University amending offer after I've accepted it

[cantheydothiss]

I recently applied to a university course directly through Clearing as I already have all of my exam results. I received an email from the university with an offer, and was told if I wanted to accept the offer that I needed to add it to my UCAS account by a particular date - which I did. I was sent all the details of the offer including the T&Cs. There is no mention of any conditions of the offer.

I accepted the offer by adding it to my UCAS account as described in the email.

Today I received an email from the university that the course I have applied for requires an interview, and so I need to have an interview and if successful they will then confirm my place.

Is this something the university can do? I'm happy to have an interview but would have preferred to know that at the outset as I wouldn't have withdrawn job applications and started making plans for going to university this September if it wasn't 100% confirmed.

Former admissions tutor here and this sounds very poor. It is rather grave for the reasons you mention.

My first instinct is that the original Ts&Cs should be visible to UCAS and therefore yoy should inspect them carefully to make sure all is as you’ve described, then contact UCAS.

Please let us know what happens. If UCAS can’t help let us review the Ts&Cs
with you. Meanwhile I don’t see what you have to lose by interviewing unless you’ve entirely gone off the place, which would be understandable

How odd. Is this for a teaching course?

@poetryandwine I've read through all of the T&Cs and the only reason given for the university withdrawing an offer is if an applicant lies about their exam results. I've contacted UCAS who have said it's up to the university. Do you think I can push back and hold them to the offer that I've had in writing?

@BlessYourBlackCottonSocksOnTheRider No it's not teaching

OP,

I am sorry for the stress the university is putting you through.

Once you accept an offer via UCAS, you and the university have entered a binding contract. The only reason a university can change the offer is if they discover fraud on your part. This is similar to what you’ve said above, but more inclusive.

But it sounds possible that you haven’t formally accepted yet. It sounds like possibly you’ve just added this uni to UCAS so they can make you a formal offer. Could this have happened, or have you definitely accepted an offer via UCAS?

Either way it is very poor that you weren’t informed of the interview immediately. My view of the uni’s approach to you is in the gutter. But if you have merely added the uni to your UCAS, they are formally in the clear. If you have formally accepted via UCAS, the law is on your side.

Because the uni knows this very well, I am afraid you may not have formally accepted yet. I am so sorry for the uni’s shoddy approach to you. But if you like the programme you may decide to go for the interview anyway. There is nothing discriminatory about it, that I can see. Everyone else is likely in the same boat. OTOH this may be a bad omen. Are there any other Clearing options that work for you?

OP,

I see that I did not answer your explicit question. Only an offer made through UCAS is official. Even that can be amended until you accept it on UCAS, though this is very rare. Neglecting to inform you of an interview requirement would be a dubious reason IMO.

I don’t know how much you can push back on the basis of email. The email is not the offer of a contract. Think about whether you still wish to attend this uni if you have a successful interview, and about whether other Clearing options appeal to you.

If it ends up not working out, by all means complain to the Office for Students because this has been very poor behaviour. Your narrative is that they emailed you the promise of a place (save the email so you can attach it to any complaint) and told you to choose them on UCAS so they could make you an offer. After you did that did they informed you that interviews are necessary. Only successful interviewees will get offers. This constituted a ‘bait and switch’. They were (you should argue) obliged to tell you about the interview as part of the original conditions.

Very best wishes. This is wrong.