Is it pointless applying for masters this year if unsure if I will take offers?
I have been chronically ill for a while now. This spring I felt better, and under supervision of my GP, we decided going back to uni could be possible. So I applied to various courses I was interested in as I'm very keen to get stuck in to a new field of study.
However, life hasn't been so gracious, and my condition is now worsened. But I've applied to 3/5 courses already, that I liked the look of, and am thinking of applying to the other 2 this week, so to get the applications out the way.
Now I likely won't be fit and focused enough to be able to take on any offers I do get for 2016 (and I want to be able to focus so to get a first). So, can I tell the unis if they offer me places of my circumstances and ask them to ask me again, (all 5 - -if they all happen to offer me a place) next year so I can make a decision on one of them in 2017?
Do I have to hold off on applying now and just reapply next year? I'd obviously rather not have to do that as going through all the application phases is quite stressful.
What are the implications of doing this apply this year/go next year strategy? Will this at all infringe on my ability to be considered by them next year?
However, life hasn't been so gracious, and my condition is now worsened. But I've applied to 3/5 courses already, that I liked the look of, and am thinking of applying to the other 2 this week, so to get the applications out the way.
Now I likely won't be fit and focused enough to be able to take on any offers I do get for 2016 (and I want to be able to focus so to get a first). So, can I tell the unis if they offer me places of my circumstances and ask them to ask me again, (all 5 - -if they all happen to offer me a place) next year so I can make a decision on one of them in 2017?
Do I have to hold off on applying now and just reapply next year? I'd obviously rather not have to do that as going through all the application phases is quite stressful.
What are the implications of doing this apply this year/go next year strategy? Will this at all infringe on my ability to be considered by them next year?
Check if you can defer entry. If not I suggest you withdraw your applications and apply again next year. While unis look at applications in each cycle separately, they don't like to get messed around so if you know now that you're unlikely to be able to take up your offers let them know.
Original post by alleycat393
Check if you can defer entry. If not I suggest you withdraw your applications and apply again next year. While unis look at applications in each cycle separately, they don't like to get messed around so if you know now that you're unlikely to be able to take up your offers let them know.
OK, so apply to all 5, then check with them that I can defer? Or don't apply to any further courses than I already have?
Original post by JC.
Get applying. Leave all your cards on the table.
If you have to reapply next time around that's a separate issue for another time.
If you have to reapply next time around that's a separate issue for another time.
Your advice juxtaposes completely from what other poster has suggested.
I would prefer to go your route though.
Original post by phantompain
OK, so apply to all 5, then check with them that I can defer? Or don't apply to any further courses than I already have?
As I said before unis don't like to be messed around. Don't apply to any more unless you know you can defer and the ones you already have offers from check if you can defer, if not withdraw.
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Original post by phantompain
Your advice juxtaposes completely from what other poster has suggested.
I would prefer to go your route though.
I would prefer to go your route though.
Unis don't like being messed around, but applying and then not going isn't messing them around. Messing them around would be applying, say you're not going, change your mind, change your mind again, ask if you can choose a new course, pick that one, then wait until the day before going to announce you're not going after all.
Applying and then not going is fine. You've already applied to 3 courses, so even if you do go this year you'll still have to turn down 2. Why is that any different? (Hint: it isn't. People turn down unis and it's fine).
Original post by Juno
Unis don't like being messed around, but applying and then not going isn't messing them around. Messing them around would be applying, say you're not going, change your mind, change your mind again, ask if you can choose a new course, pick that one, then wait until the day before going to announce you're not going after all.
Applying and then not going is fine. You've already applied to 3 courses, so even if you do go this year you'll still have to turn down 2. Why is that any different? (Hint: it isn't. People turn down unis and it's fine).
Applying and then not going is fine. You've already applied to 3 courses, so even if you do go this year you'll still have to turn down 2. Why is that any different? (Hint: it isn't. People turn down unis and it's fine).
Thanks for your input Juno, it's a little hard to gauge how the uni will react given the range of responses here. But yeah you are talking sense.
Original post by JC.
"Uni's don't like being messed around"
Where's this guff coming from?
Chances are it's a different person dealing with the applications each year anyway.
You're just a number to them!
Where's this guff coming from?
Chances are it's a different person dealing with the applications each year anyway.
You're just a number to them!
Nobody likes being a patsy. Even if it's a different admissions officer looking at the packet, they will have a file on record saying that x person applied in y year.
My cousin had this issue - got into Queen Mary, told them he wasn't going. Re-applied the next year and got rejected despite having a stronger package. If he had deferred entry, he would have been in a much better spot.
Original post by zombiejon
Nobody likes being a patsy. Even if it's a different admissions officer looking at the packet, they will have a file on record saying that x person applied in y year.
