UCAS help - Defer uni or apply for 2027

[Carerofcats]

My DS wants to go to uni but really wants a gap year. He is young for his year and I also agree that he would be better with another year at home. He has work lined up and some travel but is unsure how to go about filling in the UCAS form. Should he apply for 2026 and defer once he receives offers or should he apply for 2027?
Likely to receive a contextual offer based on circumstances and is doing an English based subject, so not highly competitive.

Gap year is a great idea especially as he has a plan for it. Best to wait and apply by about October/November. He’ll have work experience to reference on his statement and will be clearer about courses and how far away he might want to go.

My DD has just applied whilst on her gap year and it’s been a nice process because she knows her results and can target which unis to apply to so no disappointment or stress and her offers are unconditional so she already knows where she will go.

Her previous college were still willing to do her statement but maybe she would have had more support with the personal statement if she was still enrolled. Seems a minor downside though and I think it’s worked much better for her to apply with results.

She is working and saving for travel so she has been around at the key dates to submit her application etc. He would need to work around that.

My eldest waited and applied the following year with grades in hand, she had to have an interview for her course and was given an offer there and then as she already had the grades. Youngest child is planning on doing the same.

Thank you. Is there any downside to applying for this year then deferring once has results and confirmed offer? He seems very keen to do it this way and I feel like at least it’s all sorted. Not sure I could cope with chasing him to apply next year 😂

Hi, OP -

An English based subject should be fine in theory with deferring after acceptance. If DS knows where he wants to apply and will be busy during his gap year he might prefer to apply now.

But universities are in a bad way financially. There is a small risk that his degree programme will need bums on seats in Autumn 2026 and decline to defer him. If that happens he could withdraw and reapply for 2027 but it might feel awkward (even though he should be reconsidered without prejudice)

The safest thing is to delay his application. Post qualification applications are turned around quickly at many places (but not everywhere). Even if DS needs to interview, he can do that online if necessary

Best wishes to him

My daughter ended up taking two years out - I'd definitely recommend it. She piled up a stack of cash, got some valuable work experience and I suspect is more appreciative of the uni life having worked hard in a minimum wage job.

She had a deferred offer from Sheffield but didn't make the grades so ended up applying fresh. She applied for completely different courses second time around so maybe the original course was never for her anyway.

Our big mistake was not realising just how much offers were going to drop in clearing. She applied grades in hand in Early Clearing assuming that the grade requirements were "honest" - as soon as the actual clearing grades came out I realised she had a lot more choice than we thought she had.

However it did mean she was spared the stress of Results Day clearing and she says she's very happy where she is (Aberystwyth) and has no regrets. She was always one who preferred being top of a lower set so probably squeaking in as a "bum on seat" at a higher ranking uni wouldn't have suited her anyway.

There doesn't seem any harm in your DS applying for a deferred offer since if he changes his mind he can just withdraw and apply through Clearing anyway. Whether it's best to go through Early Clearing or wait till Results Day depends on his grades and his temperament.

This might be controversial but is he not ready or you're not ready?
I love gap years, I think they're a great way to learn about yourself and what you want. But he might also be ready for uni.
Just bear in mind that some unis might not let you defer, most will, but some will make you reapply.

I think that having a gap year can be a good idea for some people before going to university. I know a lady who is now in her early 40's. She was bright in school but young. She decided to take a gap year. In that year she did a computer course, learnt to drive and had a part time job. She went to some college open days.
She applied to college with her results. She moved away from home to big city and a large university. She got a 1st in her final exams and moved abroad for her masters and PhD. She has been working abroad since then. She said the gap year gave her a chance to grow up, get her driving test and helped her decide on what course to do in college.

I think that applying to a college course with results already is better. Then using some gap year experience towards the statement for UCAS IE if you get some work experience that's relevant towards your course you can mention this.
If your child gets better results it gives them a wider choice of courses. I would look into what jobs there degree leads to as you don't want them in debit and with poor job prospects at the end of a degree.

The only issue I think with applying with grades in hand (as others have suggested) is if he doesn’t do as well as he hopes - say he is predicted ABB (for example) and gets offers for either 2016 or 2017 for higher tariff unis, but he ends up with BBC, they might take him anyway (bums on seats) - however if he applies next year in his gap year with BBC he might not get such good offers in the first instance. So it may limit his choices of where to apply - does that make sense? For example predicted grades of AAB means even with BBC Liverpool (for example) might let him in regardless, but applying with BBC from the outset in his gap year might mean Liverpool won’t even give him an offer.

my Dd is in the same situation and she has applies for 2016 and will most likely defer - I have heard it’s not too hard to do as long as not highly competitive course, so wouldn’t work for maths at Imperial but would be fine for sociology at Reading, for example. I think you can just call them up and ask nearer the time (so say UCAS anyway!)

This is a good point!

I would apply for 2027 now if he’s sure. It sounds like he’s doing the right thing but is he reluctant to apply for 2027 because there’s a tiny possibility that he might want to go in 2026?

@Carerofcats it sounds like you/your DS would like the security of knowing the application is done with school support so he can then focus on his gap year.

In which case your DS should apply now for 2027 entry.

It is a huge risk to apply for 2026 entry and then try to defer the offer - universities are under no obligation to agree and many will say no / even with extenuating circumstances.

As a former admissions tutor at an excellent university I am really not sure that ‘many’ will say no. We aim to work with students.

As DS is not in STEM, the old worry about losing Maths knowledge doesn’t apply.

Of course @Sc00byDont is right that no one is obliged to approve a deferral, and as I said above if finances are tight or enrolment is down there could be a problem.

I suggest asking admissions teams directly, in a brief, polite email (from DS, of course)

Definitely apply for 2026 and then defer. DD knew she wanted a gap year, applied to a course requiring AAA in 2025, got in with ABB and then deferred. Took 30 mins to organise it on results day (call as early as possible to ask for the process to defer so they can re-offer the place in clearing).

If she would apply with grades in hand this year she wouldn't get an offer so she'd have to hope for clearing for the same course (she was predicted AAA).

Thank you all. Seems there are lots of differing opinions. He’s gone ahead and applied for this year. He said on the UCAS form, you had to contact the Uni in advance if wanted to apply for 2027, and didn’t feel he had time to do this, with pressure from college, and having exams next week. In an ideal world, he would have approached this earlier but I’m trying not to take over. He’s bright but young and it’s definitely him, that wants the gap year. There are medical issues too and he may receive a contextual offer.
If he has an offer her can defer and the Uni don’t agree, I presume he can just apply next year? My worry is that English courses are disappearing and some of them may not be available 2027!