Choosing between my offers?

I've applied for History and Politics at Newcastle, Glasgow, Keele and UEA.
They all offered me conditional offers:
Newcastle:AAA
Glasgow:ABB
UEA: ABB
Keele:BBB
I currently study: History, English, Philosophy & Ethics and I.C.T
Realistically I think I'll achieve AAB and a Distinction in I.C.T or ABB and a Distinction in I.C.T. And at the worst BBC and a Distinction in I.C.T. (I doubt it but its all down to how i preform on that day)

I think I'm going to disregard Keele, but I'm planning on going to all the open days for each university. But since I have to pick two choices I think I'll chose Glasgow but I'm not sure to go with Newcastle or UEA because i feel if i chose Newcastle i might not get the grades any advice in which you would two you would chose or would Keele be worth putting down as an insurance over Newcastle & UEA? Advice please :smile:

Reply 1

smd4std

make sure your back up uni is easier to get in to

Reply 2

manty

I would personally:
Firm: Newcastle
Insure :u:

Reply 3

Daniellejo.

There's no point in putting Newcastle as your insurance if your firm has lower grade requirements.
Personally I'd put Newcastle as firm and Glasgow as insurance.

Reply 4

Pastaferian

Original post by Billy95

First, choose between Glasgow and UEA. You cannot select them both as firm and insurance, as their offers are identical (well you can, but that would be silly). Where would you rather study?

After deciding between the two, you only have four choices:
AAA firm, ABB insurance (ie, Newcastle and Glasgow/UEA)
AAA firm, BBB insurance (ie, Newcastle and Keele)
ABB firm, BBB insurance (ie, Glasgow/UEA and Keele)
BBB firm, no insurance (ie, just Keele)

If you are confident that you will get ABB or better, you can choose any option. But if you are worried you might *not make ABB, you can't risk taking the first option, in which case Keele is your backup in all the remaining options. And if Keele is your definite insurance, you just have to decide which will be your firm.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

Billy95

Original post by Daniellejo.

There's no point in putting Newcastle as your insurance if your firm has lower grade requirements.
Personally I'd put Newcastle as firm and Glasgow as insurance.

Does the university its self know if chose it as an insurance or... and if they did would this affect my chances of getting in? Sorry if I sound stupid :tongue:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 6

Pastaferian

Original post by Billy95

Does the university its self know if chose it as an insurance or... and if they did would this affect my chances of getting in? Sorry if I sound stupid :tongue:

Not sure what they are told by UCAS. They'll certainly be told that you've nominated them as one of your choices. However, the important thing is that they can't withdraw the offer, so you don't have to worry about their reaction to being nominated as insurance. You just have to make the best choice for yourself.

Reply 7

Billy95

Original post by Pastaferian

Say I apply for Newcastle as my first choice and Glasgow as my back up choice and get my first choice Newcastle but i decide i want to go to Glasgow will i be able to accept my back up instead of my first choice?

Reply 8

Makebelieve15

Original post by Billy95

Yes you can, but your firm choice are under no obligation to release you. It can be a long process, first you need to get release from your firm as you have signed a contract with them, 'I get these grades and I get a place'. You then need to go to your insurance, and they are under no obligation to accept you as you met your offer for your firm.

In reality, you would most likely be okay but it might not be plain sailing and it would be a hectic day, what with UCAS mainly being there for people who have missed offers rather than met or exceeded.

Reply 9

Archers fan

Original post by Billy95

Might be worth checking which universities had your course in clearing last year. If you would get into them in clearing it is probably worth aiming higher with your firm and insurance. Using the policy of minimum regret would it be worse to put Newcastle and Glasgow miss and go into clearing or not put Newcastle but get the grades and face a gap year if you wanted to use your grades? That is a personal decision.

Reply 10

Pastaferian

Original post by Billy95

In theory it may be possible, but there is no obligation on the universities to accommodate you. Imagine what would happen if everyone tried to hedge their bets like that.
You risk being released by one university and not accepted by the other - then you'd have nothing

Reply 11

StacFace

Original post by Billy95

No. When your firm accepts you the place at your insurance automatically goes. You can try to get it back in Clearing but this is very risky as you have to release your firm place before being eligible, and there's no guarantee you'll get a uni place at all.

In terms of choosing where to firm/insure my advice depends on how much you like each uni, what grades you think you'll get and what the lowest you think your grades will be if your exams go badly. If there's a clear favourite then firm it regardless of the offer then pick a suitable insurance. If you have two or more 'favourite' unis then you need to look at if you would be happy to have both your firm and insurance from this group, if so do it and if not then that is when you should start excluding unis based on thinking you won't get the grades.

It's all about finding a combination that maximises your chances of being happy with the uni you end up at. Do not make decisions based on anyone (on here or elsewhere) saying I'd firm Uni X and insure Uni Y. Accurate advice on where specifically would be best for you to firm and insure cannot be given without more info on how you feel about each option (in terms of how much you like the uni/course and how likely you think it is you'll meet the offer).

Reply 12

TenOfThem

Realistically, if your preference is Glasgow then

Glasgow Firm
Keele Insurance

Is the only option that makes sense

Reply 13

jelly1000

Original post by Billy95

go and look at the universities and look at the course profiles for each and rank them in order of your preference first. logically newcastle wouldnt make sense as your insurance as it would be a long shot for them to let you in with BBB where as UEA are more likely to be more accomodating, especially as you would only be one grade off (assuming you firmed Glasgow and didn't get in). so personally i would decide between keele and UEA for insurance if you want Glasgow as your firm and choose which one you prefer the most.

and yes universities know if they are your firm or insurance.

Reply 14

Billy95

Thanks to everyone for their advice and knowledge I think I'll decide after I have visited them all as its most logical option :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 15

returnmigrant

In the meantime, *read* the courses descriptions carefully for each Uni. Not all 'History & Politics' courses are the same.

That might sound a bit obvious but you would be amazed how many applicants dont actually do this and are then surprised to find themselves on a course with no units/options that they actually want to study. Look at the unit descriptions (not just the titles) for each year of study and think carefuly about what options appeal to you. If you are interested in Political Philosophy or Post war History and they dont offer these (for instance) then why are you going there?