#deferred entry

Yes, you’d have to reapply for everything as you’re not allowed to hold an offer for a university place whilst applying through UCAS. I don’t think that the other uni would see you reapplying as a negative thing - for one, I doubt they’d even realise as they all get so many applications. In my experience, there is no issue with reapplying to somewhere that already gave you an offer - they wanted you with just predicted grades, so they’ll want you once you’ve achieved them.

Hi everyone! I know it's that time of year where UCAS is at the forefront of every year 13s mind and a lot of you may be considering deferring entry or may already have decided to do so. Gap years aren't talked about much in school (at least from my experience) and I think it's very hard to figure out whether or not they're actually right for you. Often the best way to figure out whether or not you should do a gap year is to speak to someone who has but again that can be difficult as they're not massively common. My best friend is currently doing a gap year in Japan, she's been there for a week and is keeping a blog of her experiences that may help you to decide what's right/ wrong for you. If you want more information about gap years or to generally here about an English girls perspective of life in Japan follow @emilysyearinjapan Thank you!

Congratulations! It’s definitely worth emailing your college about deferring. However, as you have a good reason, I don’t think it will be a problem 💖

Thank you for this advice - it’s good to have input from someone who was in a similar position.

All in all, I’d say that applying for deferred entry in your circumstances would be absolutely fine, but you might want to email admissions people at the unis you’re planning to apply to to find out how you should let them know in your application that the gap year is for a medical reason (as in, do you need to send an extra letter, mention it on UCAS, that sort of thing), as otherwise they might be confused when there’s no mention of plans in your personal statement.

Also, I’d say you don’t necessarily want to go into the application process thinking that you’ll reapply if you don’t get in, as you don’t know how you’ll feel come next January.

Hopefully some of these ideas help to get you started! 

I don’t think it’s unheard of, but I’m sure the likelihood of it happening varies by college and depending on the reason you want to defer your offer for - for example, if something seriously affects the end of your year 13 and you need to have time to recover before starting uni, I would think they’d be understanding, but for less solid reasons they might be less willing. I think it’s best to email your college speculatively, just to see the admissions office’s opinion on it.