* A warning to early applicants *
Already there are people panicking about making changes to their UCAS applications or realising they've said something silly in their PS.
IMPORTANT :
Once you have sent it to UCAS you have 7 days from the date of your Welcome email to change your mind about choices - but you cannot change anything about your PS at that stage.
So, a warning to everyone, think VERY carefully before you push that final Go button. Check and recheck your PS, and your choices.
You have right up to the UCAS deadline to send your application. There is no advantage (no there isn't) in sending it early for the sake of 6th form cleverness. This is about your future, not 'first one to get an Offer is the winner'.
IMPORTANT :
Once you have sent it to UCAS you have 7 days from the date of your Welcome email to change your mind about choices - but you cannot change anything about your PS at that stage.
So, a warning to everyone, think VERY carefully before you push that final Go button. Check and recheck your PS, and your choices.
You have right up to the UCAS deadline to send your application. There is no advantage (no there isn't) in sending it early for the sake of 6th form cleverness. This is about your future, not 'first one to get an Offer is the winner'.
(edited 9 years ago)
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Many people are not submitting their applications early because of 'sixth form cleverness' but because ambitious schools have short, ridged internal deadlines. My school for example, has a blanket deadline of October 17th to submit one's UCAS application to the Sixth Form Centre. I'm sure many schools and colleges have similar policies. Most people here will not have applied early for the fun of it.
Regardless of any school's 'internal deadline (some of which are barkingly early for non-Oxbridge applicants), it is you who pushes that final button, not the school.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
If you're struggling with pressure from your school then usually if you can demonstrate that you're making progress but that you're undecided they will be happy to take a draft to use to provide their reference and predicted grades and then send it back to you.
If you're stuck between subjects then write a PS for each subject - you can send them to your referee separately and explain that you're still deciding.
Similarly if you're not sure which universities to apply to then just put in the universities you're sure of - you can add choices later on. If you explain to your referee that you may need to amend your PS if you change the universities you apply for (eg you might need to take out a reference to a topic that you know is not available at one of your possible choices) then again they should be able to help.
Schools have early deadlines to make sure applicants are MAKING PROGRESS and to make sure that providing the reference doesn't delay an application beyond the deadline. If you can demonstrate that you're making progress but have a genuine reason for wanting to take more time then that shouldn't cause any problems.
Original post by returnmigrant
Regardless of any school's 'internal deadline (some of which are barkingly early for non-Oxbridge applicants), it is you who pushes that final button, not the school.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
Thing is though, if you send your application off too late your college may not send it off on time.
Also, Bath University said at their open day that it is advantageous to apply early because spaces fill up. I'm sure they would not have said that if it was not true.
Original post by izpenguin
Also, Bath University said at their open day that it is advantageous to apply early because spaces fill up.
Also, Bath University said at their open day that it is advantageous to apply early because spaces fill up.
This a bit of stuff trotted out by Student Volunteers at Open Days, that applicants then mishear or misinterpret.
They MEAN 'apply before the January deadline'.
Offers are not the same as Places. Universities give out thousands of offers that applicants might (or more usually do not) make their Firm or Insurance. Therefore, when they are giving out Offers it has no bearing on how many students will actually walk through the door in October.
Offers do not 'fill up' - there is not a finite number of Offers and once those have been handed out that.s it, no more Offers. There are however, a finite number of Places - but that isnt an issue until August.
If you apply before the January deadline you have as much chance of an offer as if you'd applied in October. Trust me - I work in Admissions.
(edited 9 years ago)
If you apply earlier, universities are more likely to look at your whole application, and give a bit more leniency if they like your PS or your reference. Later on, they may have tons to get through and may look at dozens daily. I got a bath offer in 90 minutes after their confirmation email, so they must have looked at it and considered it straight away, which is a luxury I would not have had if I had applied much later. That's not to say rush it, but it's pretty pointless leaving it too long. PS ain't the be all and end all anyway, your AS grades aren't gonna change and your A2 predictions aren't likely to.
Original post by returnmigrant
This a bit of stuff trotted out by Student Volunteers at Open Days, that applicants then mishear or misinterpret.
They MEAN 'apply before the January deadline'.
Offers are not the same as Places. Universities give out thousands of offers that applicants might (or more usually do not) make their Firm or Insurance. Therefore, when they are giving out Offers it has no bearing on how many students will actually walk through the door in October.
