UCAS REPLIES

Hello everyone,

I've received several emails asking me regarding the response that those who have applied will get from the universities. Firstly, those who have applied should regularly check your email or ucas 'Track' for replies from the universities. Below are some examples with suggestions on how to response:

Remember that:

• offers are only official once you have received letter or email from UCAS only, even if you receive an offer direct from a university or college
• if you have a question about a decision, you should contact the university or college for advice
• the universities and colleges have a deadline for making a decision about your application.
  

Conditional offer

A conditional offer means that the university or college will offer you a place if you meet certain conditions, which are usually based on your exams.

You may be asked to achieve specific Tariff points (eg 200 points from three A levels) or grades in named subjects (for example, B in chemistry, C in physics). You might need to get specific grades in the individual units that make up these subjects.

You must meet the conditions of your offer by 31 August 2010, even if your offer is for deferred entry in 2011. If you're taking a winter exam, the offer might ask you to meet the conditions by an earlier date.

One or more of your offers may be a joint conditional offer, for example, a degree and HND. When your exam results are published, the university or college will decide which part of the offer is most suitable for you.

Each offer is specific to your qualifications and circumstances.

Unconditional offer

An unconditional offer means that you have met all the academic requirements and the university or college is happy to accept you. The university or college will contact you if they need proof of your qualifications. They might have other requirements, like financial or medical conditions, that you need to meet before you can start the course.

Withdrawn application

A choice can be withdrawn by you or the university or college. The reason will be displayed in Track. It may be withdrawn because you didn't respond to any letters or emails from the university or college, or because you didn't attend an interview.

Unsuccessful application

This means that the university or college has decided not to offer you a place on the course.

Universities and colleges can decline an applicant for many reasons, one of which could be that the course is full, so it may not be based on the quality of your application. The university or college may provide a reason for their decision either when they send the decision through, or at a later date. If no reason is shown in Track, you can contact the university or college to see if they will discuss why you were unsuccessful.

If we have received decisions from all of your choices and you have at least one offer, we will email you to let you know there has been a change to your application, and ask you to look at Track. If you haven't provided a valid email address we will send you a letter which will ask you to reply to your offers.

Points to remember when replying to your offers

• Try to attend open days or visits before you decide, but remember to reply by the deadline. If you are visiting a university or college after your reply date, please contact the university or college for advice.
• Think carefully before you decide which offers to accept because once you accept an offer, including an insurance offer, you are committed to that course (or courses).
• You can reply to offers without waiting to hear back from all your choices. You can cancel all outstanding decisions and reply to the offers that you have received using Track. But you must be certain about which offers you wish to accept, as once you have made your replies you will not be able to reverse any withdrawals.
• If you are replying to a joint conditional offer, eg for a degree and HND, you are replying to the whole joint offer - when your exam results are published, the university or college will decide which part of the offer is most suitable for you.

Replying to your offers

You reply to each offer in one of the following ways:

• firm acceptance
• insurance acceptance
• decline.

Firm acceptance

Your firm acceptance is your first choice - this is your preferred choice out of all the offers you have received. You only have one firm acceptance.

If you accept an unconditional offer, you are agreeing that you will attend the course at that university or college, so you must decline any other offers. We'll send you a letter which will explain whether there is anything else you need to do.

If you accept a conditional offer, you are agreeing that you will attend the course at that university or college if you meet the conditions of the offer. You can accept another offer as an insurance choice.

Insurance acceptance

You can accept an offer as an insurance choice if your firm choice is a conditional offer. Your insurance choice can be conditional or unconditional and acts as a back-up to your firm choice, so if you don't meet the conditions for your firm choice but meet the conditions for your insurance choice, you are committed to that course.

The conditions for your insurance choice can be higher than your firm choice, but be aware that if you're not accepted by your firm choice, it's unlikely that you will be accepted for an insurance choice that requests higher grades.

You don't have to accept an insurance choice - if you don't meet the conditions of your firm choice but do meet the conditions of your insurance choice, you are committed to taking up that place. So, if you're not sure about any of your other choices, you're not obliged to accept one as an insurance option. You can only have one insurance acceptance.

Decline

Once you have decided which offer to accept firmly, and which (if any) to accept as an insurance, you must decline all other offers. If you don't want to accept any of the offers, you can decline them all. You will then be eligible to use Extra or Clearing, depending upon your circumstances.

There are four combinations of offers and replies

• Unconditional firm only - you've firmly accepted an unconditional offer. You cannot have an insurance choice.
• Conditional firm only - you've firmly accepted a conditional offer.
• Conditional firm + conditional insurance - you've firmly accepted one conditional offer and accepted another conditional offer as an insurance.
• Conditional firm + unconditional insurance - you've firmly accepted a conditional offer and accepted an unconditional offer as an insurance.

How and when to reply to your offers

Use Track to reply to your offers. Your reply date will be displayed in Track. Your reply date is based on when we receive the last decision from your choices, so it might be different to other people's. If you don't reply by the date given, your offers will be declined. If this happens, call our Customer Service Unit to find out what you can do.

If you live in the UK or European Union (EU), the dates are:

Last decision by	Your reply date is
31 March 2010	5 May 2010
7 May 2010	8 June 2010
11 June 2010	30 June 2010
20 July 2010	27 July 2010

If your postal address is outside the EU, the dates are:

Last decision by	Your reply date is
7 May 2010	8 June 2010
11 June 2010	30 June 2010
20 July 2010	27 July 2010

All of the information above are taken from the UCAS website, if you are uncertain about any of the above do email me and hopefully by now those who have applied have received offers from the universities.

P/S: may not be replying emails till 29th March 2010 because its the holidays!

Toodles :)