UCAS Firm and Insurance

Hi

Was wondering if I could ask about Firm and Insurance uni choice?

Say for example, on a hypothetical point I received offer from Oxbridge and UCL - although my ideal preference would be Oxbridge but would it be possible to Firm for UCL and Insurance for Oxbridge?

I understand from UCL admission webinars which states that their student accommodation would only be allocated if students set UCL as Firm.

I do understand that on A level result day, if my results are sufficient for Firm and Insurance:

a.) Automatic allocated to Firm, ie UCL

b.) Insurance will disappear from UCAS application immediately

c.) Student could possibly appeal to Oxbridge but I doubt Oxbridge would be happy to open the Insurance space

As said, choosing UCL as Firm is for accommodation purpose, knowing how £££ London is if I can't get a secure accommodation and if I do not get the required grades for Oxbridge on result day.

Thanks.

What you say for (a) and (b) is correct. For (c) you'd have to click "Decline my place" to drop into Clearing and persuade Oxbridge (which I assume you realise isn't a single university!) to accept you. That isn't going to happen.
So, in the scenario you outline ("my results are sufficient for Firm and Insurance"), you'd be going to UCL - even though "my ideal preference would be Oxbridge". That doesn't sound terribly sensible.
Most universities only allow students who firm them to apply for accomodation, and only guarantee accomodation to such candidates. That does not mean that insurance (or Clearing) students get no accomodation. It just means they have to apply later, and that accomodation isn't guaranteed.

Hi
Was wondering if I could ask about Firm and Insurance uni choice?
Say for example, on a hypothetical point I received offer from Oxbridge and UCL - although my ideal preference would be Oxbridge but would it be possible to Firm for UCL and Insurance for Oxbridge?
I understand from UCL admission webinars which states that their student accommodation would only be allocated if students set UCL as Firm.
I do understand that on A level result day, if my results are sufficient for Firm and Insurance:
a.) Automatic allocated to Firm, ie UCL
b.) Insurance will disappear from UCAS application immediately
c.) Student could possibly appeal to Oxbridge but I doubt Oxbridge would be happy to open the Insurance space
As said, choosing UCL as Firm is for accommodation purpose, knowing how £££ London is if I can't get a secure accommodation and if I do not get the required grades for Oxbridge on result day.
Thanks.

You can firm up whichever university you want & insure any other providing you have offers.
It is only advisable to firm the university you want to enroll at, don’t try and play silly games as you have obligations from the moment you select a uni as a firm choice.
It is reasonable not to allocate accommodation to insurance offer holders as they are not planning on enrolling assuming everything goes to plan. You should remember that more accommodation typically becomes available after results day as UCL will also have offer holders who miss their requirements.
And first year halls is not a good reason to choose a university. Even if you don’t get your preferred hall.

Thanks for your comments.
In no way am I trying to play any silly game, I am coming from purely a financial point of view as every pennies saved counts for me and my family.

If it’s financial you will be best looking at colleges at Oxbridge with bursary programs as some colleges are immensely wealthy and have lots of support.
Additionally, staying in halls/university accommodation is going to cause you to pay significantly more then privately renting a room through a private landlord.
Also living in London is probably the toughest city for students. Broadly speaking the midlands & Northern cities are significantly more reasonable.

If ideal preference is Oxbridge and you receive an offer, then you obviously firm Oxbridge. UCL and Oxford have the same typical offer; Cambridge slightly higher. If you meet both firm and insurance offers, you automatically decline the insurance offer and it is then at the discretion of universities. It is outright silly to have the insurance choice with an equivalent or harder grade requirement than firm!
You are clearly instructed on the UCAS portal about what university to do what with depending on preference so do not devise these schemes (even if there is financial benefit) as it will only disadvantage you!
Universities will assess you for financial need so if there are genuine affordability problems at play, the universities do tend to help.

I disagree with the approach it is silly to put a higher or equivalent graded university as an insurance choice.
You must focus on where you most want to study and this can sometimes mean choosing a university which doesn’t have the highest requirements. Now this comes with a high risk of what if i miss my grades and then my insurance rejects me as well. Well it’s a risk but sometimes unis accept students on results day who miss their grades. Now still a chance you end up in clearing looking at universities with lower grades but frankly there tends to be a lot more vacant room in clearing for those courses anyway.
It is better imo to put down universities you want to study at (assuming you’re realistic with potential grades), and take a risk on going through clearing or re-applying then putting down a lower offer for insurance so to guarantee you have something for a university you have only moderate interest in.

It’s a big gamble and highly inadvisable to do this. If you meet your grades, your place at the firm choice is already confirmed and it is tricky to switch to insurance - highly dependent on university discretion and places available. If you miss your firm choice, the INSURANCE choice is there to give you a fallback and some peace of mind so that you don’t have to go through clearing. If you can avoid going through clearing, you probably should as it is a stressful process with no guarantees.