Durham Offer for 24. DS wants to defer to 25 - any experience?

[AmberlyCastle]

DS now wants to take a year out.

What’s the best way to go about this?

Is it straight forward or do they need a good reason?

Will they make him reapply instead?

When is it best to do this now or on results day?

If he missed his offer slightly on results day is it possible that they would take him this year but refuse a deferral?

He should ask them. The earlier the better as they will have more wiggle room. They will probably have a deferral policy. Acknowledge it. If it is a fairly competitive course I can't see that he has more chance getting in with dropped grades this year or next.

DD got a March offer for medicine, at somewhere which did not allow deferrals. She wrote recognising that she was asking for an exception and giving reasons. She got a response the next day agreeing. It may have been that as they came up to deadline day they were slightly over numbers so her request was welcome. She had a great time and does not regret the year off for a minute.

Just ask them

Def ask soon so they can factor in to other offers; i think Durham have details on views on deferrals on some course pages but perhaps not all?

Thanks all. It’s for history. I will ask him to look again at the course to understand if they are pro/anti deferral.

I think we were trying to cover all bases by waiting until results day - in case he dropped a grade - he would then choose to go in 24 as wouldn’t be able to defer or reapply with those grades.

It's not particularly them being pro or anti. They should have a policy and it should be on the departmental section of the website. Even if they don't normally allow, he can ask. March is the right time as they will be finalising numbers and may find themselves with more acceptances than they had allowed for. If he has a good reason (DD had been ill so Yr 13 was tough and she said she wanted to fully recover before starting the course) or some interesting plans/opportunities he should add these.

All they can do is say no.

@AmberlyCastle if he drops a grade (from the offer) they don't have to let him in for '24 either. Durham is popular they don't need to make concessions to get bums on seats. Every year is different- what happened next year may not happen the next. Best to ask now.

Be aware that although some departments have a stated policy some don’t - but may still be anti-deferrals and/ or treat deferred applicants more harshly if they drop a grade. Last summer my DC dropped a grade (from A*AA to AAA) and was binned. Durham admissions was v blunt that this was because DC was a deferred place holder. I suspect many schools know this but my DC’s state school sends few students to Durham so we weren’t aware - if we had been DC would not have asked for the deferral. Hope your DC has a better experience (or at least Durham makes their approach more transparent!)

Thank you @buggyboredv relevant information. I really hope things worked out for your DC and they are happy with their year off and where they will go in the end. It’s all a bit of a gamble

Easier to give advice if you say what the course is

@Revengeofthepangolins i believe she did (History)

Sorry! Missed that. History are funny in that they don't like to make deferred offers (or didn't 3 years ago) which would sound unencouraging, I have known other departments with a similar attitude to allow it anyway, so I agree that asking make sense.

I think Durham is very unlikely to let him in with missed grades for history so don't think there is much benefit in waiting until august, and knowing whether he is planning a gap year or not before then would be preferable.

DD's boyfriend did this a few years ago, emailed the department and they replied virtually immediately saying no problem. IIrc he did it in about April. It wasn't for history though. Asking won't do any harm though - they can't take his offer away.

My son deferred history at Durham in 2021 - after he had achieved his grades. They were asking people to defer because too many students had got the grades they needed and the course was over subscribed. He’s in the second year now and loves history at Durham by the way!