Refused Uni offer, can he now change his mind?

[BlankSpaceForBrains]

Apologies in advance as DH and I didn't go to uni so we have no idea what the process is. I'll try to keep this short.

DS was offered places in Edinburgh, Queens and Ulster (we are in Northern Ireland). He had been battling a health concern for the past two years but thankfully it had healed by that time so he gave it no thought. He thought about where he wanted to go and decided on Edinburgh and was looking forward to it. His second choice was Ulster as he was concerned he'd not get the grades needed (Ed and Queens needing same results).

Fast forward to now and his health concern has got to a point of needing a surgery which most likely means weeks of recovery. This has thrown a spanner in the works completely as he would have to give up the Edinburgh place completely as he'd have to have treatment here and see the nurse weekly for weeks/months.

He is now saying he thinks he shouldn't have declined Queens as it's where his friends are going and if he gets the grades he'd rather go there than his second choice of Ulster. But he has already declined the Queens offer so is there any way they'd take him if he gets the grades?

He will go to Ulster if that's the only option but as his friends will be at Queens he'd prefer to go there and thinks it's a better fit for him. If the health issue wasn't a concern he'd be away to Edinburgh but sadly it needs brought into the equation now and he doesn't know what to do.

Any advice on whether it's possible?

I think that once he gets his A level result in August he can try and get in on clearing

When did he firm and insure the offers. If he did so within the past 14 days he can call UCAS and change his decision.

If not then he can see whether Queens are offering the course through Extra. If so he can decline both his firm and insurance and select Queens through Extra. He would be best speaking to their admissions before doing this.

Finally if he makes the grades for Edinburgh his Ulster place will automatically be released and he won't have that as an option.

Maybe he should take a year out have the surgery and reapply to Queens for the following year.

I agree it sounds like he should seriously consider finding out if he can defer his Edinburgh offer for a year, get his surgery and see how things are going, and decide whether to hold the deferred offer or reapply from scratch next year. Good luck to him, I hope things work out health wise to get him back on track.

Sorry I went out with DD and didn't get the chance to reply. Thank you all for the responses, yes he has considered a year out but fears being left behind so wanted to try do Uni through recovery but a year out is definitely on the cards also. We haven't seen the surgeon yet (another long story) but once he does see him he'll know where he stands on a timeline for surgery and recovery.

I feel for him, it's the worst timing for this to happen and now he's afraid he'll not get anywhere til next year and might not fit in as well.

It has been more than 14 days since he accepted yes. He's going to have to give things some serious thought once he sees the surgeon but we wanted to know if it was even doable to change placements in the meantime.

Thank you.

I was in a vaguely similar position. I think it is hard to realise at that age that going some where without your friends can be just as valuable (or better even as it stops you being trapped in childhood) and that life is long and one year makes little difference.

I had to defer a year due to illness and was devastated at the time. I thought the uni would
refuse and my dreams were over. But they were absolutely fine and very supportive as it meant I was turning up ready to go. In retrospect it was awesome, made great friends and got a lot of benefits from it.

I think just reassure him that whatever path he ends up down he will be absolutely fine and going somewhere new or in a different year is just a step out into the world.

He should defer the place at Edinburgh. The majority of university courses are not set up to accommodate several weeks of absence, so he could well find that he’d need to temporarily withdraw mid-year and return a year later anyway, possibly even retaking part of the year (which would also have disadvantages financially).

I think the deadline for firming and insuring offers was yesterday but given his situation I would get him to call UCAS immediately and request they are swapped. Once he explains the circumstances of now needing to be in NI they can probably change it, or if not they’ll at least be able to explain his options. He needs to do this asap / today though.

Another vote for defering the Edinburgh place here OP, if that's the course he wants to do. If he can pick up some semi relevant work experience during the year (after the surgery and he's well again) it will be so useful and he'll be in a much better place to focus on studies. At his age a year seems like a lifetime, but honestly at uni he will fit right in as there will be people of all ages starting.

Id defer, there's a lot going on your first year of uni and I wouldn't want to not be able to be fully involved because of recovery. I got very sick in my 3rd year of university and while the university was supportive it was nothing like my experience the first two years. It's also a lot of pressure and while they can apply special consideration on exam results it didn't come close to accounting for the impact of being really sick on my grades. I wouldn't want my child to struggle and get discouraged or stressed out during recovery. I'd defer and go to his first choice the year after.

I didn't know anyone when I arrived in my first year, people come from all over and they'll be lots of people in the same boat. Despite being cloae friends for 2 years I basically got dropped from my friendship group when I was too sick to do much of anything. It could be really tough on him if he goes to Queens and his friends aren't supportive during his recovery.

Defer the Edinburgh place for a year and spend this year convalescing with (hopefully) a part time job eventually. He will be in a much stronger position when he starts uni as he should have saved money, and he’ll be more mature which will probably mean he can cope better overall.

I wish I’d done a gap year. It’s hard to step off the conveyor belt, but people who do can find it’s really good.

Thank you all, we have discussed deferring and he's knows that's the best option if surgery is needed. He's had it done before and needed a lot of support and leeway from school so isn't sure uni would be so supportive. He's just hoping against odds that there's a way round it but I suspect not. He just wanted to know his options if he couldn't get to Edinburgh so thank you all for the advice.

Did he contact UCAS and find out?

Hi @BlankSpaceForBrains in your shoes, I'd advise your son to give Queens admissions a call (loudspeaker so that you can listen if he'd be happy with that, as sometimes two pairs of ears better) and explain the situation to them. I bet Queens would give great advice. Also Ucas a good shout.

I'd also say that the new University of Ulster campus is amazing (they do tours almost daily I think, anyone can sign up, and I think the first couple of floors are open to the public if you haven't already been). I've also heard their careers/placement/industry mentoring is really good. (No doubt Queens is too)

Wishing your son all the very best with Op, recovery & course.

@BlankSpaceForBrains sorry I am just spotting that I'm posting on a Jun'24 thread and I managed to miss the latest posts and your update. Please ignore my previous post. All best.