2026 UCAS - Offers, Rejections and Waiting to Hear

[EducatingRosemary]

For those whose DC have submitted their UCAS application without having yet taken the A-level (or equivalent) exams…

How are your DC getting on with hearing back from the universities?

Got an offer from RHUL yesterday. BBB for a humanities subject. Admissions lecturers working hard!

DC got an offer from Warwick today! 3 out of 5 offers so far. Does anyone know if the offer holder days is only for the firm and insurance or all 5?

I’m assuming as they’re before they have to firm their choices that they’re for anyone who has got an offer.

Fab news. Offer Holder days are supposed to be to help applicants choose, so you should have the opportunity to go to all five before choosing a firm and insurance.

Was the Warwick offer humanities? Wondering if we’ll hear soon.

DD is still rewriting her personal statement. She's applying to at college from an art foundation course, same they encourage the art students to apply as late as possible before the deadline, but I'm not used to the whole art college application process, so it all feels very nerve-wracking and last minute to me.

Thanks, we only managed to visit a couple of places so that's good to know. Hoping the train tickers will be a lot less outside of peak times as it would have cost us something like £250 to visit Durham at the open day! Adding hotel costs it would have been the same cost as an overseas weekend break somewhere quite nice!

History, with AAA offer (PG AstarAA, non contextual). What's your DC applying for?

For my DD, she changed her mind on her degree so completely she had to apply to all five blind 🤦🏽‍♀️.

We had to reply on the OHDays as we’d not seen any of them! It seemed to work for us as she chose her courses on a complex personal algorithm of ranking, course modules and other spurious criteria and really like the uni when she visited. Job done.

For DS we visited no less than 8 unis. I suspect we will go to visit the top 2 on OHDays.

Oh wow - sounds stressful (for you!) but sounds like she got there in the end and much better to change her mind before starting University rather than afterwards! Would your DS go back to the universities again if he’s been to the open day?

So yes, DD’s case was based on the original idea being she would do an animation/3d art degree, but an 8wk course at St Martins drove her around the bend and she realised she could not possibly do 3 years on a computer [despite being an e-gamer]. Realised this half way through December so there was a major panic. As parents we just said - great, best to learn this now rather than half way through year 1! She’s doing classics and ancient history at KCL, so seriously big win from our point of view!

re DS, yes, he’ll go back. In part because he went to all the Open Days alone with DH (a physics grad/nerd who could get a real sense for the passion and expertise of the tutors). DS wants me to go with him for the OHDs so I’ve not missed out [mummy’s boy]… and poss to humour me in terms of working out where the laundry facilities are and whether he really should choose accommodation with catered facilities over ones with an en suite. 🤣

That’s really nice that he wants you to come along. How sweet!

Eng Lit

I had thought DS would go to offer holder days by himself, but he said last night, ‘no Mum, there’s information for parents too. I think you should come.’ So it looks as if I’m going to at least the one that he’s already booked!

We’re still waiting on Warwick too (PPE). It’s DS’s top choice, but the one likely to be most competitive and challenging (if he gets an offer). We’re in Scotland, and they’re more complicated in how they treat a combination of highers / advanced highers so it’s a bit nerve wracking waiting to hear from them.

My daughter only just applied for her textile design degree at the start of the break, also from.art foundation, which is lucky because back in September she was set on an illustration degree.....

We're going to Loughborough's offer holder day in Feb as DS didn't get the chance to visit. A parent will be going as otherwise he will not bother to look around the accommodation! I also really want him go to Birmingham's, as along with Loughborough it may be his insurance choice. I think a lot will depend on how well he does on TMUA, if he does well that will lower his Warwick offer and means that Loughborough's offer and Warwick's are the same (ish) and Birmingham becomes the safer insurance.

All very complicated!

@AuntyBulgaria DS applied to Birmingham too - but without attending an offer day because he literally found a physics and cosmology course that he loved the look off the night before applying (whilst umming and ahhing about the 5th option). DH’s only comment was that the campus was opposite Edgbaston Cricket ground!

Am a little concerned with the bin strikes etc there so will definitely be hitching a ride to that offer open day if he gets an offer…

@CautiousLurker2 we went to Birmingham on a non open day just to get a sense of the campus. I thought it was great - green and spacious with great sports facilities. It has it's own station so really easy to get into the city.

I thought it was good for those that want a campus but not too isolated. It has a diverse population and the course looked good.

It would be good to see it on an open day so it can help decide the final choice.

Ah perfect - my DS is really keen on a campus feel and Birmingham is less than an hour for InLaws so we know he’d have family nearby in a crisis if needed. Am hoping we get an offer earlier in the season so that we can definitely make an OHD. I think I’ll be spending a few weekends in the Midlands!!

How important is it that they go to offer holder days? DD doesn't seem keen (and in fact didn't even mention them - it was me reading your posts that prompted me to ask as I assumed they would be announced later). She is waiting for Cambridge outcome (she doesn't think she did well, not hopeful) and I think she has just shut down about the whole thing. She has visited all four that have made her an offer and ruled out one of them. I would like her to visit the other three again but perhaps am just being overanxious and interfering.

@Fifty50Fifty re offer holder days DS is only going to the ones that he hasn't visited already and are still in the frame for being a possible option. I don't think they're vital and train tickets are expensive.

DS is still waiting for two offers (Durham and UCL) but I don't think they'll feature in his final line up. He needs to think tactically about the grades he'll need. The insurance needs to be a sensible back up and that's why DS is going to his two possible insurance choices to help decide.

@Fifty50Fifty DD is planning to only go to the offer holder day for the uni she hasn't seen before.

Has anyone actually had any invites to the offer holder days? DC has had 3 offers so far but doesn't think he has had any emails about this. Maybe it's too early, or are we missing something?

@Fabfabfab yes have invites for all three places where DS has received an offer. So far booked one for 7 Feb.