UCAS choices based on applicant success rates?

It's pointless getting an offer from somewhere you don't want to go. Put your favourite 5 down, and if it all goes wrong you can apply through [wiki]UCAS_Extra[/wiki] or Clearing.

I may be completely wrong here (please correct me if I am!) but I believe that applicant success rates are not just the % of people getting offers, but the % of people who applied who end up going. Given that you have 5 choices on UCAS it would seem likely that most would have < 20% success rate due to this.

For example, Warwick has (afaik) an applicant success rate of about 14% while Cambridge has an applicant success rate of 20.8%. This doesn't mean that Warwick is more exclusive or harder to get into than Cambridge, but more that fewer people who get Warwick offers firm and end up going there.

So basically, the applicant success rates shouldn't affect your choice too much. If you want to go to the university on that course and you have the grades, then apply!

Ignore the applicant success rate, from what I've been told/seen, they're not very reliable and the meaning varies per uni.

For example, I originally thought that it was everyone who applied and the success rate depends on who got an offer. However, when I asked about this on open days last year, I got different responses. It can be the difference between who applies and who actually ends up at the university on that specific course, excluding those who got an offer but declined it or failed in their results. A lot of the admissions staff said that the statistic isn't very helpful, if it was, they would specifically state it on their website/course.

A lot of them give out more offers than they say, since clearing/transferrals etc cause a lot of shake up. Provided you have the right grades for entry requirements, I'd recommend you go for it. If the worst comes to the absolute worst, you can simply grab a place during clearing after results, since a lot of people lose their places.

But why excluding, surely that's the reason why the rate would be low ... oh I'm confused
I have the right grades already and a decent PS I think

Ah! That does make sense! 'Applicant success rate' is really misleading then if you're right, it just sounds like the number of people given offers out of those who applied. :/ So a 9% success rate could really mean that a lot of people decline offers and go elsewhere....

No, the applicant success rates on Whatuni, Which etc, are legitimate applicant to offer ratios - not the applicant to place ratios the above poster is speaking about.

Primary Ed is just a very competitive course.

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Oh no

A competitive course that attracts a lot of a very poor applications from 17/18 year olds with no work experience, no real awareness of what the job entails and whether they have the right skills and mediocre grades.

You'll be fine.

Really? I don't know how people can apply to uni so unprepared ... and the courses must do lots of interviews (at which even rubbish applicants may shine due to simply being loud and confident)

Oh no

You have A in A-level maths! That right there puts you miles ahead of most primary school teachers academically. There was a girl in my sixth from that wanted to be a primary school teacher and she used that to her advantage. You should too.

That is true, and that will get my foot in the door. I would be shocked if I didn't get interviews from all my choices. However it is the interviews that are the problem, you and PQ have seen how shy and bumbling I am!

I would rather end up going somewhere I'm not made up about than being rejected from all 5 and not having a place anywhere!

You're making this much harder than it needs to be. It isn't difficult, pick 5 courses you like and hope for the best. It makes no sense applying to a university you don't like.

Re interviews: could you not ask for a phone/Skype interview instead? Might make you feel more comfortable.

There is if I'd rather go anywhere than nowhere! Is that not understandable

And lol

There is if I'd rather go anywhere than nowhere! Is that not understandable

And lol

I just checked WhatUni success rates for my courses. Exeter and Southampton don't show them, but for the others I applied to:

Imperial: 52%
UCL: 85%
Oxford: 33%

I don't know whether to feel relieved or suspicious. The UCL one especially just seems too damn high, and it's my ideal uni!

They have to give out more offers than places because of the calculus that takes place when applicants choose which to firm or insure. Many UCL applicants might choose to go elsewhere, thus bringing down their 'yield' (how many applicants who choose them) rate.

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