pass at A level

Person_one

juno wrote: »

Because the one of 300 competing for 250 places doesn't exist.

I presume you mean because the university knows that more applicants will follow?

Do you think this stops them making offers to candidates they want?

wdyw

Person_one wrote: »

Then please explain to me how an applicant who is one of 5000 competing for 100 places in January is in an equal position to an applicant who is one of 300 competing for 250 places in November on a course that attracts more suitable candidates than it has places and starts making offers in November.

You can quote yourself in the Independent if it helps.

20 years processing uni applications here and I can guarantee you Juno knows the score and is correct.

Person_one

wdyw wrote: »

20 years processing uni applications here and I can guarantee you Juno knows the score and is correct.

Then please, either one of you feel free to go into detail as to why my example is wrong!

How does a January 15th applicant have EXACTLY the same chance as an October applicant on an oversubscribed course that starts to offer in November.

If you can explain it me, I'll happily concede, but it seems like juno just wants to assert that they know better without actually sharing their 'insider knowledge'.

juno

Person_one wrote: »

I presume you mean because the university knows that more applicants will follow?

Do you think this stops them making offers to candidates they want?

It doesn't mean necessarily unis stop making offers, but only to people who are good enough.

The uni knows roughly how many applications to expect, and also what standard the successful applicants should be. They have statistics on their applicants going back several years to know what level to expect, as well as information on A level pass rates, information on what other unis their applicants apply to so they know their competition. They even have past data on who dropped out of the course, so they can see what is needed to be successful.

Unis don't give offers or rejections to everybody early, even if they do give some offers earlier. They offer the good ones, reject the bad ones, and keep the ones they're not so sure about on file. So if you aren't good enough to get an offer, sneaking your application in earlier won't help.

Unis don't have a quote for applications anyway. They make many more offers than they have places. Oxbridge tends to give around 1.5 offers to places, as even they know they will be turned down (or people don't get the results). Other courses over offer even more. So when you're giving out 5 times the number of places, an extra one or two doesn't really matter.

What will happen if you try to apply early is that you are more likely to either rush your personal statement/other bits of your application, or you change your mind as you didn't give it enough thought. The other option is that teachers take ages to write references, and leave applications waiting anyway - which is extra time to perfect the application, as no personal statement is ever perfect.

wdyw

Person_one wrote: »

Then please, either one of you feel free to go into detail as to why my example is wrong!

How does a January 15th applicant have EXACTLY the same chance as an October applicant on an oversubscribed course that starts to offer in November.

If you can explain it me, I'll happily concede, but it seems like juno just wants to assert that they know better without actually sharing their 'insider knowledge'.

I really couldn't give a stuff whether or not you understand the way the system works or not, maybe Juno will be more patient with you and spell it out to you.

Either way you are posting things that are just down right wrong becasue yo are completely unaware of the process.

Person_one

juno wrote: »

It doesn't mean necessarily unis stop making offers, but only to people who are good enough.

Sometimes, there are far more 'good enough' applicants than places. One course I considered applying to is so competitive that they could fill their places 10 times over with exceptional candidates!

The uni knows roughly how many applications to expect, and also what standard the successful applicants should be. They have statistics on their applicants going back several years to know what level to expect, as well as information on A level pass rates, information on what other unis their applicants apply to so they know their competition. They even have past data on who dropped out of the course, so they can see what is needed to be successful.

Fair enough, the unis have experience on their side, but if they are very oversubscribed and have been for years, or there is a trend-bucking year like 2011 with record applicants, their experiences aren't always a perfect indicator, surely?

Unis don't give offers or rejections to everybody early, even if they do give some offers earlier. They offer the good ones, reject the bad ones, and keep the ones they're not so sure about on file. So if you aren't good enough to get an offer, sneaking your application in earlier won't help.

I wasn't at all suggesting that an early application will get you in if you're not up to standard! However if you are good enough, and lots and lots of others are also good enough, how can it hurt to be the first to hit the mat?

Unis don't have a quote for applications anyway. They make many more offers than they have places. Oxbridge tends to give around 1.5 offers to places, as even they know they will be turned down (or people don't get the results). Other courses over offer even more. So when you're giving out 5 times the number of places, an extra one or two doesn't really matter.

That depends on the numbers involved surely? If you have say, 3 applicants for every place then you can make 2 offers for every place and not reject anyone too impressive. However if you have 100 applicants for every place, you are bound to end up rejecting some strong candidates who could have done well.

What will happen if you try to apply early is that you are more likely to either rush your personal statement/other bits of your application, or you change your mind as you didn't give it enough thought. The other option is that teachers take ages to write references, and leave applications waiting anyway - which is extra time to perfect the application, as no personal statement is ever perfect.

You're making an assumption there that everybody who applies to uni does so straight from school. I'm sure there are plenty of applicants, school age or otherwise who are capable of producing a good personal statement by October, after all this is the deadline for some of the most competitive and prestigious courses.

I'm not saying that nobody gets in uni if they leave their applications late, obviously they do. I'm not suggesting rushing an application will get you in if you're not quite up to standard, obviously that's not true.

However, I still believe that a good candidate, applying to a heavily oversubscribed course that starts offering places early, would be better off submitting their application sooner rather than later as long as it is of a high standard.

Thanks for responding though.

juno

No, poppet, I meant you give out 3 offers for 2 places. Not having 3 applicants. Since you can't understand that and you also seem more interested in insulting me than understanding, I'm out too.

Person_one

juno wrote: »

No, poppet, I meant you give out 3 offers for 2 places. Not having 3 applicants. (3 applicants was my hypothetical, you've misread that I'm afraid.) Since you can't understand that and you also seem more interested in insulting me than understanding, I'm out too.

Alright, bye then.

I only hope you are more patient with the young people you advise!

juno

Person_one wrote: »

Alright, bye then.

I only hope you are more patient with the young people you advise!

If they insult me as much as you have I would stop helping them much earlier.

Person_one

juno wrote: »

If they insult me as much as you have I would stop helping them much earlier.

Really? I said you have a superior attitude, which you do, most people working with teenagers have to deal with a lot worse than that and they don't just stop doing their job when it happens thankfully!