Article: Firm and insurance choices

I've got 4 university offers but the university I wanted to go to rejected me. Is it to risky to decline all my offers and hope that the university I wanted to go to will accept me through clearing?

You will get an immediate rejection.

Your only chance of going to that Uni is to reapply next year with a totally fresh application. However if you don't fulfil the academic requirements and/or your PS is still below standard you'll be rejected all over again.

Reply 61

Yaseen_123

What does one do if they think they will take a gap year and re-apply if their grades are better than expected, can you back out of your choices or are you tied down to the choices. Also, for finance if I apply now can I tell them that I may take a gap year.

Reply 62

returnmigrant

21

You can ask for deferral to 2017 entry at any point up to enrolment. However, the Uni doesn't have to agree to this and the later you leave it to ask the more likely it is that they will say No.

You can also cancel a confirmed place (ie. CF that has turned to UF) at any point up to enrolment - but good manners would be to do this as soon as you know you don't want to go to that Uni.

Reply 63

Yaseen_123

Original post by returnmigrant

You can ask for deferral to 2017 entry at any point up to enrolment. However, the Uni doesn't have to agree to this and the later you leave it to ask the more likely it is that they will say No.

You can also cancel a confirmed place (ie. CF that has turned to UF) at any point up to enrolment - but good manners would be to do this as soon as you know you don't want to go to that Uni.

So could I cancel as soon as I received my grades?

Reply 64

returnmigrant

21

Original post by Yaseen_123

So could I cancel as soon as I received my grades?

Yes, if that when you'll make this decision. And you can do this via UCAS - you dont have to contact the Uni.

Reply 65

HToo

4

hi,
i need help as i do not know which university to choose for bio medical science
it is either Aston University or University of Birmingham
so please give me advice on which one is best suited of my course

Reply 66

Doones

21

Original post by HToo

hi,
i need help as i do not know which university to choose for bio medical science
it is either Aston University or University of Birmingham
so please give me advice on which one is best suited of my course

Why did you shortlist them in the first place? What's important to you? And check the details of each course. And you can use unistats to compare them, but be careful especially if sample sizes are small (as they often are).

Reply 67

Rish17

HI,

Basically, here's the situation, all of my offers are the same ABB (however I am predicted A*AB) and I know which one I am going to firm (Newcastle) but as for the remaining 4, none of them really stand out to me and I don't know if I'll really be happy going to the others. So is it worth putting an insurance or simply just leaving it as my firm and seeing what happens come results day? Is anyone is a similar situation?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 68

returnmigrant

21

Original post by Rish17

HI,

Basically, here's the situation, all of my offers are the same ABB (however I am predicted A*AB) and I know which one I am going to firm (Newcastle) but as for the remaining 4, none of them really stand out to me and I don't know if I'll really be happy going to the others. So is it worth putting an insurance or simply just leaving it as my firm and seeing what happens come results day? Is anyone is a similar situation?

You dont have to have an Insurance choice. You can just leave that blank.

Yes, if you didnt get the grades in August (unlikely given your predictions), you could go into Clearing. Or if your heart is set on Newcastle, you could retake/reapply next year.

Reply 69

PGP

4

Hi

My son has made his firm choice of his two uni but now says that he wished he had chosen different from the 4 offer he had.Can he do this? As the dead line is 4th may.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 70

returnmigrant

21

Original post by PGP

Hi

My son has made his firm choice of his two uni but now says that he wished he had chosen different from the 4 offer he had.Can he do this? As the dead line is 4th may.

Only if he made that choice less than 7 days ago. After that, the other offers have disappeared and he cannot get them back.

Depending on his subject he may be able to get a place through Extra (forget this for anything competitive like Law, Medicine etc). The best strategy is to phone each possible Uni first thing on Tuesday and ask if they have places in Extra for his subject. If they do (and he matches the required grades etc) then he would have to give up both his existing Firm and Insurance to actually apply. Another strategy might be to forget Uni for this year and reapply next year - with a clearer idea of where he wants to go - and why.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 71

PGP

4

Original post by returnmigrant

Only if he made that choice less than 7 days ago. After that, the other offers have disappeared and he cannot get them back.

