UCAS by universities and are either unconditional or conditional, where the latter means that the student will receive a place dependent on exam performance. Applicants also find out if they have been rejected through UCAS Track. Once an applicant has received a reply from their choices, they must reply to their university before the deadline in May. Applicants normally choose two offers through UCAS, one as their firm choice and one as their insurance choice. A firm choice means that, if the student receives their grades required, then the student will receive an unconditional offer. An insurance choice means that, if
The Great Courses was coherent and logical. Analyst Heather Mac Donald, writing in the conservative publication "City Journal", described the courses offered by "The Teaching Company" as more mainstream than what is offered at traditional American liberal arts colleges. She described the course selection as being driven by market forces, with the firm's founder, Tom Rollins, querying customers as to what subjects they wanted to learn about, and using market research techniques to figure out what courses to offer, and even what lectures to include, to satisfy an intensely loyal customer base. As a result, there is less emphasis in the catalog on