firm and insurance

Our daughter got 5 conditional offers to study Geography. She has now finally decided on her firm choice (Portsmouth). Unfortunately she has just realised that her second choice (Plymouth) has the same grade requirements as her firm choice. She doesn't know what to do a) choose the university course she doesn't really want (the only one in her list requiring lower grades) b) Go with no insurance at all c) put down her second choice (Plymouth) on the basis that should she not make the grade for Portsmouth, Plymouth would perhaps consider her as she was offered a place in the first instance. What should she do? Any advice/experience?

Rather urgent as her deadline is 7 May.

Thank you.

i would say to keep it how it is, if your daughter likes both her firm and insurance then keep it that way because if she ends up going to a university she doesn't like then she could end up dropping out or just not enjoying 3+ years? I wouldn't worry too much about the fact that the insurance choice is asking for the same grades as the firm choice, on results day you may find that one of the institutes lets your daughter in with less than what was initially required anyway.

So go for option c in my opinion. For me I was initially planning on putting my insurance choice as higher entry requirements than my first choice because I liked my first choice the most and my insurance the second best. However after visiting an applicant visit day I changed my mind, but your daughter should just put down which universities she liked best.

Always put the uni you like best as firm and then work around that.

Don't leave the insurance blank when you have something to fill it. A slim chance of acceptance is better than no chance. The exception to this is if you decide you don't like any of the unis which leads to...

....Don't put as either firm or insurance anywhere you are not prepared or happy to go to.


Plymouth may be more lenient than Portsmouth if it comes to a missed grade who knows.

That's very useful. Thank you. It's just that UCAS say quite clearly that your insurance should be with lower grade requirements. It's a bit confusing.

That's very useful. Thank you. It's just that UCAS say quite clearly that your insurance should be with lower grade requirements. It's a bit confusing.

Let's say she doesn't get her firm.choice. She really has four possibilities:-

(a) she goes to her insurance
(b) she gets released into (or does not choose an insurance and goes automatically into) clearing
(c) she takes a gap year
(d) she runs away to join a circus or a firm of chartered accountants (in other words she decides not to go to university).

But lets make choice (a) a little clearer:-

(a) she goes to an insurance choice she doesn't really want to go to
(b) she gets released into (or does not choose an insurance and goes automatically into) clearing
(c) she takes a gap year
(d) she runs away to join a circus or a firm of chartered accountants (in other words she decides not to go to university).

With those four choices would she pick (a)? If the answer is "no", then there is absolutely no point in picking that university as her insurance offer even if it gave her an unconditional offer, a scholarship and a fluffy toy.

My firm and insurance choices have both the same grade requirements. I was only going to put my firm choice down but after talking to my teachers at my sixth form they told me it's best to put it down still


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Same here
Offers from first and second preferred unis plus others but all with the same requirements so put first choice as firm and second choice as insurance.
First (firm) choice is far and away the outstanding preffered uni so over the moon to have the offer - now keeping everything crossed for results!

That's very useful. Thank you. It's just that UCAS say quite clearly that your insurance should be with lower grade requirements. It's a bit confusing.