My cousin had this issue - got into Queen Mary, told them he wasn't going. Re-applied the next year and got rejected despite having a stronger package. If he had deferred entry, he would have been in a much better spot.
My cousin had this issue - got into Queen Mary, told them he wasn't going. Re-applied the next year and got rejected despite having a stronger package. If he had deferred entry, he would have been in a much better spot.
The more likely scenario is the year one applicants were weaker accross the board and year two much stronger.
You're just a number!
Original post by JC.
"Uni's don't like being messed around"
Where's this guff coming from?
Where's this guff coming from?
From someone who works in a uni.
Original post by Juno
Unis don't like being messed around, but applying and then not going isn't messing them around. Messing them around would be applying, say you're not going, change your mind, change your mind again, ask if you can choose a new course, pick that one, then wait until the day before going to announce you're not going after all.
Applying and then not going is fine. You've already applied to 3 courses, so even if you do go this year you'll still have to turn down 2. Why is that any different? (Hint: it isn't. People turn down unis and it's fine).
Applying and then not going is fine. You've already applied to 3 courses, so even if you do go this year you'll still have to turn down 2. Why is that any different? (Hint: it isn't. People turn down unis and it's fine).
There's a difference between applying when you know you aren't going and taking up a few different offers before choosing one and then turning the others down. The former is annoying and a bit selfish imo and the latter is part of the application process. While it shouldn't really affect your chances of admission, admissions officers and admin staff are people and are going to find it annoying and both these sets of people can influence an applicant's experience of the application process and form opinions of an applicant based on their behaviour/attitude.
Original post by alleycat393
From someone who works in a uni.
There's a difference between applying when you know you aren't going and taking up a few different offers before choosing one and then turning the others down. The former is annoying and a bit selfish imo and the latter is part of the application process. While it shouldn't really affect your chances of admission, admissions officers and admin staff are people and are going to find it annoying and both these sets of people can influence an applicant's experience of the application process and form opinions of an applicant based on their behaviour/attitude.
There's a difference between applying when you know you aren't going and taking up a few different offers before choosing one and then turning the others down. The former is annoying and a bit selfish imo and the latter is part of the application process. While it shouldn't really affect your chances of admission, admissions officers and admin staff are people and are going to find it annoying and both these sets of people can influence an applicant's experience of the application process and form opinions of an applicant based on their behaviour/attitude.
Get off.
If the OP picks up the phone and says "actually there's no way I'm going to be able to make the start of term as I'm genuinely very ill" that some jobsworth is going to take the attitude of "up yours you're not coming at all".
Sounds like the sort of person that attends BNP rallys in their spare time.
Selfish? Yes. On the other hand, you make your own luck in life.
Original post by JC.
Get off.
If the OP picks up the phone and says "actually there's no way I'm going to be able to make the start of term as I'm genuinely very ill" that some jobsworth is going to take the attitude of "up yours you're not coming at all".
Sounds like the sort of person that attends BNP rallys in their spare time.
Selfish? Yes. On the other hand, you make your own luck in life.
If the OP picks up the phone and says "actually there's no way I'm going to be able to make the start of term as I'm genuinely very ill" that some jobsworth is going to take the attitude of "up yours you're not coming at all".
Sounds like the sort of person that attends BNP rallys in their spare time.
Selfish? Yes. On the other hand, you make your own luck in life.
That's not what I was suggesting at all and I think you know it. All I'm saying is keep the uni informed of the situation all the way through rather than carry on as if you're going when you have no intention to.
Anyway, I think I've made my point. Good luck OP!
Just my two cents (a few of the more experienced posters will probably have more information/knowledge about this):
With the current cost of education, my experience has shown that universities will not hold it against you if you've followed the correct procedures to withdraw your application. It's important to understand that with the sheer number of applications they receive and with the fact that a relatively low percentage of the applicants will gain funding each year, it's common for applicants to apply multiple times.
In my own experience, I applied to the LSE, Exeter and Bristol twice (once for 2015/16 and once for 2016/17) and got offers both times, despite withdrawing my application the first time two months before the start of term.
Apply and see whether you are able to take the place up (bear in mind some universities require an application fee).
With the current cost of education, my experience has shown that universities will not hold it against you if you've followed the correct procedures to withdraw your application. It's important to understand that with the sheer number of applications they receive and with the fact that a relatively low percentage of the applicants will gain funding each year, it's common for applicants to apply multiple times.
In my own experience, I applied to the LSE, Exeter and Bristol twice (once for 2015/16 and once for 2016/17) and got offers both times, despite withdrawing my application the first time two months before the start of term.
Apply and see whether you are able to take the place up (bear in mind some universities require an application fee).
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