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Anyone have any 2013 UCAS regrets?

Bit of a random one.

I am doing English, and whilst I have 5 offers from good unis, I reaaaally regret not applying to Bristol because people told me I wasn't good enough :frown:

It really was one of my favourites, and maybe I wouldn't have got in, but I wish I has tried rather than just settling for unis that weren't as good for me.

Anyone else regret anything they did/didnt do?

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Reply 1
I kinda regret not applying to a university with higher entry requirements than the grades I have. I got ACC (+ B in General Studies and B in AS Geography) at A Level. 4 of my choices were basically universities asking for 260-280 UCAS points, and Plymouth was asking for slightly lower than that.

I wish I hadn't applied to Plymouth and instead taken a gamble on a university asking for ABB or something.

Although I met the entry requirements for all of my universities I was concerned that my personal statement (with its lack of work experience/voluntary work) would mean I'd struggle to get in even at universities where I met their entry requirements!

Anyway, I have 5 unconditionals, but sort of wish I'd gambled on Liverpool (asking for AAB for Politics) and Newcastle (asking for AAA-ABB including General Studies) but I doubt my personal statement would have been good enough and I prefer the modules at Nottingham Trent and Salford more anyway!
(edited 11 years ago)
Yes, I chose two backup unis when it turns out I didn't need any, so it would have been nice to throw in some higher level applications to give me more choice.
Reply 3
Not applying to oxbridge..I'm confident I would have received an offer or stood a chance. But I'm still doubt I would have met the requirement for maths..so its a partial regret.
Applying to too many unis I like almost equally with more or less the same entry requirements. ICL,UCL and Warwick. Already have the UCL offer given I get ICL and Warwick. It will be a difficult decision.

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I kind of regret applying for Southampton as an insurance, but little did I know that Exeter would give me a contextual offer. I also firmly regret not applying for Oxford. I probably wouldn't have gotten in, but it was probably worth a crack, since some of my friends applied with worse grades than me and have had interview.
I regret not having enough confidence in my abilities and not applying to more prestigious universities. I'm predicted A*A*A and ended up applying to a BBC university.


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I regret applying to 3 high-risk unis :frown:
Reply 7
Original post by Anna.Karenina
I regret not having enough confidence in my abilities and not applying to more prestigious universities. I'm predicted A*A*A and ended up applying to a BBC university.


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Wow those are really high predictions! Mind if I ask where you applied? I feel the same :frown:

Original post by Pink lipstick
I regret applying to 3 high-risk unis :frown:


Dont worry, I feel its better to regret taking the risk than to be left wondering 'what if'. Do you have offers from them? :smile:



I'm relieved other people seem to have regrets and its not just me :redface:
(edited 11 years ago)
Dont worry, I feel its better to regret taking the risk than to be left wondering 'what if'. Do you have offers from them? :smile:



I'm relieved other people seem to have regrets and its not just me :redface:


3 rejections from each one...
I regret applying to Loughborough for psychology, because I really didn't have any intention in going, but the placement year sold me. Now I'm having to find good things about it to convince myself it wasn't a waste of a choice, when instead I should feel like I should have chosen somewhere I would have liked to go :/
Original post by Cazza180
Wow those are really high predictions! Mind if I ask where you applied? I feel the same :frown:



Dont worry, I feel its better to regret taking the risk than to be left wondering 'what if'. Do you have offers from them? :smile:



I'm relieved other people seem to have regrets and its not just me :redface:


Thank you :smile: I applied to Oxford (AAA), but got rejected pre-interview, and I have offers from King's (AAA), Queen Mary (340 points with an A in English Literature), Kent (ABB) and Westminster (BBC) I really wish I had applied to UCL, or even Exeter. I think my advice to future applicants is that if you're absolutely sure you're going to get an offer from somewhere - and you'd be ridiculously surprised if you got rejected - then you're aiming too low. Where did you apply? :smile:


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I regret not applying to Oxford because I doubted myself at AS level :/
I regret not applying to Cambridge. I have offers from St Andrews, Glasgow and Manchester and only plan on taking St Andrews. I wish I'd applied to Cambridge for AMES and Exeter for Flexible Honours instead of Glasgow and Manchester.
Reply 13
I regret applying to Oxford, only because I knew I didn't really stand a chance so I could have avoided the pain of being rejected :/
I wish more that I had done better at AS and then could have put 'better' Uni's down on UCAS rather than I think i made a mistake.

As it is, it was purely practical that I couldnt apply to my favourites (York, Nottingham and Newcastle) to do Law, although I am happy with my choices for what my targets are (Lincoln, Glamorgan, Northumbria, Keele and Chester)
Reply 15
I wish I'd got an interview from Oxford just so I could prove myself and my passion in person, not just having my life dictated by a bit of paper :frown:
I regret not seeing all of my universities before applying. One of them is in an awful area, and there's another that I still haven't seen, but a family friend who goes there absolutely hates the place.

I also guess I could have applied to universities with higher grades, because all of mine are quite easily achievable, but there weren't any with slightly higher grades in towns I actually wanted to live in so I'm not regretting that yet.
Original post by Cazza180
Bit of a random one.

I am doing English, and whilst I have 5 offers from good unis, I reaaaally regret not applying to Bristol because people told me I wasn't good enough :frown:

It really was one of my favourites, and maybe I wouldn't have got in, but I wish I has tried rather than just settling for unis that weren't as good for me.

Anyone else regret anything they did/didnt do?


If you declined all your offers, you will be eligible to apply for another uni through Extra, then you could choose Bristol.
This however is a really big risk, so I'd think really hard before making any decisions like this. If you don't mind me asking, what other unis did you apply to?
I really regret not applying to Sheffield for psychology. First I was put off by the distance, and then I applied to Liverpool as insurance. Then I thought I wouldn't get the right grades, but I applied to other unis that ask for the same grades and got offers. I really don't know what was going through my mind :/
Reply 19
I probably would have applied for another ABB instead of my BBC choice, and maybe chosen another BBB choice :erm:

I'm happy with offers though :smile:

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