Anyone else's Y13 not got UCAS application in?

[Eastwickwitch]

References written, PS being polished, application almost ready but the send button hasn't been pressed.
Reading the threads on here there are offers flying about.
Please can someone reassure me that DS isn't too late?

Provided it is in before the deadline it will make no difference to the offers he will get. All applicants have to be treated the same provided their application is in on time. This is enshrined in the rules of UCAS, despite what people seem to think on here.

Thanks chemenger, I'm having a little panic. DS says 'yup, very soon' but has no urgency in anything.

About half my form group haven't sent their in despite all the rockets I have been trying to put up them!

TBH I'm finding the whole thing very confusing. How can a Uni make an offer before all the applications are in, surely it has a finite amount of places?
DS took the LNAT this week, but the deadline for that is January. Does that mean he might get an offer before the LNAT results are out & if he does badly they might withdraw it?

Your son isn't too late.

My eldest didn't send hers until late November last year and she got offers. We just took a while working out what to do first time round and it makes sense to take your time if you are still making decisions.

DS is still waiting for school to complete his reference which should be any day now. Still ages before the deadline.

Universities have to treat all applications the same. That doesn't mean they can give out all their places in September/October and then turn away students of the same calibre in November and December. They do this every year so have the knowledge and experience to start making offers to early applicants without giving away all their places. After all, they've got to be able to exercise considerable judgement as they don't know how many of those they give offers to will actually get the required grades.

Also remember that a student may get five offers and turn down three or four of them.

Not in here yet

I'm so glad to see this thread. DD still hasn't got hers in (just waiting for the teacher to approve her final draft PS, apparently) and I actually got a letter from the Head of Careers yesterday to say the school had wanted them all in by now so please get it completed! I was raging - DD has no sense of urgency and I just want it away.

I knew it didn't make a difference to the offers, but it's reassuring to hear again here!

It's a relief to know I'm not alone.
Must be lovely to be a laid back teen.

I think some schools push for early applications and encourage the belief that gives students a better chance. Ours is a bit like that. They set staggered deadlines (Medics/Oxbridge first, which have early deadlines anyway, then ask for RG apps by early November then rest by end of November). It means they're not trying to write masses of references on the last day of term. DS was meant to have his in early November but the deadline added to his already heightened stress levels as he still had places he wanted to visit. I ended up ringing the school so I could confirm to DS that the sky wouldn't fall in if he was a week or two late.

Early applications also mean students can get UCAS out of the way and focus on work.

If you look on the higher ed thread there are a number of posts from admissions tutors dispelling (quite forcefully) the myth that early applicants have a better chance and stressing that their years of experience means admissions departments are able to gauge the number of offers they can make from September onwards without getting it wildly wrong. Despite that, I've tried to limit the number of times I look at this thread and the higher ed thread as I start to panic too when I read about all the offers coming in!

The LNAT results go to/can be seen by the relevant universities a few days after it's taken, although the candidates don't get their individual results until after Xmas. So the universities will have that in the mix when they get his application. Hope he did ok in it though!

When is the deadline?

Deadline is 15 Jan.
DD1 not got hers in yet either, although has done CUKAS too which had 1 Oct deadline
PS currently with teachers as changed it for UCAS, hoping to get it out of the way in the next couple of weeks.

One advantage of being early and hopefully getting early offers, is more of a choice for applicant visit day dates. Have heard weekend dates when offered get snapped up first by those with he earlier offers.

TheWave he struggled a bit with the multi choice but felt confident about the essay. Do you know if he scores low on the multi if they still go on to read the essay?

I have heard (probably on here) that the LNAT scores are on average lower than you think anyway and are part of the "package". If your predictions are good and essay good then you can get away with a score at the 19/20 level (excepting for Oxford). Average is usually apparently only 23 or so out of 42 so it's not exactly likely that our DC will think they've done well after anyway. I think Bham said at open day that it was really only important for their borderline candidates. No real knowledge though.

Thanks for your info, it's a different world to mine.
Do you have a DC applying for law too?

I have a year 14 (as in, he's already left!) who hasn't done his applications yet...

Dd's UCAS application went in on Friday, 1st unconditional offer back today. She is going to university!

Yay for Chemenger's DD!

unless of course the blighter does what DS did and decides against the course AFTER results day

Slightly different for us in Scotland, results day was this summer, so none of that uncertainty.We're expecting all unconditional offers from Scottish universities (and conditionals from her English options, but I doubt she'll go with them).

That's great chemenger, I'm nagging DS now.

It's finally gone.
In my day a PS was about playing hockey & enjoying reading, it's certainly changed

PS written and finalised here nearly four weeks ago but being held back by one of the subject teachers who just can't get his act together and complete the reference and predicted grade.

Attended a parents' evening over a week ago and took my opportunity to enquire semi casually how he was doing with it and say that otherwise UCAS was good to go. He admitted he hadn't started.

Still nothing today and said teacher is not in school. Thankfully DS texted at lunchtime to say he is now very annoyed and went to see his head of year to complain. Hopefully head of year will do the necessary.

DS reports that the school has sent his application today. Six blooming weeks from finalising his PS...

Apparently the next thing he is waiting on is a welcome email from UCAS and then after that potentially some responses from the universities he has selected. He says the 'welcome' email takes 48 hours to come and is a bit gloomy about hearing from any one this side of xmas. Anyone else in same boat?