What happens next with my UCAS applications?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what your next steps will be I thought I would just outline them. From your five choices you will get given offers. Most offers are conditional on you getting a certain grade in you’re a-levels. Although there are some other offers you can get. Once you have received your offers you must pick two: firm and insurance. The firm university is the university you want to go to and the insurance university is the one you want to go to if you do not meet the requirements of your firm choice. You can only pick two out of the offers you have received. The general advice in terms of offers is to make sure the grade requirements between the two offers is different. Most people tend to pick an insurance offer which has lower grade requirements. For example, if your firm requires A*AA you might want to choose an insurance offer than requires BBC. This means that if you don’t get the grades you need, you might still have a space available at another university you are interested in studying at.
When you have received all of your offers you will be given a deadline in track. You must reply to all your offers at the same time but you don’t need to rush. You can have a think about it – make a list of pros and cons and then make a decision. As long as it is made before the deadline. Technology can always be a hassle so it might be worth submitting your choices a day before the deadline in case you have a wifi problem. If you encounter any other problems, it also leaves you with the time to call UCAS and confirm anything you may be unsure of.
When deciding which university you want to go to there are a variety of things you want to consider. This could be a campus uni v a city uni. I always thought I wanted to go to a city uni but once I visited a campus uni (Warwick) I realized that I would enjoy a campus more and so far I haven’t been disappointed. Another factor I think is important is the specifics of the course. Although you may be applying for one course e.g. LLB Law, all universities will have different modules they teach. If there are specific modules you are interested in then it might be worth checking whether it is possible for you to do these. Apart from this you might want to have a look at the different societies that the university has. Whether you are an avid sports person or enjoy celebrating your culture, universities tend to have a variety of societies you can join. You could have a look at the events the societies have held previously to give you an idea.
