Can you differ a place at a U and accept a different one

[Unichoice9]

Hi

Just wondering how the University application works. Say DC doesn’t get accepted in first choice university but gets accepted in second choice. Could they accept the place, differ one year and try again following year for first choice U; or one they secured a place that’s it and the application stops?

Will it be better apply only for their favourite course/university and if they don’t get accepted, take a gap year, try again and put more choices in second year application.

Hope this makes sense

TIA

Once you secure a place the application stops. If you want to reapply you have to give up the place you’re holding

Why do you think his first choice would offer them a place after a year out if it wasn't offering them one immediately? - that would only work if the first choice lower their requirements, or your DC do something in the intervening year to reach the requirements they failed this year.

Once you have accepted an offer, you cannot reapply without withdrawing from the first one. There is no guarantee they would be offered the same place a second time.

Thank you. Thats clear now

A friend of mine at A level college tried this. She wanted to go to UEA to do Art History and was offered a place at Leicester for lower grades (which she got). She begged UEA to take her, they wouldn't but she'd already rejected Leicester and when she returned to try again with them they didn't want to know. I am sure the methods of accepting / rejecting / reapplying have differed slightly in the intervening years, but not the attitudes of Admissions officers who don't fancy being mucked about.

DC will do more in the gap year to increase their chances. Anyone else done that?

This is helpful.

Could they apply for top choice only first year? Do more in gap yesr year if they do pass to increase chances; but put a few more choices too; or is this not well seen by Universities either ?

Rather depends on what they plan to do and how far the actual grades differ to standard offer. Many unis / admissions tutors pay little heed to the ps and just go by grades and reference, are they likely to need to do an interview for the course?

Why bother though? You can submit one choice early in the process, see the outcome and add more before the UCAS deadline. Although for some courses like Medicine/Vet Med and Oxbridge the deadline is early October anyway.

What do you mean by "do more" ?

Do you mean "retake" ? Because some courses want you to have taken all 3 A-levels you are applying with, at the same time, so that won't help.

To my mind, I can't see why you would only put one choice on the application. If a person wants to do a degree in X, then surely it is better to study that degree somewhere that might not have been initial first choice, but is a comparable university?

Has your dc visited universities, on open days ?

Thank you. The grades are not the issue. DC is predicted 3A with at least one A*; but this is not what their preferred choice University look at only, they look at additional extracurricular and achievements related to the course, personal statement, interview, etc.

Maybe this is an option. Are they guaranteed to see the outcome though before the deadline though.

Yes, there will be an interview

Nothing wrong with having aspirations and clear goals but it is good to have a flexible mindset and an acceptance that a 'plan B' is required even when going all out for 'plan A'.

Best to be attending Open Days and genuinely researching other uni options as, particularly in Y12&13:

Aspirations can change
Preferred university choices can change
Predicted grades can change (down or up)

It sounds like your DC is currently committed to a very particular path However, looking more broadly is not an admission that Plan A won't happen. At the very least it will help confirm that plan A is the preferred path but also means the prep is already done if any the changes above occur.

Remember that individual unis do not see what other courses you have applied for. Ideally, your DC should go into the UCAS cycle willing to research and potentially use all five slots. As others say, your DC can delay using some or all of their slots up until the equal consideration deadline in Jan (assuming we are not talking about the early deadline courses like Med and Vet).

Even if they were to take a gap year, they would like need to be flexible minded next time around as the same issues regarding timing would hold in the following year's UCAS cycle. Hope that helps.

Yes people reapply to Oxbridge if they don't in first time. There have been lots of threads saying this.

In some cases candidates have to reapply. Friend of DS was reduced all A's applied for 5 top uni's/ competitive Unis and got no offers. That was horrible .He reapplied the year after obviously with grades in hand and got an offer from Bristol. No idea why they didn't want him first time round though.

We’ll never know, of course. But over prediction has become a big problem and ultimately does no one any favours. Having an impressive set of grades in hand is something else entirely

No guarantee preferred uni will make an early enough offer unless you are talking about Oxbridge which is early to mid January.

There are no guarantees that even with 3a*'s they will get into oxbridge - friend with 4 got rejected, even made lots of soft criteria too but she applied to trinity and they are old fashioned, she's a stunning mixed race woman and always wears too much makeup and heels! (We suggested she tone it down for the interview but didn't, also really sassy, amazing young woman but not what they look for!)

I guess if they try twice they could at least give them the best shot, the gap year will help build other skills, maybe work in some related areas. Second time they put an insurance university and if first choice wasn’t to be then it wasn’t to be. I think if they get accepted in second choice and decline it then the U may not be interested second time around; so maybe better not to put it first time.

I did this back home. I didn’t passed first time, changed the course for something else I was interested, studied harder for the exam and passed second time around to a top university back home, That career changed my life.

To suggest that Trinity aren’t looking for mixed race women is bizarre

Defer 😊

Sadly not

Woops. Thanks. I am not native English but that spelling really looks wrong whichever way you look at it. Lets blame tiredness or iPhone 😂

I very much doubt Oxbridge care about anyone’s personal style. They have it all. Plenty if interviewees don’t get offers