Thanks. Are Unis now keener on internationals as provide more income? Is there a limit on how many they can take?

I was wondering about the international cohort too and if universities had ratios.

NotBabiesForLong · 17/04/2023 17:21

There must be a better way.

Until then, we need to encourage students to more rapidly reject offers they don't want. So these offers can be passed on to the person on the list as "first reserve"

If you haven't heard yet, then you still have a chance If other applicants have too many offers and reject the one you are waiting for.

A stressful few months for all concerned.

gogohmm · 17/04/2023 17:29

Some do this every year, they wait until they get all the applications and then interview. Deadline is soon

bguthb90 · 17/04/2023 17:49

There's a lot of speculation (bordering on conspiracy theories on TSR threads) regarding the use of reserve/waiting lists.

Whilst it makes sense to us, the admissions teams from both universities my DS is waiting for - Durham and Edinburgh - have stated that they don't use this approach when he contacted them and asked if he was on reserve lists.

I guess only those who work in Admissions truly know their process definitions and why some places are taking so long to make decisions

Original poster
Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 18:25

@bguthb90 you’d hope they would be honest but does feel like some strategy at play or we believe it’s all random chaos?

OP posts:
faffadoodledo · 17/04/2023 18:27

Durham, by any chance?

Tree543 · 17/04/2023 18:39

Ds is still waiting for Bath. The final in person offer holders day is this Wednesday. It just seems as though they are not bothered about these potential students.

Weddingmum · 17/04/2023 18:43

DD still waiting for Durham.....

bguthb90 · 17/04/2023 18:46

Weddingmum · 17/04/2023 18:43

DD still waiting for Durham.....

Mine too @Weddingmum - seems there was a lot of rejections today from what my DS was saying. 🤞 for those still waiting to hear

CoffeeAndCreativity · 17/04/2023 18:51

My daughter got offers straight away from York and Manchester but only heard from UCL two weeks ago, it's been a long few months for her!

Original poster
Peverellshire · 17/04/2023 18:51

Tree543 · 17/04/2023 18:39

Ds is still waiting for Bath. The final in person offer holders day is this Wednesday. It just seems as though they are not bothered about these potential students.

Have others heard taking same subject? I hope your DS hears very soon.

OP posts:
mondaytosunday · 17/04/2023 18:56

Yes of course they are courting international students! My daughter is looking at art colleges/universities and they are up front that up to 50% are international. They pay well over £20k for tuition (even for the Foundation diploma which many students do before starting a degree, which is free for domestic students).

Skybluepinky · 17/04/2023 18:57

They still have over four weeks to accept or decline so definitely not late.
Most schools warn students so they are aware of the wait, but to lots it’s worth the wait to go to the uni they want.

Weddingmum · 17/04/2023 19:00

@bguthb90 · T What is your DD wanting to study?

SilverGlitterBaubles · 17/04/2023 19:11

The whole thing is a farce to be honest. Making offers based on a prediction of what might happen rather than actual results just seems daft. Parents running around securing accommodation and making plans, kids set their hearts on a certain path then everything is up the air on results day. The whole thing needs a rethink.

bguthb90 · 17/04/2023 19:16

Weddingmum · 17/04/2023 19:00

@bguthb90 · T What is your DD wanting to study?

Accounting and Finance. Has offers from Bristol and Exeter but Durham would be first choice, if offered

redrobin75 · 17/04/2023 19:32

Tree543 · 17/04/2023 18:39

Ds is still waiting for Bath. The final in person offer holders day is this Wednesday. It just seems as though they are not bothered about these potential students.

My dd is waiting for Bath too, it's such a long wait, I hope they all hear soon.

Panicmode1 · 17/04/2023 19:35

DD still waiting on Exeter but got a Bristol rejection yesterday. I'm sure it's going to be a no, but I wish they'd just hurry up!! DH and I both went there and I'd love her to go, but she has 3 other good offers and I think she just needs to focus on revision etc and firm her choice, and pick accommodation and crack on. I really think it is unfair that they may get rejections just before exams (or during if doing the IB).

izzywizzydizzy · 17/04/2023 19:38

The factors I'm aware of are:

  1. some universities run late every year - e.g. most of the big London universities, and King's in particular. Last year hundreds of applicants to King's had their applications auto-rejected by UCAS in May because King's had not processed them by the UCAS closing deadline. Shame on them.
  2. This year - industrial action on the part of uni/admin staff has delayed processing, and there have also been higher application numbers.
  3. The Easter holiday, combined in some cases with a decision to update the IT platform for admissions.

There are some threads on the student room linked to spreadsheets where people have logged offers as they are received, both last year and this year. These suggest admissions in some unis (e.g. UCL) are running significantly later this year than last year, They had responded to almost all applications by mid-April last year, whereas they have thousands still to process and are aiming for end of April this year.

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