Offers do not 'fill up' - there is not a finite number of Offers and once those have been handed out that.s it, no more Offers. There are however, a finite number of Places - but that isnt an issue until August.
If you apply before the January deadline you have as much chance of an offer as if you'd applied in October. Trust me - I work in Admissions.
They MEAN 'apply before the January deadline'.
Offers are not the same as Places. Universities give out thousands of offers that applicants might (or more usually do not) make their Firm or Insurance. Therefore, when they are giving out Offers it has no bearing on how many students will actually walk through the door in October.
Offers do not 'fill up' - there is not a finite number of Offers and once those have been handed out that.s it, no more Offers. There are however, a finite number of Places - but that isnt an issue until August.
If you apply before the January deadline you have as much chance of an offer as if you'd applied in October. Trust me - I work in Admissions.
The person who said it was an admission tutor. And they definitely didn't just mean apply by January 15th. I guess it varies from uni to uni.
Original post by izpenguin
The person who said it was an admission tutor. And they definitely didn't just mean apply by January 15th. I guess it varies from uni to uni.
It is beneficial to admissions staff if you apply early. It helps them spread their work over the year.
It is not beneficial for an individual applicant. Any admissions tutor recommending early applications (and implying that they don't comply with tge strict rules on equal consideration) is not only giving out poor advice to applicants (ie acting in their own self interest and not in the interest of giving good advice) but is demonstrating how unprofessional they are by not only placing their own priorities above those of their potential students but stating outright that they don't follow the minimum standards for a fair admissions process.
Original post by izpenguin
Also, Bath University said at their open day that it is advantageous to apply early because spaces fill up. I'm sure they would not have said that if it was not true.
Original post by TVIO
I got a bath offer in 90 minutes after their confirmation email, so they must have looked at it and considered it straight away, which is a luxury I would not have had if I had applied much later. That's not to say rush it, but it's pretty pointless leaving it too long. PS ain't the be all and end all anyway, your AS grades aren't gonna change and your A2 predictions aren't likely to.
Original post by returnmigrant
Offers do not 'fill up' - there is not a finite number of Offers and once those have been handed out that.s it, no more Offers. There are however, a finite number of Places - but that isnt an issue until August. If you apply before the January deadline you have as much chance of an offer as if you'd applied in October.
i can see the two schools of thought. First group says to send the application off earlier so you'll be given an offer much earlier. the second group says later on. i look at it very differently though.
it doesn't matter when you send the application off. even if you received an offer by virtue of an earlier date of sending off the application, in the event you do not meet the offer because of rubbish results you achieved in the exams, then you're not going to that uni. your offer will be withdrawn and be given to another deserving student who scored the necessary marks to gain admission into the uni.
i do not know if uni admission tutors bother to call up applicants who they had previously rejected, to check what their results were and perhaps offer them unconditional offers if the requisite grades had been met.
perhaps the onus is on these students who had been previously rejected but had done better in exams, to call up these unis and see if they can gain admission. i'll let user returnmigrant to comment on this.
finally, i agree with user returnmigrant and if i may paraphrase his point, 'there is not a finite number of Offers, but a finite number of places'.
Original post by TVIO
If you apply earlier, universities are more likely to look at your whole application, and give a bit more leniency if they like your PS or your reference. Later on, they may have tons to get through and may look at dozens daily. I got a bath offer in 90 minutes after their confirmation email, so they must have looked at it and considered it straight away, which is a luxury I would not have had if I had applied much later. That's not to say rush it, but it's pretty pointless leaving it too long. PS ain't the be all and end all anyway, your AS grades aren't gonna change and your A2 predictions aren't likely to.
They're also more likely to be strictly following their admissions criteria, more likely to gave the time to spot errors or inconsistencies in your PS and more likely to read your reference with a cynical eye.
By December they might know that their application numbers are lower and so not only will they have less time to pick flaws in your application but they might be under pressure to make more offers.
NO university runs out of places. An extra 10 students means an extra £90,000pa. More than enough to find additional staff and teaching space. And if they really can't accommodate that many students they don't give out fewer offers they simply wait for the results and are more picky over applicants who miss their offer.
Too many students/too many offers is simply NOT a problem. The opposite IS and is often only apparent towards the deadline for applications.
Original post by PQ
They're also more likely to be strictly following their admissions criteria, more likely to gave the time to spot errors or inconsistencies in your PS and more likely to read your reference with a cynical eye.
