Waiting For The University Offers

So I wrote an advice post in Novermber describing my struggle of writing a personal statement - so I thought it would make sense and be quite suitable, as I have now received all five of my offers (eep!), to give a few worlds of advice for tackling the next step in the application process: waiting for your results.

Limit your UCAS intake

Coming from personal experience, I know how easy it to obsessively check your UCAS track page to see if somehow a university has contacted you two minutes after you last looked. Typically they will send you an email if your status on any of your applications has changed, so try to relax and just check your emails once a day, like you would in the pre-UCAS days. 

They haven't forgotten you

'How have four of the universities replied and I'm still waiting for my 5th, a month later? Have they forgotten me?'. Again, this happened to me a few weeks ago, and although the choice was at the bottom of my preference list, the chance of getting all 5 offers, something I had been longing to see on my track page for weeks, was something I didn't want to risk losing. I'm lucky to have received all of my offers quite early, however bear in mind the final deadline for universities to get back to you is May 7th; three months from now. Some universities just take longer than others: be it having a smaller admissions team, or being a much larger centre, either way it will just take a little more time for some, so don't worry too much. 

Stay positive

Lastly, the most cliche tip - keep your head up. If you get rejected, if the univeristy has asked for grades you think you can't achieve, or you haven't received your first offer yet - just stay positive. Things happen for the best (most of the time, at least) and hurdles and falls will only make you stronger. If you are really struggling with the stress, I recommend copious cups of tea and as much chocolate as you require. It works best for these types of situations...