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[MirandaWest]

Thought I’d start this thread in case anyone else with a DC who didn’t get an offer from Oxford (or Cambridge in a couple of weeks time) wants to say anything - I feel a bit out of place in the Oxbridge thread now but could be good to have somewhere to talk about how they are and what their plans are now.

Totally agree @PotentialUCLmum and it's poor of universities, particularly London ones where the pressure on accommodation is high, to do this.

My daughter's friend has applied to UCL and not heard yet, yet they had offer holder day for her course already so I agree it's annoying how they do things.

Agree that it is startling that UCL are now doing a first come, first served for accommodation!

Apparently no one has had a Comp Sci offer yet from UCL as they are still jumping through the hoops of the extra admissions test that has been running the last fortnight. Hopefully they have held some space back for the poor comp scientists!!

Anybody had a UCL accommodation offer yet? Nothing here yet.

Nothing from UCL accommodation here either, last year they wasn't allocated till results day.

@catmomof3 This year the offers can be any time from end of April until August. It said in the confirmation email my DS received after submitting his application.

The UCL accommodation system has been a nightmare this past week. DD unable to get into it and no one available at the end of the phone. Several emails later, she has finally been able to submit her choices…..

That’s good to hear @PotentialUCLmum Fingers crossed we all hear soon. I just want to know asap, pay the deposit and forget about it until August.

I'm waiting on a drs letter to establish DS's needs before DS can submit to UCL for accommodation. It's frustrating to say the least. I am hoping that they will retain some accommodation to meet the needs of disabled students to deal with this issue as I don't think it's possible to apply then submit the information later.

@space99 Apparently they said the same thing last year and nobody heard till offers day 🤷🏻‍♀️

It does seem annoying. I think at Bristol (at least in my children's day) it was quite fair https://www.bristol.ac.uk/accommodation/apply/key-dates/, but if someone doesn't get their grades for 1st choice university and Bristol is their back up then there is not the same situation.

I am increasingly annoyed on DC's behalf - after being redirected from Oxbridge (fine, always going to be a roll of the dice) they are still waiting to hear from UCL and Bristol for CompSci.

It is SO close to exams that even though they are being very mature about it, it can't help but affect concentration and motivation.

They are predicted 4x A stars but I can see the toll that waiting and uncertainty (as well as disappointment) is taking on them.

Absolutely nothing we can do of course, but it is very frustrating.

I wonder if part of the delay for comp science, maths and some other high demand courses is down to the dawning realisation that these courses are not going to be as easily filled with high paying foreign students this year and how to work that out.
All those immediate blanket 2 or 3Astar offers from Warwick and others in October/November now look pretty premature if the demand is based on previous years.

I think you’re on to something there

I wonder if there will be clearing places for international students again in these subjects - that happened last year

Looking at some of the forums DC has pointed me to, there seems still to be an extremely high volume of international students applying for (and being offered) these institutions.

Ds did the offer holder day at Warwick yesterday and we were impressed. Looked at the nice accommodation (£245 a week!!) and halls that were a lot cheaper but still good sizes. Had a couple of nice meals in nearby country pubs.

It's going to be a very difficult decision now as both choices offer great things. Warwick is all round a better and cheaper student experience, Imperial has a better reputation for his course, therefore better prospects? He knows London and there will be a support network due to friends at IC and us fairly close by but the accommodation is ££. My gut tells me Warwick but he's keen on IC. It's a 4 years Masters so no chance to go elsewhere for that.

Two things make that risky @Newgirls . The market for international students this year has contracted significantly - visa constraints, global economic issues like the Nigerian currency and high interest rates - and the media are now all over the lower academic requirements for foreign students especially the Times. It would be risky to have a glut of international places in clearing this year in particular.

DD got her UCL accommodation offer today she got an ensuite which she is happy about and it's a 20 min walk from main campus.

Fingers crossed to those still waiting. It is so unfair. One silver lining is that your DC will have had useful experience of competitive applications long before they start applying for internships and jobs. And will know that however hard the process is something usually works out in the end. A decade back DS waited on Warwick, UCL and LSE till almost deadline day and got one. He found it very difficult. Ten years later he applied for around 250 post-PhD academic jobs world wide and, again got one. He remained very calm throughout. The important thing is to get the grades. One of his classmates with four rejections first time out, got Cambridge on reapplication.

Observation suggests there will be a lot of movement in University accommodation. DS was guaranteed something at LSE, however we live about 10 minutes walk from the University so unsurprisingly he was not their first priority. International Hall, an intercollegiate hall was a bit grotty though well located, and a couple of other Londoners decided after a week or so to leave, live at home and save the money. DS joined several societies and made his friends on campus.

Observation (his school offered boarding so had international students) was also that if anything it was harder for international students to get places at the very competitive courses. A lot of well qualified students from the north of England, and the rest of the UK will not consider London. That said the fact that you have top students from across the world competing for places means the bar for entry is extremely high.

To expect students to wait so long is unacceptable.

That must be a relief @catmomof3 - hope it wasn't too expensive! We will be swallowing up the cost of first year accommodation so ds can live independently, at least for the first and last academic years. Nudging ds to firm and insure this week so we can get on with the student finance application and he can fully get on with exam prep.

@Lightsabre I kind of hope our boys both end up at IC - I feel like we have been on this journey together 🤣

DS got his UCL accommodation offer too, so we are very relieved. His is a small single in a hall right on campus. We have paid the £250 deposit. All he needs now are the grades! 😬

@mynameisnotmichaelcaine, I think he is getting more excited about IC and anxious he won't get the grades to meet the offer. Will be good to have someone to 'talk' to who also has a dc starting there. Has your dc firmed?

I was at the UCL campus at the weekend as I like the Renoir cinema there. Also love the Hare and Tortoise Japanese restaurant. Nice place for students to eat. It's a great area and very easy to walk to Soho etc

@Lightsabre the Japanese restaurant sounds nice. I must admit I can’t wait to visit DS UCL as I love weekend breaks in London. Certainly more exciting than Lancaster, his insurance option

It's £309 a week 😩 but she gets an accommodation bursary and another 3k bursary on top of her maintenance loan and she has savings and working over the summer so she should be ok. She's going to try and apply for a job transfer but it's difficult to get one in London so she plans to start sending cvs off at the end of July/Aug just incase.

We live 45 mins away by train so if she's always stuck for food she can pop home.