Unconditional offers

[Justwingingit2005]

Hi all

Long time since my UCAS days.....
My son applied for 3 uni courses - sport science, and has been given three unconditional offers with 72 hrs of his form being submitted.
Does anyone know how unconditional offers work? His 6th form leader seems a bit vague.

Doesn't unconditional mean that he's in no matter what his results are? Lucky him. Now he just needs to decide which one he prefers.

Does he already have his results? If so, unconditional offers would be the norm.

A true unconditional is exactly that - unconditional. If he selects it as his firm, he will be going there come what may on results day. He will not need (or I think be able) to select an insurance.

There are also ‘conditional unconditional’ offers, where they are unconditional if put as the firm choice (or possibly some other condition). The wording on the UCAS offer should make it clear if this is the case.

Either way, think carefully and be sure it’s what he actually wants.

This is the norm in Scotland because applicants are applying with known results for the most part, topped up by any final year exams.

If you get an unconditional offer from your first choice then you can accept it and it's job done - you will go there.

Ds1 has a conditional from his first choice but also has an insurance which is an unconditional from his 2nd choice. This will only come into play if he doesn't get the required result to fulfil the conditional offer.

Also had most of his offers come through within a couple of days of UCAS submission.

There's no huge rush to accept anything if he's not sure what offer is best for him so he should take his time.

Basically whichever he chooses as firm is guaranteed regardless of results. It may give priority on early accommodation application.

Former admissions tutor here. I echo the question posed by @FilippityFiloppity : does your DS have his results already?

Read the offers carefully. If he has his results it is likely that they are truly Unconditional. This means that all he needs to do us Firm his favourite - if one if the offers is indeed from his first choice - and he is in. When he does that he will have created a contract so he should think carefully. There is no rush except insofar as a quicker reply may be linked to better accommodation choices, which should be explained.

As @FilippityFiloppity says, there is also the ‘Conditional Unconditional’ offer, which some universities use as a recruiting tool. If DS Firms, the offer will become Unconditional and again he will have created a contract.

IMO he should think clearly about his genuine preferences and not have his head turned, flattering though this is.

He doesn't have his exam results. Currently in yr 13.
His first choice have given him an unconditional so he wants to go there

Agree with @poetryandwine

Don’t let him give in to the panic and worry of getting a place- he should go where he genuinely wants to go.

Also, unconditional means he still has to finish his course. Was he taking an extended diploma?

Ds got an unconditional offer and accepted it. I was concerned he would stop trying and not get the results at A level that he could have done but he did keep working and got the results we expected. It did take the pressure off and he knew with certainty where he was going and he was very happy with his choice. It is a very lucky situation to be in especially if it is the first choice uni.

DS had an unconditional from his first choice university, but it was based on an entrance exam. He firmed the unconditional and then no longer needed to worry about an insurance. It definitely took the pressure off for his exams.

Hi again, OP -

If his true top choice has given him an Unconditional Offer, he may as well take it.

However as someone who took a somewhat similar entrance path (abroad) and then got complacent, may I caution your DS not do the same? Although it is marvellous to have no pressures for his exams, he will be in a much better position as he begins university if he retains the presumed work ethic that generated these offers. I got complacent, and coming back up to speed at uni wasn’t easy. Everyone else was already used to working hard.

DD2 received a conditional offer following interview but was then contacted a couple of weeks later to say that if she firmed the offer, it would be unconditional. We went and had another look at the uni and she went for it. This meant she was allocated her first choice of accommodation.

A couple of weeks later, they contacted her again. The gist of the message was that sometimes people with unconditional offers stop working, so as an incentive to her, they were offering her a bursary if she achieved the UCAS points equivalent to 4 B grades. It had the desired effect; DD worked hard and smashed the points so received £4k in February of her 1st year. She's now a term into her Masters.

That’s fantastic, @Malbecfan

Something to hope for, OP!

Mine has an unconditional offer but we are in Scotland so he already has grades which exceed the entry requirements. I believe if you accept an unconditional as your first choice you don’t get to have an insurance choice.

Definitely he should work as hard as if the offer was conditional- I know of more than one lad who took their feet off the pedals and did worse on A levels than their ability due to unconditional offers. Then one of them partied through most of his first year. He did not finish his second. After some thinking he realised that his poor A level results meant other unis weren't so interested and he never did get a degree - lucky for him his stepdad got him a job in his firm but it isn't at all in the area he had hoped to work in.