How does the UCAS equal consideration until the application deadline work?

How do uni offers work in terms of every application received before the deadline being treated equally? Because I assumed they just didn’t look at them until after 31st January, but apparently some people have already started getting offers. I don’t understand how everyone can be getting treated equally if that’s the case, because surely they only have a limited amount of offers to give out and when they’re gone, they’re gone? I’m just worried because I haven’t turned in my application yet (my college tutor has been sick so hasn’t been able to approve my personal statement yet) and I’m worried I won’t be treated equally to people who’ve already turned their application in

Reply 1

swanseajack1

19

Original post by College student2

How do uni offers work in terms of every application received before the deadline being treated equally? Because I assumed they just didn’t look at them until after 31st January, but apparently some people have already started getting offers. I don’t understand how everyone can be getting treated equally if that’s the case, because surely they only have a limited amount of offers to give out and when they’re gone, they’re gone? I’m just worried because I haven’t turned in my application yet (my college tutor has been sick so hasn’t been able to approve my personal statement yet) and I’m worried I won’t be treated equally to people who’ve already turned their application in

All universities have to give equal consideration to everyone applying before the deadline and make a commitment to UCAS to do this.

How they ensure that happens will be different according to the university. Some universities dont start making offers until after the deadline. This tends to be universities who know they will be oversubscribed.

Others know from past experience that they wont exceed their number of places. These tend to make offers knowing they will still make offers in January.

In practice universities make several times the number of spaces they have for a particular course. They have years of experience of knowing how many offers they need to make to achieve a set number of spaces. Students are entitled to apply to 5 places and can only go to1 so universities realise that,. Also not everyone achieves their offers.

Universities who make offers early know they will still make offers in January and will still not achieve their numbers.

Dont worry about things. Universities are committed to treating applications as equal before the deadline and you will be treated equally if you apply before it whatever method a university uses.

Reply 2

McGinger

18

We always make more offers than places, on all courses - because of all the folk who will not choose us as their Firm choice and/or wont get the grades next August, defer, cancel/don't arrive etc. 'Offers' is not the same as 'Places'.

We make offers gradually - starting now and gong through to late April. We dont make them all at once.
So we can start making the obvious offers and then work down the ranking lists to meet planned offer numbers.

If you apply in January you really do have exactly the same change of an offer as someone with the same grades etc who applied in October. We make sure that you do.

Reply 3

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

21

Because unis don’t run out of offers. They make
more than they have places available based on historic acceptance rates.

Everyone prior to the deadline goes through the same assessment process. If the uni makes enough offers then they close to new apps on Feb 1st. Most stay open for a while longer.

How does the UCAS equal consideration until the application deadline work?

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