Post by Adam KnightOn Tue, 14 Sep 2004 11:36:20 +0100, Matthew Huntbach
Post by Matthew HuntbachThere isn't a general rule. It's up to individual admissions tutors how
quickly they deal with UCAS forms that arrive with them. However, it would
be unusual to leave them all until January 15th and then deal with them.
The UCAS rule to which admisssions tutors must keep is that all forms
submitted before Jan 15th must be treated equally (except for Oxbridge
applicatins which have an earlier deadline). Most admissions tutors will
have a general idea of the pattern of applications over the year, they know
some forms will come in later than others and it is not in their interest
to accept weak applicants who come in early and then have to reject strong
applicants whose forms come in later.
So the idea that people have an advantage in submitting UCAS ASAP is
not true for non-oxbrige candidates? Would you think weaker
candidates would have an advantage applying ASAP?
No, there shouldn't be an advantage. An experienced admissions tutor will
know some applications come through in November, some in December and
some In January, and judge the number of offers made accordingly. Don't
forget that not every offer turns into a place. Admissions tutors must
also estimate how many people given offers will make that offer their
Firm or Insurance choice, how many people who have accepted an offer as
their Firm choice will get the grades asked for, how many people who have
accepted an offer as their Insurance choice will get the grades asked for
but not get into their Firm choice. Sitting down in November and trying
to work out how many applications will come through later in the year is
just another one of those estimates.
Things could go either way if estimates of the number of applicants go wrong
as the year progresses. If it turns out the number of applicants is more
than expected, an admissions tutor might get a bit tighter about making
offers later on to try and balance things. However, if the number of
applicants turns out to be less than expected, an admissions tutor might
have to be more generous to later applicants.
Post by Adam KnightFrom what you say does this mean most offers do not come through until
January onwards?
I don't see where this is implied from what I said. In fact I suggested the
opposite. I'm open to correction if people have had the experience of
submitting a UCAS form early but finding a decision is not made until
January. However, my practice as an admissions tutor is to deal with UCAS
forms as soon as they arrive and not leave applicants waiting. We do
interview some applicants so that means there's a delay until the interview
has happened. But I tend to feel there's more chance an applicant will make
my offer their Firm choice if they get it quickly than if I leave them waiting
for months.
Matthew Huntbach