Any disadvantage to delaying submitting final choices?

[Maggiethecat]

Dd did early application including Oxbridge and still has 2 spaces to fill.

Not sure the real reason for the delay although she is still undecided on the 2 out of 3 she is considering - LSE, Bristol and Glasgow.

She has an offer from Manchester and awaits Cambridge and Durham.

I think she is still weighing up chances of offers across the board.

Is she likely to be prejudiced by waiting until close to the deadline to make final selection especially since some unis have already started offering?

No, as long as she’s before deadline she’ll be equally considered. But that said, deadlines in about three weeks so it’s unlikely she’s suddenly going to discover a new uni to throw into the mix and there are no open days to attend so I’d be encouraging her to crack on and get it out the way so she can focus on her A Levels

I agree. Not sure the epiphany she’s expecting (realise as I type what day it is, must be the subconscious!)

I presume that offer holder open day places won’t be affected yet either?

Former RG admissions tutor here, OP, and I fullyagree with @Bunnyannesummers . Also you are correct about Offer Holder Days.

Best wishes to your DD

Why did she put down Manc and Durham? Were they her favourites if she didn't get Cam? In which case as she has an offer from one of her favourites, then presumably she'd be looking to the other two as insurance offers (assuming a no from D and Cam)? So the decision becomes a pragmatic one of which is more likely to take her if she fails the M offer. Which may rule out LSE.

She didn’t really discuss much with us re: her choices and I was actually surprised that she put Man and Durham ahead of LSE and Bristol.

She has an unconditional from Man but I think she may prefer LSE/Bristol.

It’s law and I believe she is weighing up who places more emphasis on the LNAT which she thinks she fluffed.

Presumably if she gets an offer from Cambridge that will be her firm, so I would wait until then. She can be a bit more strategic once she knows whether she only needs an insurance, or if she is still looking for a firm as well. Adding courses takes 2 mins so she has plenty of time to ponder and make a decision after the Cambridge offers come out.

Cam results are the same day as UCAS deadline though aren’t they? So waiting until then is not useful. if she’s after an insurance option due to LNAT, Bristol or Durham are the ones to go for. Bristol states they look at 40/40/20 for LNAT/Alevels/GcSEs. Durham doesn’t say how it weights the LNAT. Or is Man the insurance option?

I am not a fan of unconditional offers. Just be aware that if she puts that as her insurance choice and misses a place at her first choice then she really does need to be prepared to go there.

On results day her unconditional choice will be 'locked in', and is she decides to try for a clearing place she will will have to phone Manchester to be 'released'. This can take a while, and in the meantime clearing places get snapped up.

In this case this may not be an issue - I doubt an Oxbridge candidate will be considering clearing, but many students do get caught up this way with unconditional offers from unis they really don't want to go to.

Cam results are the same day as UCAS deadline though aren’t they?

No, I wouldn't have suggested it if that were the case. Cambridge offers out on 24 January, UCAS deadline 31 January.

If she doesn't meet her firm offer, her insurance offer will be locked in regardless of whether it is unconditional if she gets the grades. So no real difference unless she drastically misses her predictions.

The best way is to approach unis in clearing and get them to hold any offers until she is released from her insurance, rather than getting released first.

*I am not a fan of unconditional offers. Just be aware that if she puts that as her insurance choice and misses a place at her first choice then she really does need to be prepared to go there.

On results day her unconditional choice will be 'locked in', and is she decides to try for a clearing place she will will have to phone Manchester to be 'released'. This can take a while, and in the meantime clearing places get snapped up.*

This is the same for everyone who has a place at their insurance choice, whether it's unconditional or not. You have to decline the place at your insurance if you want to go into clearing.

Ah my error. I mistakenly thought Cambridge always released results on the same day as UCAS closing.

Yes, I am aware that second choice is locked in IF you meet it. I am afraid that I have seen too many students stuck in an unconditional second choice place when they could have gone to a much better uni through clearing. I think too many students accept these unconditional offers in a panic and do themselves a disservice.

I am not saying that is the case here at all. Manchester is an excellent uni. However there are a lot of mediocre institutions offering poor courses that throw out unconditional offers. Some students take them up because they worry about the exams and think a secure place is better than no place Come results day they realise they could go somewhere much better through clearing but then have the added stress of waiting to be 'released''.

Thank you all for this.

I hadn’t realised that if she firms Manchester she doesn’t get an insurance choice although that does make sense.

Just had a chat with her and she is being strategic. If she got a Cambridge offer she wouldn’t put LSE as one of her remaining 2 choices as she wouldn’t insure it (if she did get LSE offer too) based on similar grade requirement to Cambridge. She would put it if she doesn’t get a C offer as it seems to be her first choice after C. Then Bristol, then Manchester.

I didn’t know her choices when she submitted her application but seems she put Manchester in early as she knows they make unconditional offers to Scottish students with their Higher exam results in hand (while others will require Advanced Highers which she is sitting) so seems she wanted to know where she stood with this.

I think that's a good plan, there is no point picking LSE if she knows it's not going to be first choice (because she has a Cambridge offer) and doesn't work as an insurance either. She would be better off choosing two that could potentially be insurance options.

Good luck on 24th Jan!

Out of interest why is she preferring LSE over the others on her radar

I think that she has a well-worked out strategy.

If she receives an offer from Cambridge, she will be looking at insurance options. If LSE is very unlikely to offer below the Cambridge offer, it would not be a viable option.

If she does not receive an offer from Cambridge, LSE would be her top choice.

There is a lot to be said for waiting until after January 24th to submit her final choices.

In the same position @Maggiethecat . DD submitted 2 alongside Cambridge in October. She’s yet to get any offers as she applied to Lse and Edinburgh. She’s just put a 4th one in yesterday but is struggling to get enthusiastic beyond her 3rd choice. She may also decide to wait until 24th to see where she stands by then. My only worry is that I gather that options 4&5 will still be able to see that she did her ucas in October and would therefore be aware that they were bottom of the pile in terms of priority/last choice ? Might this affect likelihood of offers at competitive unis?

@Cremebrulee45 writing as a former admissions tutor in an ‘upper Russell Group’ university I would be very surprised if this had any effect whatsoever. Everyone wants to put together the strongest cohort possible, and that is really the only criterion.

Eg At Cambridge, only 50% of applicants make their offers (this is a consequence of the notorious STEP). Do you suppose the Insurance choices of the unlucky half are anything but delighted to welcome them? It’s essentially the same thing.

Sorry, Cambridge MATHS!!!

The equal consideration deadline means that course providers must consider all applications received by this time equally. Strictly speaking, there should be no disadvantage delaying applying for courses provided the application is submitted before the equal equal consideration deadline.

Wednesday 31 January 2024 is the ‘equal consideration’ deadline for most UCAS courses.

There was an earlier deadline of 16 October 2023 for applying to Oxford and Cambridge as well as applying for medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses.

@Hughs - thank you!

@Spirallingdownwards - I think she said LSE is first choice after Cambridge because of the course content 🤔 and its ranking.
I thought UCL/Kings would have been preferred of the London ones.

They did have the same date last year, nightmare as UCAS was being flooded with last minute applications and DD was trying to log on to get her Cambridge offer. Glad they saw the light and have Cambridge offers and UCAS closing date a few days apart this year.