Think carefully when you reply to your offers

Replying to your offers is a big decision and one you need to think about carefully. You could be spending at least the next three years of your life at whichever university you accept, so you should weigh up all the pros and cons before rushing a decision. Here are five important things to consider before replying…

1. Accept your favourite choice as your firm choice
Think carefully about which choice is your favourite - think back to which one wowed you at an open day and offers the course you’ve dreamed of. Take the same approach with your insurance choice, because if you don’t meet the conditions of your firm, but you do meet the conditions of your insurance, then that’s the uni you’ll be going to. Remember, you can’t choose between your firm and insurance when you get your results.

2. Once you accept a place, you’ve entered a contract with that university
When you accept an offer you’re entering a contract – the university agrees to accept you if you meet their conditions (if there are any) and you agree to attend the course. This is why you need to be happy with the choices you accept.

Sometimes a uni might state in the conditions of their offer that they’ll change it to unconditional as soon as you accept it as your firm choice, and they may also offer incentives such as guaranteed accommodation. Although this may sound reassuring, only make it your firm choice if it’s the course you really want to accept, because you’re making a commitment to the university.

3. If you accept an unconditional offer, even if you don’t have your exam results yet, you won’t have an insurance choice
Some universities will make unconditional offers to applicants even before they have their exam results. Amongst other things, accepting an unconditional offer means you won’t have an insurance choice. Find out what else you should consider if you’re accepting an offer like this in our blog post ‘Accepting an unconditional offer’.

4. Read the conditions of your offer carefully
Before you reply to a conditional offer, make sure you have a clear understanding of what the university requires from you. If uncertain about anything, get in touch with the university and ask them to clarify the conditions.

5. Talk through your decision 
If you’re trying to decide which offers to accept, speak to your tutors and careers advisers. It’s good to speak to family and friends as they can offer alternative perspectives you might not have considered. Check out blogs from current students too, as they share what it’s really like to be part of their student community.    

If you need some help replying to your offers then head on over to our website or ask our friendly advisers on Facebook and Twitter.