How can I support my child going to university?

Check upcoming open days and book your place

It is understandable that you and your child may have some anxieties regarding their upcoming start to university.  Moving away and going to university is a big change, and it's a big step towards independence for your child. While it's important for your child to learn how to live independently, here are some practical things you can do to support your child during this time.

What happens on results day?

Your child will receive their exam results, usually by collecting them from their school. Their UCAS Hub will likely update around 8am as universities receive the grades a day before students. Your child's UCAS Hub will update to display their offer status now their results are confirmed.

An 'unconditional firm' offer means that your child's first choice has accepted them onto the course applied for, while 'unconditional insurance' offers mean that your child didn't meet the entry requirements for their first choice university and has instead gained a place at their insurance choice.

As well as these offer types, your child may receive an offer for a change of course if they narrowly missed the entry requirements for their preferred course. Your child should take some time to consider whether they wish to accept this offer and go ahead with studying the alternative course if they receive one of these offers.

If your child doesn't receive any offers, they'll be eligible to enter Clearing. You can use the Whatuni search tool to find Clearing courses, and you can find our parents' guide to Clearing here.

Familiarise yourself with dates and deadlines to your child’s application 

There are dates set out for your child to accept or decline their university offers through UCAS once they receive them. Encourage your child to make their decision ahead of these deadlines so there's no chance of their offers expiring.

When replying to offers your child needs to make a firm and insurance acceptance. The firm acceptance of a university offer means that this will be their first choice and is done on a conditional or unconditional basis.

A conditional offer is given on the basis that your child must meet the conditions of the offers, and unconditional means that the place is given regardless of what grades they should receive on results day. The insurance acceptance will be their reserve choice of university.

Your child would only attend their insurance choice university if they do not meet the conditions of their firm choice, or if they decide to change their mind and self-release through clearing.  Once they have made their firm and acceptance choices, your child will need to decline the rest of their university offers.

If your child is in Clearing, they have until 20th October to add and reply to any Clearing offers, so they should keep talking to universities with help on their next steps. 

Check university social media pages

University websites will have all the information your child needs regarding what they need to do on arrival and what they need to have ready for registrations and inductions.

Keeping up to date with their Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages can also be a great way to keep yourself informed of any changes or live events the university may be holding. This can be a great way to keep your child motivated about their chosen study path.

There are also resources such as UniBuddy where prospective students can be connected to current students or staff at a particular university. This can be a great way for your child to feel connected to the university before starting and to get the answers to the questions and concerns they may have. It’s also worth signing up to any newsletters from universities or us here at Whatuni so you can be kept up to date with all the latest information.

Attend open days

Open days offer you and your child a chance to get a feel for the university. You can expect tours, talks and time to explore at your own speed. Many institutions also have virtual content on their websites you can check out before you go.

On the day, you'll be able to ask questions in talks during the Q&A sessions, as well as seek out current students and staff to get your questions answered in a more informal setting. You'll have to book onto open days and most unis will also want you to book which talks you want to attend as well, though some might be first-come first-serve on the day. You'll also have chance to see the uni accommodation while you're there, as well as some of the other facilities like the library and Students' Union.

Open days allow for you and your child to visit halls of residence and student accommodation, see a little of what university life is like, and make informed decisions together.

Encourage your child to get ahead of their studies 

If you’re worried about there being a bigger gap between your child finishing school or college and starting university, then there are a couple of things they can do to be proactive. Once your child has made their firm and insurance offers, they should look on the university website for any helpful resources on their chosen subject.

They may be set tasks by the university in the form of set readings or other reading and writing tasks that can help them stay stimulated. They could also enroll onto a free online course to get ahead on their studies. There are plenty of Massive Open Online Courses available on websites which will allow them to be introduced to a subject if they are studying one unfamiliar to them, or if they simply want to broaden their skills and knowledge.

Make sure your child starts clearing research early 

Even if your child feels really confident in their ability to meet their entry requirements, it'll be worth researching the Clearing process and having other options in place as a back up just in case your child’s grades fall short of – or supersede expectation.

Now that Clearing is open, they should be thinking about their university choices and put together a shortlist. They can see what courses are available with our Clearing page where they can search and filter by university, course and their recieved grades.

Explore local universities

It’s important that you can frame local options for your child should you both decide that you want them to stay closer to home. A search for a university based on region can point them in the right direction. On Whatuni you can do this by toggling through the locations, based on the study of a particular subject.

 

Alternatively you can see a whole list of universities based on region:

What if my child changes their mind?

It's understandable if your child is rethinking going to university this year and there are options in place should they feel this way. They can defer uni a year if they want to, meaning they can still apply but to start in the academic year 2023, giving them more time to think about their higher education plans.

It's important that your child knows they are not alone in going to university later or in making decisions to change their study plans. Whilst there's nothing wrong with taking time out or changing study plans, it’s important that your child does not make any decisions they may later regret and that they're reminded about this exciting venture in their life.

Get them excited for freshers week

Freshers week is an amazing chance for your child to join a new club or society and meet new people. The university and Students' Union will be running plenty of events for your child to get engaged with before signing up to societies. Joining societies can be expensive, so encourage your child to make the most of the free socials offered in fresher's week before they make any decisions about which to sign up to.

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