University Offers Coming In 23/4 - part 2!

[WombatChocolate]

Following on from the old thread which was getting full….come and share the highs and lows of the journey that is A Levels and UCAS!

Congrats @pinkroseapp on your son getting an Imperisl offer. I love the relaxed, not checking his email frequently vibe [gtib]

Thanks @lifeturnsonadime good to hear good things about Birmingham. DD did the open day with DH. I’ve been to the uni once but over 20 years ago to recruit undergraduates. She’ll be firming either Nottingham or Birmingham so she (and I) will do both offer days and then decide.

Sigh, we had a long conversation last night about DC deciding they'd applied for the wrong course (after agonising over the choice initially!). So now going to investigate to see how/if it's possible to change courses and if so, when's the best time to do this

I guess better to decide now @BaileysAllRound than one semester in to the wrong course?

(trying to look on the bright side for you 😊)

Yes, there is that I suppose. I've told DC to go and do some more investigation into all the course contents and try and speak to someone at school about what to do next.

@BaileysAllRound when did your DD submit her application? Students have 14 days from applying to make changes to choices.

If it's too late she can apply later through UCAS for one uni at a time, or wait until clearing. But as @user1498460618 says, school will be able to advise if there are other options.

@BaileysAllRound DD has asked one of her choices (post offer) if she can change - hasn’t heard back but apparently it is quite a normal request and there is even a prompt to do it on the portal; i guess more difficult if its post offer with a higher grade req for the new course. It will all be down to numbers of places I guess alongside the normal process

Ah ok we will take a look at the portal thanks. Application went in before Christmas so too late for that route.
the subject they want to switch to (either biological sciences or neuroscience) has the same or lower grades (AAB/ABB) from what we can see and I'm assuming science degrees are much less likely to be oversubscribed than some other subjects.

@BaileysAllRound If your DC wants to do the new course at the same uni(s) as they’ve already applied to, and it’s a related subject, that shouldn’t be too difficult, especially if they already have an offer. You would probably need to ask each uni directly.

One of DD1’s friends managed to change from English to Engineering at Manchester (albeit with a foundation year, as she didn’t have the right A-levels)!

@BaileysAllRound my Dd at Edinburgh managed to change course after she had an offer – frustratingly, the course she changed to actually would’ve had slightly easier entrance requirements than the course she originally applied for but she still had to get the same super high grades for a place. All the other units on her list that she asked allowed her to change too. She had to wait a few weeks for an answer. Just email the admissions department. They are completely used to this.

Congratulations to your DD @WriterOfWrongs, I'm glad to hear good things about Birmingham as it's one of our offers here too and I don't know the city or uni at all. DD applied for a couple based on course content alone without having visited so the offer holder day will be our first time there. Almost all booked in now, just Manchester to go 😊

@BaileysAllRound Did your DD apply for psychology, by any chance? My DD has applied for neuroscience and I’m almost sure I have seen cases where psychology applicants have been rejected but offered neuroscience as an alternative (can’t remember where but it might be Bristol or Exeter?). That suggests switching courses might not be too hard.

I guess @WriterOfWrongs my point was that if a student really wants to go to a particular oversubscribed university/course and doesn't get an offer one year then there is no shame in trying again the year after given the vagaries of the selection system/so many students making the grades, rather than 'settling' and regretting. The whole process is less stressful if you have your A level grades in hand when you apply. The current system we have is rubbish and gives both students and universities huge headaches and uncertainties squashing everything into a few short weeks after A levels come out.

I know many who 'settle' don't look back but I do get the feeling (and again not on this thread) that it's often viewed as a once only chance - but it's not. It is quite normal for students applying to conservatoires for example - my DD did three years of auditions and we know others who did more - up to six. Got there in the end and gathered a lot of useful work experience along the way. I am a big fan of a gap year or three!

No, completely unrelated course (accounting/finance related). It was a toss up between something maths-y and something biology related when she first applied.

@BaileysAllRound Ah! I see! Yes, that is very different and if she has decided it is the wrong choice best to try to change it now. Actually, if unis are suggesting people switch it implies that some courses may be undersubscribed and that would still work in her favour. For what it’s worth, it is still possible to get into accountancy and finance later on without a related degree - my DD2 who graduated with a languages degree is now an accountant.

😅DS got his first offer (submitted UCAS form on Friday - too laid back for words that one!). Aberystwyth - which he really liked and which came highly recommended by a colleague at the Crick for Biology particularly plant genetics which is his passion. So that's a relief!

Fantastic news @Mytholmroyd - nice to have the first one in the bag. Your ds sounds focussed so it's great he's found a recommended place to study.

DD just got an offer from UCL for English without needing an interview, she's so happy! Now she needs to decide if she is gonna firm UCL or Kings.

Great news @catmomof3 👏👏

Congrats and great news @catmomof3 & @Mytholmroyd !

It’s all getting rather real, isn’t it?

Thanks @stoneysongs @WriterOfWrongs she was thinking she would invited to an interview but I guess they liked her enough to not need one. She's over the moon even though she can't decide what uni to choose lol.

Superb news @Mytholmroyd and @catmomof3 ! Well done to both of them.

Thank you everyone!

Yes all too real and although I don't realistically see why he wouldn't get offers from the ones he has applied to you just never know do you?

And the York offers have just arrived for the integrated Masters in Biology and Genetics so again they were really quick.

Fingers crossed everyone else's offspring get good news shortly!

Brilliant news!

@catmomof3 wow to UCL english. After all the watchful waiting we were doing all term, to skip the interview altogether is fantastic. Many congrats to her - they must have really impressed by her application.

Thank you so much, she was literally expecting to have an interview or a rejection so she is very very happy right now.