can a uni over offer a course and then cancel your offer

There is only one uni i want to go to ( surrey) to study adult nursing!
but because its a popular course im worried they could over offer it :frown:

i want to cancel my other inteviews and just accept their offer!
but im worried they will unoffer it to me

so paranoid

Reply 1

username453132

If they have given you an offer (conditional or unconditional) they can't take it back.

Reply 2

Kinesthetic

Original post by bellyboo

There is only one uni i want to go to ( surrey) to study adult nursing!
but because its a popular course im worried they could over offer it :frown:

i want to cancel my other inteviews and just accept their offer!
but im worried they will unoffer it to me

so paranoid

I don't think they can do that. I enquired with connexions about this, and when a uni makes you an offer, you enter like an agreement that if you get the grades, you'll attend the uni. It's sort of like if you firm them, you are obliged to take up the offer.

It is the universities fault if they hand out too many offers and then have more students than expected - they're penalised if they go over on course quotas, it has nothing to do with you.

Cheers,
Kins.

Reply 3

Panda Vinnie

If it's on UCAS, it's official and legally binding...they can't take it back.

Reply 4

Shuvel

Your offers are a legally binding agreement, Keep an insurance offer incase worse comes to worst, but really if you accept an unconditional you're in.

Reply 5

Salt&Vinegar

I think a uni can't cancel the offer after it has been accepted. There would an outcry if that was possible. :smile:

Reply 6

Sports Racer

They can only take it back if you've misled them in your application. Otherwise, nothing to worry about.

And many universities over-offer because people firm other universities, etc.

Reply 7

Good bloke

Original post by Panda Vinnie

If it's on UCAS, it's official and legally binding...they can't take it back.

Original post by Shuvel

Your offers are a legally binding agreement, Keep an insurance offer incase worse comes to worst, but really if you accept an unconditional you're in.

This is nonsense. There is no legally binding agreement between the candidate and the university at this stage. While it is very unusual, universities can retract offers for various reasons (made in error, lying on the part of the candidate, changes to the candidate's exam-taking intentions, for instance), both before and after an offer has been accepted. There have been at least three threads on this in the last week, so please don't continue perpetuating this silly myth.

The OP need not be worried, though.

Reply 8

gozatron

I know they can take back interviews but i doubt they would take back offers..

Reply 9

Shuvel

Original post by Good bloke

Well I heard words to this effect from a course admissions tutor so don't have a go at me.

Reply 10

Pheebs1201

Yes they can but it is highly unlikely OP. Try not to worry, focus on doing well in your other interviews & wait for other replies before firming!

Reply 11

Beska

Original post by Good bloke

Are you sure? I did a bit of research on this for somebody in the medicine forum about 6 months ago and I came to the conclusion that once an unconditional offer was firmed, the only way to legally "unbind" a candidate from the institution was by mutual agreement. It's why universities are up the metaphorical creek without a paddle if more candidates firm than are expected to - else they'd just withdraw a handful of offers, job done. For example, for 2009 entry at Barts and The London, a lot more candidates firmed than the medical school were expecting to. They asked candidates for voluntary deferred entry, effectively paying them off with £4000 rather than face government fines. The medical school said "it was unable to withdraw offers on legal grounds."

The whole assumption that an unconditional firm cannot be withdrawn is, of course, reliant on the fact that a candidate hasn't deceived on their application.

Reply 12

rachelkeira

They CAN, Sheffield did it to someone I know on results day... He met their offer but they still rejected him! Though I think this is pretty rare, so you should be safe :smile:

Reply 13

roar558

Original post by Beska

I think good bloke was referring to before firming, as far as I'm aware, they can take back an offer/ change an offer before the person in question firms it. If I remember correctly someone last year was complaining on tsr about this happening to him.

Reply 14

Beska

Original post by roar558

Aha! Righto. I just misunderstood then. :o:

Reply 15

Good bloke

Original post by Beska

I didn't say they could withdraw arbitrarily, but they can do so with a good reason. Not running the course, discovering deception or discovering changes in the candidate's application details are three examples. This is a very rare occurence, of course. Doing this after the offer has been accepted is more difficult, but the same reasons can apply and be acted on.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 16

deforeX

Original post by rachelkeira

They CAN, Sheffield did it to someone I know on results day... He met their offer but they still rejected him! Though I think this is pretty rare, so you should be safe :smile:

Rejection is not the same as completely losing your offer. Not having the offer at all is what the retraction discussion is about. The university cannot take back an offer. Otherwise people would firm and hope to go to uni when suddenly they find themselves randomly losing their offer. This applies especially to unconditional offer holders who apply a year after A levels and can only firm one offer.