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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Do you need 5 university choices on UCAS form?

39 replies

HebeJeeby · 13/10/2024 10:40

Hi, we have been to 6 uni open days and have 2 my DD loves, 1 she really likes, 2 are meh and 1 she absolutely didn’t like. DH thinks she should just put her favourite 3 down and not the others as she wouldn’t really want to go if offered a
place. I think she should put 5 choices down as it spreads her net wide and she will have to narrow it down to 2 anyway. Her favourite is an aspirational choice ( needs AAA or AstarAB, she’s predicted AstarBB), the other 2 want BBB and BBC so she should get offers from them at least.

What are people’s thoughts on this please? Is it best to put 5 choices or would 3 be ok? Thanks.

OP posts:
PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 10:44

My thought is; if she wouldn't go there anyway, then don't put them on the form at this point. She can add them later if she gets her form in early, if her top choices reject her (or haven't replied) before the deadline.

LIZS · 13/10/2024 10:47

She can submit now with one choice then add more before the deadline in January.

Upthejunctionandroundthebend · 13/10/2024 10:49

Are there any other courses e.g. joints she would apply for that the universities she loves?

Elderflower2016 · 13/10/2024 10:51

Fill up your 5 but scrap the ones she didn’t like and fill their spaces with some you think look good on paper but haven’t visited. If they get offers you can visit during the offer holder days.

Original poster
HebeJeeby · 13/10/2024 10:51

Thank you for all your replies, i didn’t know she could add more choices at a later date, that’s good to know and I think we might do that.

OP posts:
Original poster
HebeJeeby · 13/10/2024 10:53

Upthejunctionandroundthebend · 13/10/2024 10:49

Are there any other courses e.g. joints she would apply for that the universities she loves?

That’s a good idea too! Thanks.

OP posts:
timetogarden · 13/10/2024 10:54

Yes, my daughter has submitted with 4 and depending on how the offers go, will add one of two others (one aspirational and one more realistic) later on.

LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway · 13/10/2024 10:55

No. You don't need to put 5 @HebeJeeby You can put UP to 5. Putting 5 is not mandatory.

My two DC put 3 and 4 choices. Both got their first choice.

Putting less than 5 puts the person at risk of not getting into any at all, but it's fairly unlikely to happen, (and it depends which unis they are applying for of course.) 😀

.

MarchingFrogs · 13/10/2024 11:00

Every year, it seems, someone (at least one someone) posts something along the lines of, Of course DC has no intention of going to their insurance choice... So that's applicants who have not only put universities they don't want to go to on their form, but have actually named them as somewhere they do wish to go to, if only as a back up to somewhere else. I always hope that these are universities for which the whole process of assessing applications is automated and never takes up a moment of a real person's time...

And no, with the obvious provisos that if one didn't want to go to at least one university, one wouldn't be interacting with UCAS in the first place, and that one accepts that one won't get an offer from somwhere one didnt apply to, there is no need to apply to any more universities than one would actually want to go to, were an offer to be made.

And if one would only actually go to one of the ones applied for / offered, no need to name an insurance choice when the time comes, either.

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 11:06

@MarchingFrogs I always hope that these are universities for which the whole process of assessing applications is automated and never takes up a moment of a real person's time...

Amen! When my DD applied, she (luckily) got offers quickly from her top two choices, and then she withdrew from the rest. No point in creating more work for admissions staff. Putting down places that the applicant won't attend just clogs the system for everyone.

Penguinsa · 13/10/2024 11:36

Don't think there's any point in putting 5 if there's ones you definitely would reject. She can put the ones she wants now and add more if needed by the end of January deadline. It also can help as if your first choice has made an offer then you know you are looking for the insurance. If they haven't you are looking first for another first choice. DD had 2 initially then added others later.

LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway · 13/10/2024 11:37

@MarchingFrogs Yes, it is important to research quite a few universities and go see them, on their open days. Not just pick one, and stick 3 or 4 other randoms ones down.

It's a bit of a drag, but is essential. DH and I went with our 2 DC to SEVEN different universities - and 4 of them were 180-250 miles away! You can't just put your 'favourite' and then bang 4 random extra ones on there! You have to want to go to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th too. You can still have a first choice, but your others have to be ones you are happy to go to.

TwigTheWonderKid · 13/10/2024 11:50

I'd encourage her to find another couple of universities she does like, and put those down.

Ellmau · 13/10/2024 13:34

She should look a bit more widely. 6 visited is a very small pool.

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 13:39

Ellmau · 13/10/2024 13:34

She should look a bit more widely. 6 visited is a very small pool.

True in general, but it does depend on the course. Some subjects are only offered at a handful of places and the application list pretty much writes itself.

YellowAsteroid · 13/10/2024 14:11

If she’s never going to choose two of them, why include them on her UCAS form?

We don’t see applicants’ other choices.

Original poster
HebeJeeby · 13/10/2024 16:07

Ellmau · 13/10/2024 13:34

She should look a bit more widely. 6 visited is a very small pool.

DD wants a campus uni which did cut down our choices somewhat. UEA has an open day later this month so I’ll see if we can visit there too, it is a strong uni for her subject choice so worth a look I think. Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
HebeJeeby · 13/10/2024 16:13

YellowAsteroid · 13/10/2024 14:11

If she’s never going to choose two of them, why include them on her UCAS form?

We don’t see applicants’ other choices.

Very true and part of my dilemma. I’m conscious of not wasting admissions departments time (as mentioned above) too. Having chatted with DD I think we are just going to apply for the 3 that she really loves, as she is one grade off the required grades for her first choice and add further choices if she doesn’t get any offers before Christmas. I hadn’t realised we could do this so thank you to all those posters who mentioned this. We also like the idea of applying for a joint degree too as she was torn between 2 subject choices which are very closely interlinked anyway. Thank you to everyone for all your advice it has been very helpful and much appreciated.