By December they might know that their application numbers are lower and so not only will they have less time to pick flaws in your application but they might be under pressure to make more offers.
NO university runs out of places. An extra 10 students means an extra £90,000pa. More than enough to find additional staff and teaching space. And if they really can't accommodate that many students they don't give out fewer offers they simply wait for the results and are more picky over applicants who miss their offer.
Too many students/too many offers is simply NOT a problem. The opposite IS and is often only apparent towards the deadline for applications.
By December they might know that their application numbers are lower and so not only will they have less time to pick flaws in your application but they might be under pressure to make more offers.
NO university runs out of places. An extra 10 students means an extra £90,000pa. More than enough to find additional staff and teaching space. And if they really can't accommodate that many students they don't give out fewer offers they simply wait for the results and are more picky over applicants who miss their offer.
Too many students/too many offers is simply NOT a problem. The opposite IS and is often only apparent towards the deadline for applications.
What you're saying seems more true of medium/low universities rather than the top who are certainly oversubscribed and definitely have too few places. I was speaking from my own perspective (computer science at top unis is most definitely oversubscribed)
Original post by TVIO
If you apply earlier, universities are more likely to look at your whole application, and give a bit more leniency if they like your PS or your reference. Later on, they may have tons to get through and may look at dozens daily.
This is utter rubbish. Admissions staff select applications using a strict, and consistent, rubric. We do not 'make more offers' early on nor do we get 'stricter' later on.
'Equal consideration' means exactly that. No exceptions.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by izpenguin
The person who said it was an admission tutor. And they definitely didn't just mean apply by January 15th.
Then you should immediately phone UCAS.
Original post by PQ
NO university runs out of places. Too many students/too many offers is simply NOT a problem.
NO university runs out of places. Too many students/too many offers is simply NOT a problem.
ALL Universities have a practical and logistical limit on numbers for every course. There are only so many seats in a lecture hall, so many bench seats in a Lab. There are a limited number of teaching hours available from staff and a limited number of books/space in Libraries. Every course will have a realistic cap on numbers - regardless of the phrase 'uncapped places'
Perhaps you could accept that actually you haven't got a clue how a University functions and stop offering your half-baked idea here.
Original post by PQ
NO university runs out of places. An extra 10 students means an extra £90,000pa. More than enough to find additional staff and teaching space.
but the students are not paying up?
http://www.bbc.com/news/education-26688018
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10747315/Six-in-10-students-will-have-their-debts-written-off.html
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/student-loans-unpaid-debt-problem-universities-adrian-bailey
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/student-fees-policy-costing-more
I think schools put a deadline so students start working on their applications early. Most do not realise how difficult and how much time is needed to write the PS. And teachers need to write references for many students and arrive at as accurate as possible predicted grades. Once the form teachers have completed their work, everything goes up to the Head of 6th Form for final approval. And they deal with large numbers of student applications which cannot be rushed as mistakes have serious repercussions on a student's future. I wouldn't send it in the last minute leaving no time for checking and feedback. The other reason for doing it early is also to get it out of the way so that you can then concentrate on studies and not continuously distracted by the application.
Original post by returnmigrant
Regardless of any school's 'internal deadline (some of which are barkingly early for non-Oxbridge applicants), it is you who pushes that final button, not the school.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
+1
That is completely true.
Original post by returnmigrant
Regardless of any school's 'internal deadline (some of which are barkingly early for non-Oxbridge applicants), it is you who pushes that final button, not the school.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
If any non-Oxbridge or Medicine applicant wants to sit on their application right up to the January deadline to make certain they have made the right choices, it has nothing to do with their school. Your teachers can jump up and down all they like. Its YOU, and only you, who makes this decision.
My school are saying you need to send them off before the actual deadline because the teachers have to write you a reference and can't do that at the last minute? They're really annoying me with their constant nagging.
Original post by Kill3er
My school are saying you need to send them off before the actual deadline because the teachers have to write you a reference and can't do that at the last minute? They're really annoying me with their constant nagging.
You want a good reference. To write a good reference, they need to see your personal statement first, so they don't waste words on something you already said. They have a fair few references to write, so really, it's in your interests not to be too close to the deadline - you might suffer - your teachers won't.
If you really don't know what to apply for, or what to do, you could always wait, take a gap year, and apply to Uni during that.
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