deferred entry

My son would like to take a gap year. His school is stating that he needs to complete the UCAS admissions process this year and apply by deferred entry to start University in 2027. He has been told that he needs to contact each university he plans to apply to to ask if they accept deferred entry. There are no details on their websites. When I asked about deferred entry at an open day, the head of department at Kingston university wasn't aware what a deferred entry was! I tried to call UCAS admissions but as I don't have a pin number it is not possible to speak to anyone.
Is the above information correct? what are the advantages/disadvantages of deferred entry V applying after A'level results?
Thanks, Sally.

Reply 1

acting-earthquak

I’m currently in a gap year and applying with A levels already done. You need to find the number for admissions for each university and call them, department heads normally won’t know anything its the admissions team that will.

In terms of deferred vs applying after. If you apply with A levels already done you either get rejected normally or receive an unconditional offer. This means unless you reject the offer the place is guaranteed. In contrast some unis don’t like deferring places without good reason eg. family circumstance, medical issue etc. and may hesitate to give you an offer so unless you have a strong reason i would’ve recommend it. A normal gap year is generally more flexible as long as you can say it wasn’t spent doing nothing eg. work experience, travelling, studying etc.