OP posts:
YellowAsteroid · 13/10/2024 16:17

That all sounds very sensible. I think sometimes the flurry of 5 choices/must pick/ etc etc on the form sometimes can put the cart before he horse. Your DD should hang on and stay true to what she really wants to do.

2chocolateoranges · 13/10/2024 16:21

My dd chose 2 unis she liked, put 3 courses from one, 1 from the other uni and hen one course at another uni that she had the grades for so it was basically her insurance course just in case she wasn’t accepted to the ones she really wanted. She got 5 unconditionals as had the grades for each course.

MarchingFrogs · 13/10/2024 16:47

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 11:06

@MarchingFrogs I always hope that these are universities for which the whole process of assessing applications is automated and never takes up a moment of a real person's time...

Amen! When my DD applied, she (luckily) got offers quickly from her top two choices, and then she withdrew from the rest. No point in creating more work for admissions staff. Putting down places that the applicant won't attend just clogs the system for everyone.

God woman, that DDGrin. Of course, getting the top two back first was a help there. To be fair, people who sort of would be okay with any of the other four, but really really like one specific university do often suffer from that one being the slowest to respond, whether predictably or unexpectedly.

Another related issue (re the 'of course they don't intend to go there' thing) is that applicants who do get all their responses promptly often seem to feel a need to respond with their Firm / Insurance choice way before the deadline. And yes, I know that this can be influenced by the intended Firm being a university where accommodation is allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis, but where this isn't the case, a little more of a breathing space between last response in and making the final decision might be advisable.

@HebeJeeby do go to UEA if you can. And try to allow enough time for a walk around the Broad (I'm assuming that the recently fallen tree will have been dealt with by then, if it hasn't been already, and you will be able to do a full circuit), at least a quick look at the Sainsbury Centre (splash out on a coffee at the Terrace Café while your DD goes off to do open day things, perhaps), and if possible, spend a bit of time having a poke around the city itself, if youre not familiar with it. DS2 graduated from UEA in the summer and has stayed in Norwich to work, at least for a while. Not a 'grad scheme' (tbf im not sure that Norwich is exactly oversupplied with those) and not n the area of that he would like to end up in, but good customer service experience and he is learning quite a lot about the legal issues pertaining to to the business of home improvements, which at least at the moment, he seems to find quite interesting.

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 17:17

@MarchingFrogs Yes, she was very lucky with the order. As it happens, she's at art school, and the request for her portfolio (plus review and then decision) for choices One and Two happened before her work was even submitted to other places. As you might know, every art school asks for slightly different things, meaning each upload takes a good few hours to prepare, so her withdrawals were partly enlightened self-interest!

In case anyone reading this thread would benefit from hearing this: do not apply to art schools until the portfolio is nearly ready, as when they reply they have a very tight deadline for turnaround. Crazy system.

poetryandwine · 13/10/2024 17:42

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 11:06

@MarchingFrogs I always hope that these are universities for which the whole process of assessing applications is automated and never takes up a moment of a real person's time...

Amen! When my DD applied, she (luckily) got offers quickly from her top two choices, and then she withdrew from the rest. No point in creating more work for admissions staff. Putting down places that the applicant won't attend just clogs the system for everyone.

This is certainly true as far as it goes. For those lucky enough to get into their Firm choice or an Insurance choice with a similar offer, the story ends there.

The problem is that year in and year out, surprising candidates will fail to meet these offers - in addition to more academically vulnerable ones, of course. At that point, the definition of acceptable places often becomes more flexible. One of the less pleasant duties of an admissions tutor is telling someone who turned you down that you haven’t got room for them although they have the grades. The pleading can get quite fraught; everyone wants to be the one you will squeeze in.

This is why I think every applicant should have an Insurance choice two grades below their PGs, unless they have carefully thought things through and genuinely prefer the alternatives of taking a chance in Clearing or taking a gap year.

It’s a brilliant dream, @MarchingFrogs

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 17:49

This is why I think every applicant should have an Insurance choice two grades below their PGs, unless they have carefully thought things through and genuinely prefer the alternatives of taking a chance in Clearing or taking a gap year.

As always, @poetryandwine speaks incredible sense here. This is what I tell the students I work with. Some of them listen to me.

(In my own case, DD got two unconditional offers from choices One and Two... but that's only likely for artists/musicians/actors. DS, currently applying, has the awkward situation of his course choices being within a grade of each other... but he will be taking a planned gap-year so the stakes are lower. So please don't generalise at all from what I say about my DC on other threads!)

timetogarden · 13/10/2024 17:59

PhotoDad · 13/10/2024 17:49

This is why I think every applicant should have an Insurance choice two grades below their PGs, unless they have carefully thought things through and genuinely prefer the alternatives of taking a chance in Clearing or taking a gap year.

As always, @poetryandwine speaks incredible sense here. This is what I tell the students I work with. Some of them listen to me.

(In my own case, DD got two unconditional offers from choices One and Two... but that's only likely for artists/musicians/actors. DS, currently applying, has the awkward situation of his course choices being within a grade of each other... but he will be taking a planned gap-year so the stakes are lower. So please don't generalise at all from what I say about my DC on other threads!)

Edited

My daughter got an offer from the uni she had put as her lower / safe choice but they have offered her higher grades than the ones on their website. Her teacher said that is sometimes the case when your predicted grades are a fair bit higher? It looks good for their statistics? That's great but her safe choice definitely isn't as safe anymore. 🤦🏻‍♀️