The UCAS deadline you might not know about- 19th July! (Changes of Mind)

PRSOM

I've also updated this article https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/apply/changing-your-mind-about-your-firm-or-insurance-choice

Includes how to change your choices throughout the cycle including the 19th July deadline and beyond

There’s been quite a lot of threads recently with people having second thoughts about their firm choice, their insurance or both! If you’re in this position, it’s still possible to change your mind relatively easily- but only until 19th July. After this, things get more tricky.

Some applicants still think they can pick between their firm and insurance on results day- this is not the case. You have committed to an order of preference- if your firm accepts you, you lose your insurance place and it’s not easy to get it back. So if you would actually rather go to your insurance choice, you need to swap your choices over ASAP!

The process at the moment is quite simple. Just contact both unis and explain what you would like to happen, “I would like to swap my firm for my insurance choice, please”. You will have to ask them to give permission to UCAS for this to happen. They may want something in writing (i.e. an email) from you. Be polite to the unis, especially the one you are effectively rejecting. Once you’ve contacted both unis, you can contact UCAS and arrange the swap.

What if I want to go to another choice altogether?

Before 19th July, you could arrange a three way swap without entering clearing, as long as all the unis agree. You will need to secure an informal place at your new preferred uni, then contact your other two unis and explain what you want to happen. If all unis agree to the swap, you can then contact UCAS and arrange it.

Make sure you are really clear when talking to unis about what you want to happen- If you just say you want to withdraw from your offer, they may think you want to withdraw your entire application. This could cause all sorts of problems.

It is awkward to tell a uni that you now prefer another choice, but it is much better to be honest with them than risk having your whole application withdrawn by mistake.

What if I miss the 19th July deadline but want to swap my choices?

After 19th July, UCAS will no longer process “changes of mind”. The only way to go to a different uni than the one that accepts you on results day is via clearing. Yes, even if that other uni was originally your insurance choice!

You would need to be released into clearing by your firm, which can take days. You’d then have to apply via clearing, the same as any other applicant. Your old insurance wouldn’t be obligated to accept you in this circumstance. They may not be willing to hold a place for you days if your firm is slow about releasing you.

It’s much riskier to wait to make a swap on results day or after 19th July. If you are sure you want to swap or change your choices, then it’s much better to make the swap now!

I called ucas and they said there is not set deadline to confirm a swap. So I think 19th of July being ht deadline is not strictly true.

Well, that's weird because they list it as a deadline on their website and this is based on information I was given by a UCAS representative at the weekend. Scroll down on this page to the "changed your mind about your replies section" https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/making-changes-your-ucas-undergraduate-application

This deadline is for using the change of mind system, which is fairly straight forward and easy. You don't risk missing out on places using this system.

After this date, you can still use clearing to get new offers etc, but the process has much more risk involved and is a bit more complicated.

If you're thinking of swapping your firm and insurance, or something similar, please do get it done before the 19th as after that, the process will be more complicated.

It's possible the person you spoke to misunderstood what you were asking or made a mistake.

I'll call them tommorow and confirm.

Do you actually want to make a swap? Because if you do, honestly it's better to get it sorted ASAP. You need to get permission from all the unis involved, which may take a bit of time, and there won't be anyone to help you at UCAS (or probably at the unis) at the weekend.

It would be a really good idea to get the ball rolling this week.

Yeah, I'm thinking of making a minor change to my insurance. I'm changing it to another course I applied for within the same department which are very similar, so I am hoping it won't be too much trouble. I already called the university, they will contact the department to see if I can swap which is gonna take a few days. This process could take longer though, you never know, so I called ucas to confirm what the deadline is and they said the official one is 19th of july, but they can still confirm swaps after that as long as the uni agrees. Weird, I will call them just to make sure.

For changing your course at a specific university then you don’t need to talk to ucas. Just call the university concerned.

Did you ask for the name and job title of the person you spoke to at ucas? Unfortunately at this time of year they often use temp staff to answer the phones and those staff have often given incorrect information.

After the 19th July ucas lock down their systems so that universities can only send “confirmation decisions “ (accept, reject, offer an unconditional change of course) - swaps aren’t possible and even course changes can only be done by making your offer unconditional first.

Yeah, I'm thinking of making a minor change to my insurance. I'm changing it to another course I applied for within the same department which are very similar, so I am hoping it won't be too much trouble. I already called the university, they will contact the department to see if I can swap which is gonna take a few days. This process could take longer though, you never know, so I called ucas to confirm what the deadline is and they said the official one is 19th of july, but they can still confirm swaps after that as long as the uni agrees. Weird, I will call them just to make sure.

Swaps within the uni are a bit different and the uni can change your offer easily up to results day if they want to.

That could possibly be the reason UCAS told me there is no fixed deadline for my specific swap. Makes sense.

I started a thread a couple of weeks ago as my daughter no longer wants to go to her insurance university as due to various issues she now wants to be closer to home.

She spoke to and then emailed her insurance choice and they have basically refused to release her so that she can go straight into clearing if she is rejected by her firm.

Does this sound right?

Hi

It might be due to the language she is using- released technically means that you've got an unconditional offer that the uni is releasing you from, so it's a bit different while she still has a conditional offer. Most unis will work out what you mean/what you want to happen, but this might be part of the reason she's having issues.

My suggestions would be:

Call the uni again, and explain the outcome she wants very clearly- she no longer wants to go to this university and would like to enter clearing on results day so she can find a place closer to home. Avoid using the word "released" and instead explain the end result she wants.

If they still won't help, then call UCAS, who may be able to put a bit of pressure on the uni to help her get out of their offer.

However, technically changes can only be made after 14 days of a decision if the unis involved agree, so they don't absolutely have to let her out of her offer if they don't want to. Obviously it's utterly pointless for them to insist on holding her offer if she doesn't want to go there, but she can't absolutely force them to agree, sorry.

Thank you! She did call them back after receiving the email and also gave them permission to speak to me on her behalf so that I could tell them exactly why she no longer wanted to go there and what end result she wanted, i.e. to go straight in to clearing if she didn't get her firm choice.

The guy we spoke to got himself a bit confused as he started saying we needed to speak to her firm choice to make a change but this has nothing to do with her firm choice at all.

Is it worth another call to the uni or should we go straight to UCAS as I thought some leniency might have been shown once I explained the specific reason for her change of mind?