UCAS Application stress

[Terry394king]

My daughter always wanted to be a vet but when she sat her AS exams this summer and only got a D in chemistry despite the fact she got a good B in Biology and a further 2 A's and 1 B she has given all her aspirations up and now wants to see if she can do Biology or Bilogical Sciences. She is certain that as she got a D she can't get a predicted B grade for her UCAS application and is getting very stressed out by it all. DH and I are at our wits end as although we try to advise her to speak to her tutors and careers advisor which she's done once, she won't do it again. does anyone have any idea about these applications and whether a lesser predicted grade of a C will still,get her an interview at her choices of university. I know Universities have their acceptable grades but I think she should apply anyway and see what they say? I know all universities are keen to encourage students.

any advice would be gratefully received as we are really struggling.

[MrsJoyless]

Is your daughter planning to retake any or all of her chemistry AS modules next summer? I would think it is vital to find out what the school or college is prepared to predict, and urgent. Is there no way you can make an appointment with the Head of Chemistry?

[Terry394king]

Yes, she's resisting A2 chemistry but it all seems to hinge on the predicted grades from the college which are this week in order to apply to UCAS. I would have thought with all her vet based work experience she's done these past 2 years she would still get a stab at an interview for vet school butt he college said not. I know she wouldn't want me to speak to the college, she would be mortified if I did, so I feel it's up to her but in the mean time she drags her dad and I through the wringer!
I'm just organising a tutor for her for chemistry so hopefully he/she will help,
I am sad for her as her aspiration has always been to be a vet and now she seems to have lost her way.

[noblegiraffe]

She needs to talk to the subject teacher who is actually going to predict the grade and lay out everything that she is going to do in order to raise her achievement at A2. Then she needs to beg for a B.

Then when she applies to uni, she needs to have a back-up plan for if she doesn't achieve her predicted grade (which is likely). Either an insurance with a lower offer, or a gap year.

[patterkiller]

Can you ring the universities. They are more likely to give you an answer on their admissions rather than the college.

[cathyandclaire]

She did 5 AS levels, is she dropping one or two? Could she resit AS Chemistry, ace her A2s, take a year out and apply for Vet med with her results?

[Bolograph]

As I said on another thread.

If your institution won't predict the A2 grades you think you will obtain, or you have reason to believe that even if they do institutions won't take you seriously, your best option to to proceed to A2 (with such resits as you require on the way) and then apply once you have your A2 results. There is then no debate about predicted grades, and only in the most extreme cases will the pathway to those grades be an issue. You apply with a known set of grades, and either get an unconditional offer or you are rejected. You can do this in the September after your results, you'll usually have an answer before Christmas and you'll then know what you're doing come August.

Someone who got a D in Chemistry is a very bad bet for a course which (presumably) requires AAA with Chemistry as a compulsory subject. A D is at most 59% UMS, and an A requires 80% UMS, so to get an A requires 100.5% UMS; your daughter therefore needs to resit and do substantially better. She cannot do that until next June, so will be (in effect) taking A2 Chemistry as a single terminal exam. No reputable college is going to get an A predicted grade on that, and even a B would be speculative, and even if they did universities will be sceptical. Without a predicted A she will probably be rejected by vet schools.

If she genuinely believes she can get AAA, she should concentrate on her A Levels, get AAA, and then apply next September.

I would have thought with all her vet based work experience she's done these past 2 years she would still get a stab at an interview for vet school

Without a predicted AAA (or whatever the admission criteria are), they are unlikely to interview.

does anyone have any idea about these applications and whether a lesser predicted grade of a C will still,get her an interview

A predicted C in a subject which is required to be an A? There is no chance at all of an interview, without massive extenuating or mitigating circumstances.

[Bolograph]

A D is at most 59% UMS, and an A requires 80% UMS, so to get an A requires 100.5% UMS; your daughter therefore needs to resit and do substantially better.

To clarify:

A D at AS is at most 59% UMS, and an A at A2 requires 80% UMS, so to get an A at A2 requires 100.5% UMS in the exams your daughter has yet to take; your daughter therefore needs to resit exams she has already taken and do substantially better than she did.

[kath6144]

Op I am not sure why you think it all seems to hinge on the predicted grades from the college and I am sad for her as her aspiration has always been to be a vet and now she seems to have lost her way

Yes, an offer this year will hinge on her predicted grades, and is unlikely if the Chemistry prediction is only a C, but if being a vet is her aspiration then surely her No 1 goal is to ensure she gets AAA at A level next year, with whatever re-takes are necessary, and then she can take a gap year and re-apply.

We have a similar situation with our son, who got a D in AS chemistry, which he wants to study at Uni, but slightly different in that there are extenuating circumstances. He had serious medical complications in May half term and was in and out of hospital for a week, resulting in him getting a U in Chem 2 exam, taken day after final hospital admission, compared to a B in Chem 1.

He has been told by head of 6th form that he should still apply this year, as she will include details in UCAS reference and he is still being predicted an overall A (with a resit of Chem 2 obviously). However, we have discussed with him that he may need to have a gap year and re-apply with results, if no offer is forthcoming this year. He knows that what matters most is that he gets the required grades next year, whether he has an offer or not.


At one point in the hospital saga we didn't know if he would even take his last 3 exams after half term, and re-taking Year 12 was a distinct possibility, so if he ends up deferring Uni for a year, it will be a minor inconvenience.

