choosing between your university offers · •don’t choose a firm or insurance choice university...
TRANSCRIPT
CHOOSING
BETWEEN YOUR
UNIVERSITY
OFFERS
AIMS OF THIS SESSION
• Provide information about the different types of offers you’ll receive
• What to consider when choosing your top two universities
• How to respond to your offers
UCAS REPLIES
• There are three decisions that can be made about your application:
• Conditional offer
• Unconditional offer
• Unsuccessful
YOUR REPLIES
• Applicants then keep a maximum of two offers:
• Firm
• Insurance
• Any remaining offers that the applicant holds must be declined
WHAT IS A FIRM CHOICE?
• This is your first choice university and course
• Grade requirements for your firm choice should be higher than your insurance choice
• If you meet the conditions of your firm choice university then you are automatically in!
WHAT IS AN INSURANCE CHOICE?
• This is a back-up choice in case you don’t meet the requirements
set out by your firm choice
• Go for something with lower offer conditions
• Only choose a university or course as your insurance choice if you are happy to go there
• Foundation year as an insurance option
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
• Make sure you are happy with your firm and insurance choices, and
they are in the right order – you can’t choose between the two when you
get your results
• Since 2014 there has been a 34% increase of applicants going to their
insurance choice
• 8% of all applicants end up going to their insurance choice universities
OFFER REPLIES AND COMBINATIONS
• Unconditional firm – You’re in!
• Conditional firm – You’re in if you meet the conditions
• Conditional firm and conditional insurance – You’ve made a first (firm) and
second (insurance) choice, you’ll have a place at the first university if you meet
the conditions. If not, you might have met the conditions of the second, if so
you’ll be put on that course instead.
• Conditional firm and unconditional insurance – If you meet the conditions of
your first university you will be on that course, if not you will definitely be on the
second course.
FURTHER RESEARCH YOU CAN DO
• Once you have received an offer from a university they will invite you
to an Applicant Day
• Do some research about the university Students’ Union
• Explore accommodation options in more detail
• Explore the city and what it has to offer, what is the cost of living like?
KEY AREAS TO RESEARCH
• The course – what modules are on offer? Is there a placement
year?
• The location – Is the university in the city centre? How easy is it to
get around? What is the social scene like? How far is it away from
home?
• The extras – What support is on offer? Is there a careers team to
help you find a job during and after university? What else is there
to do in and around the city? What is the accommodation like?
THINGS TO CONSIDER
• What is important to you?
• Will you be happy living in the city for three or more years?
• Is the offer from the university achievable?
• Does the course offer a placement year?
WHEN CHOOSING REMEMBER…
• Make sure your insurance choice has different conditions and a
lower grade requirement than your firm choice
• If you have multiple offers which are the same, whichever you
would be most happy with put as your firm choice and choose an
offer with lower requirements as your insurance
• Make sure you clearly know all the conditions of your offer (e.g.
DBS check)
STUDENT TIPS
• Don’t choose a firm or insurance choice university without visiting
• Don’t base your decision purely on reputation and league tables
• Don’t make hasty decisions
• Ask people that go there for their honest opinions
• Trust your instincts!
• Make a comparison table on things which are important to you with pros and cons
COMPARING YOUR CHOICES
• As part of an activity choose two of your university choices and give them a
score out of five for the below areas
– Accommodation - Students’ Union
– Course - Employment prospects
– Campus - Extra curricular activities
– Distance from home - The city
– Cost of living - Facilities
• Feel free to add in new areas if you have other considerations, or give some
higher priority areas a higher weighting e.g. out of 10
HOW TO RESPOND
• You cannot enter your final choices until you’ve had
responses from all your universities
• If you do not reply and ignore the UCAS reminders you will
automatically lose your offers and ‘decline by default’
• You reply via UCAS Track
IMPORTANT DATES
• For 2019 entry the dates for replying are:
• 2019 entry applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing
Last decision received on or
before…
Your reply deadline is…
31 March 2019 1 May 2019
2 May 2019 6 June 2019
6 June 2019 20 June 2019
11 July 2019 18 July 2019
WHAT HAPPENS IFYOU DON’T GET ANY OFFERS?
• If you haven’t received any offers (or you’ve declined the offers you received)
from your five chosen universities, you can apply for further courses through
UCAS Extra
• Apply from the end of February till the end of June through UCAS Track
• Use course search to see if there are any course vacancies
• Contact the university BEFORE you apply to see if they will consider your
application, as you can only apply for one course at a time
WHAT HAPPENS IFYOU CHANGE YOUR MIND?
• You have 14 days after making your choices to change your
mind – you do this through UCAS directly
• Unfortunately after these 14 days it becomes very difficult to
change your choices before results day
• If you want to change from your firm to insurance choice
university you will have to go through clearing in August
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T GET INTO YOUR FIRM CHOICE?
• If you didn’t meet the offer for your firm choice and they have rejected you, your
application will roll over to your insurance choice
• If you meet the conditions of your insurance offer your place will automatically be
confirmed at this university
• Track will have UI or UF next to it (unconditional firm/insurance)
• Some universities may give you an alternative course if you do not meet your
original offer – it is up to you if you want to accept this or not through UCAS Track
A-LEVEL RESULTS DAY
• Check UCAS track to confirm your place
• You can call the universities to confirm your place
• Don’t panic if you drop a grade – some universities may still
accept you
CLEARING
• Clearing opens on A-Level results day
• You can use clearing if both your offers have declined you, and you no
longer have a secured place at university
• If you do hold an offer, you can still go in to the clearing process if you
have decided you no longer wish to go to either option and want to be
‘released in to clearing’ and apply elsewhere – however you loose your
secured place
• You will need to contact the university you are interested in to see if they
have places and will consider you
• You can apply though clearing, even if you have not applied before.
OTHER CLEARING OPTIONS
• Adjustment – this is when you do better than expected
and want to look at different options whilst keeping your
confirmed place
• Deferral – this is when you postpone your study until the
following September
• Decline/withdraw – this is when you decline all your
offers and no longer wish to go to university
SUMMARY
• Take your time and consider all your options
• Continue to do your research right up to the deadline
• Don’t panic and make any quick decisions
• Make sure you’re truly happy before you click submit
• Ask for advice but remember it’s YOUR decision
OPEN DAYS
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/open-days
SATURDAY 27th APRIL | WEDNESDAY 26th JUNE