Depending on his subject he may be able to get a place through Extra (forget this for anything competitive like Law, Medicine etc). The best strategy is to phone each possible Uni first thing on Tuesday and ask if they have places in Extra for his subject. If they do (and he matches the required grades etc) then he would have to give up both his existing Firm and Insurance to actually apply. Another strategy might be to forget Uni for this year and reapply next year - with a clearer idea of where he wants to go - and why.

Hi he made the choices on Saturday. He chose Warwick n Southampton now he wishes he had chosen imperial and Warwick, he had an offer from imperial for A*AA and Warwick AAA..
Southampton was AAB which was insurance choice. He says he will get the results for the imperial. Can he still call imperial and say he wants to choose them first choice than Warwick as an insurance? What will Warwick do?

Reply 72

returnmigrant

21

Original post by PGP

Hi he made the choices on Saturday. He chose Warwick n Southampton now he wishes he had chosen imperial and Warwick, he had an offer from imperial for A*AA and Warwick AAA..
Southampton was AAB which was insurance choice. He says he will get the results for the imperial. Can he still call imperial and say he wants to choose them first choice than Warwick as an insurance? What will Warwick do?

He needs to PHONE UCAS first thing tomorrow and they will talk him through what he needs to do.
But, he really does need to be totally certain this time!

Reply 73

4170sre

Would it be completely pointless to firm Exeter (A*AA) with Durham as insurance (also A*AA). It's more out of desperation to hold onto both Durham and Exeter than anything else. From what I've read though, there'd be no option at all for me to swap where I'd firmed and insuranced if I so desired once I had made the decision; the main reason I want to hold on to both offers is purely my own indecision, just in case I decide I'd rather go to Durham than Exeter. Am I being absolutely ridiculous? I'm so scared to drop a Durham offer when it's so prestigious.

Also, this might seem an obvious question but when UCAS says the deadline is the 4th of May, do they mean 11:59 on May 3rd or 11:59 on May 4th or something else entirely? If you couldn't tell I'm desperate to leave it as late as possible!

Reply 74

username2183529

Original post by 4170sre

Also, this might seem an obvious question but when UCAS says the deadline is the 4th of May, do they mean 11:59 on May 3rd or 11:59 on May 4th or something else entirely? If you couldn't tell I'm desperate to leave it as late as possible!

^^^ exactly what I want to find out to!! logged onto UCAS just now & it said that I had 'less than 1 day to make my decision' so I'm worried it's 11:59 today!! I still am not 100% on where I want to go between Southampton or Loughborough!

Reply 75

returnmigrant

21

Original post by 4170sre

Would it be completely pointless to firm Exeter (A*AA) with Durham as insurance (also A*AA). ...... I'm so scared to drop a Durham offer when it's so prestigious.

'Prestige' is a pretty meaningless concept. Just because you went to Durham does not mean you'll get a job interview over someone from Exeter etc - it simply doesn't work like that. This 'which Uni is better' is something that school leavers obsess about and employers really give no thought to.

What you really need to be thinking about is 'which course'? This is what you will be studying every day for the next 3 years - not the University. Which course will hold your interest and enthusiasm - if it actually doesnt interest you then it'll be a long and boring 3 years - whichever Uni you are at.

Choosing very high identical grade requirements for F & I is very risky. Drop one grade and will very likely mean no Uni place. Asking for A* means they want top dollar - they dont need to be kind to those who fail. If you are prepared to risk that, fine. If not then go for whichever course you prefer over the over - and either a more sensible Insurance or no Insurance at all.

Reply 76

Doones

21

Original post by 4170sre

Also, this might seem an obvious question but when UCAS says the deadline is the 4th of May, do they mean 11:59 on May 3rd or 11:59 on May 4th or something else entirely? If you couldn't tell I'm desperate to leave it as late as possible!

Original post by annafdelia

^^^ exactly what I want to find out to!! logged onto UCAS just now & it said that I had 'less than 1 day to make my decision' so I'm worried it's 11:59 today!!

Unless UCAS state a time the deadline means midnight on the date given.

So you must reply to your offers before 23 : 59 : 59 on 4th May. (With the emphasis on the before... don't leave it late. Because, internet.)

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 77

returnmigrant

21

But PLEASE dont leave it that late!

The UCAS site will get really busy and can often go slow or freeze. Can you imagine how stressful that will be at midnight, when you aren't sure if your choices have actually been accepted - or not?

Do it today.

Reply 78

Doones

21