A local girl we know was hoping to start Vet school last year. She dropped 1 grade, getting AAB, but re-took the relevant subject, and has just gone off to RVC. Her offer last year was for a different vet school, so having to re-sit & re-apply did her a massive favour in that she actually got into her No 1 choice!

[Fatfreefaff]

I sympathise as my DD got a C in Chemistry at AS and was devastated as her school refused to predict an A, so she was unable to apply to VetMed. Happily she got A's in everything at A2 and was successful after an enforced gap year.

The Vet schools will definitely reject unless the predicted grades are As. If she still wants to be a vet, I would recommend leaving UCAS for this year and putting everything into her A levels. She definitely needs A in both Biology and Chemistry plus a third subject. Why on earth was she doing 5 AS levels - they ask for 4 and 3 subjects at A2. I would book some lambing for early next year and work experience for next summer and go from there.

If she is unable to proceed down the vet path I really think she needs more time to decide what to do. The Biological sciences are also competitive and she might have more choice if she again applies post A level. I would plan for a gap year instead.

Some candidates my DD has met have got into Vet School with one B grade but it is rare and they were predicted A to have got as far as interview.

[Fatfreefaff]

I should say that my daugher resat both AS papers at the same time as A2, she had an awful practical mark but could not retake so was behind from the start. She had to throw everything into it though and I hired a tutor. She made it by 3 ums I think.

[Headofthehive55]

Even if she applies this year for another course she doesn't have to take them up on the offer. If she doesn't do well at a2 then she might have an offer for something else and be glad of it come August when her friends are off to uni. Otherwise you might need a year out and still not do what she wants. There are bargain offers around clearing, if you are in the system...my DD applied wouldn't have got into do her course by applying with her grades.

[Bolograph]

There are bargain offers around clearing, if you are in the system

There are, but there are also substantial issues around accommodation depending on the university: it's rare (not unheard of, but rare) for university accommodation guarantees to apply to students arriving via clearing, and even when they do you are at the back of the queue for choice.

[Charis2]

She wants to get onto the single most competitive course in the country!

She is unlikely to get a place with those AS results, and resits are often not considered.

I would suggest she rings or emails the royal veterinary college for advice.

They have a range of courses in the veterinary industry, for all levels.

It is possible she could start a course at a lower level, veterinary science, or similar, and apply to transfer after a year but she needs to make sure she starts off on an appropriate course. Veterinary nursing for example, may or may not be appropriate. She could possibley do a year on that course, gain excellent exam results, and then apply to start training as a vet, She would need to be sure that the nursing course would be considered advantageous before she starts though.

On the other hand, with a D and two Bs, maybe being a vet genuinely isn't for her?

[Rummikub]

My suggestion would be to apply for an alternative course via Ucas this year, then, if she gets the A grades she can either go with the course she's chosen as an alternative or withdraw and re apply for vet school the following year.

There are some great courses in clearing but not for veterinary or medicine.

[Fatfreefaff]

Resits are definitely considered.

RVC and other universities offer related courses but they also need good grades.

It is NOT possible to transfer to Vetmed from another course such as nursing. Graduate entrants are considered of course but that onionss an extremely expensive route to take.

[Charis2]

Resits are definitely considered. sometimes they are, sometimes they are not. You are at a disadvantage.

It is NOT possible to transfer to Vetmed from another course such as nursing

sorry, not being clear. I didn't mean transfer, as in move from second year of one course to the second year of another. I meant applying to START veterinary medicine with the exam results from your first year in another course, but just check the course you are starting on is appropriate for this - and that your DD will be happy just to complete the first course if she is turned down.

I have a ex-student who transferred from the second year of animal science to the first year of veterinary medicine. ( might not have been animal science, might have been something similar - can't remember exactly)

but she never got a D in AS Chemistry, so she wouldn't have had that particular millstone round her neck

[Charis2]

To be realistic, many many many students have dreams that are beyond their actual ability, and maybe your DD is one of those?

[Janey96]

My son and I are in the same boat! Hes doing his A2s now. Last year he got a B in English and wants to be an English teacher. He got A's in other subjects. So it looks like whatever course you want to study at Uni is the one that they expect an A in. He believes he can get 3 A's this year but because he got a B in English, that will probably average out to a B. Hes seen the points that he has and knows what they want in a years time, so has to work even harder to get a high A in English, but it still might not be enough to secure an A overall.

He too asked his teacher to predict him an A as he knows he can do it. She agreed to it. the downside is Ucas forms have to be done by end October this year so hes scoured thru all the Unis for those that want all As and some Bs, just in case. It is a nightmare and all the Unis are far away so would have to stay there.

If Im not mistaken, if you want to resit, with sons school hed have to tell them within 2 weeks of going back, he decided not to resit it just incase the marks went down.

Hope it gets sorted soon for you all

[Peaceandl0ve]

I feel your pain. I am sure you agree with those that say apply with the grades in place. Getting a dc who has sepnt years getting the work exp done, and will have to see friends applying and getting offers to wait is a different proposition. My dd did not get the chem AS grade she had hoped for but did enough to allow the school to predict an A but there will be hard work and retakes! We are now in a different vet med hell, writing the PS for the deadline on the 15th, dd is nearly there but i need some valium. DD is having wobbles, what if i have done all this work and work exp and i get no offers, everyone will think i have been a fool.....!
I for one think that she deserves a medal for her perseverance.