Late for my dream University

Original post by olivia_stressing

Why do you "have much better options now"? What has changed since you applied?

Reply 3

mnot

Question 1, Why London specifically?
IMO it isn’t a particularly great place to live if you’re having to balance living costs on a tight budget, being extremely expensive & space limited…

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 4

Original post by DataVenia

Why do you "have much better options now"? What has changed since you applied?

I didn’t mean it that way, I meant to say that I’ve found much better options in terms of universities with better rankings and affordable fees

Reply 5

Original post by mnot

Question 1, Why London specifically?
IMO it isn’t a particularly great place to live if you’re having to balance living costs on a tight budget, being extremely expensive & space limited…

It’s just the best perspective in my case compared to other choices.

Reply 6

Admit-One

Original post by olivia_stressing

It’s just the best perspective in my case compared to other choices.

So you’ve found options in London within your budget?

Have you looked on UCAS to see if the courses are still accepting international applicants?

Reply 7

mnot

Original post by olivia_stressing

It’s just the best perspective in my case compared to other choices.

I don’t understand what this means tbh.

I was trying to pull out the key 2 or 3 priorities you care most about when choosing a university.

Reply 8

Original post by Admit-One

So you’ve found options in London within your budget?
Have you looked on UCAS to see if the courses are still accepting international applicants?

UCAS closed the applications in January 29th

Reply 9

Original post by olivia_stressing

I didn’t mean it that way, I meant to say that I’ve found much better options in terms of universities with better rankings and affordable fees

OK. Well, firstly I'd say that you need to be wary of rankings, as they can be very misleading. Have you ever gone to watch a movie which the critics raved about, only to be disappointed? Exactly.

If you're going to look at rankings then:
(a) Check the methodology they're using - i.e. what measures are feeding into the ranking and with what weightings.
(b) Decide whether those measures are actually important to you.
(c) Check the rankings for your intended course. You don't want to be university which ranks highly generally, but is weak in your chosen subject area.
(d) Check the rankings over the last few years - some can be very volatile.
(e) Check the numerical values, not just the position on the table. If the ranking is out of 100, it's not uncommon to find a 10-place gap between a university which scored 88.9 and one which scored 88.6. Such a difference is clearly immaterial.

That's, I suspect, why @totallyfine asked to where you had applied and for what subject - so they could offer an opinion on those universities (for that course).

You have some options if you've now established that you've applied to the "wrong" universities.

1. Decline every offer you've received and try to locate a place via UCAS Extra. This gives you one additional choice. I'd they don't make you an offer, then you get one more additional choice. This continues until you get an offer. This is very risky as the course for which you'd ideally like to apply may no longer be taking applications (as it's after the equal consideration deadline). Also, you have to decline your existing offers - so you could end up in a worse situation.

2. You can wait until results day and see if any of your preferred universities are in UCAS Clearing for your chosen course. I'd they are, you could call them up and make an informal enquiry about the likelihood of them offering you a place. You could then decline the place you have at your non-preferred university and apply to your preferred one via Clearing. Again, there is an element of risk here.

3. You could take a gap year and apply to your preferred universities for 2026 entry.

Reply 10

Original post by olivia_stressing

UCAS closed the applications in January 29th

That's the "equal consideration" deadline. Universities are obliged to consider all applications received by that date equally. That does not mean that they don't accept applications after that date. Many universities will, for many courses.

As you seem reluctant to mention the universities to which you would prefer to have applied, or the course your interested in, then we can't really help with this aspect. So check with the universities themselves. They may still be accepting applications, especially from international students (who pay higher fees).

Reply 11

Original post by DataVenia

That's the "equal consideration" deadline. Universities are obliged to consider all applications received by that date equally. That does not mean that they don't accept applications after that date. Many universities will, for many courses.
As you seem reluctant to mention the universities to which you would prefer to have applied, or the course your interested in, then we can't really help with this aspect. So check with the universities themselves. They may still be accepting applications, especially from international students (who pay higher fees).

I applied to Westminster and Greenwich for Law

Reply 12

Admit-One

Original post by olivia_stressing

I applied to Westminster and Greenwich for Law

No, which unis + courses do you now want to apply to?

Reply 13

Original post by Admit-One

No, which unis + courses do you now want to apply to?

Apologies. Let me get back to you in a bit before I answer that.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 14

Original post by Admit-One

No, which unis + courses do you now want to apply to?

Royal Holloway for a law degree

Reply 15

totallyfine

Original post by olivia_stressing

Royal Holloway for a law degree

You could try phoning them to see if they still have places.

Reply 16

Original post by olivia_stressing

Royal Holloway for a law degree

In August 2024, Law LLB (course code M100) was available via Clearing at Royal Holloway (although it's not clear whether that was just for International students). They were looking for CCD at A level (significantly lower than than "standard" entry requirement of "AAB-ABB").

The same course was also available in Clearing in August 2023, although they were asking ABB then.

The same course was also available in Clearing in August 2022 - with a CCC requirement.

Note that none of the above means that it'll be available in Clearing this August too - but it certainly looks like it might be.

Reply 17

Original post by DataVenia

In August 2024, Law LLB (course code M100) was available via Clearing at Royal Holloway (although it's not clear whether that was just for International students). They were looking for CCD at A level (significantly lower than than "standard" entry requirement of "AAB-ABB").
The same course was also available in Clearing in August 2023, although they were asking ABB then.
The same course was also available in Clearing in August 2022 - with a CCC requirement.
Note that none of the above means that it'll be available in Clearing this August too - but it certainly looks like it might be.

Wow, that helps a lot. I can’t thank you enough

Reply 18