Is there any point firming a uni offer which is too high?

[Nettleskeins]

Dc is almost certain to make one less grade than the uni offer. It would not be in the subject he is applying for.
The problem is that his other offers are unconditional.
Should he email the uni he has applied to, and ask if they are prepared to drop a grade if he firms them? It is a BMus so they also ask for Grade 8, and he has auditioned as well (so it is not just the A level grades that they look at, though obviously important for a degree with essays/research)

I'm not sure of the protocol. His A level teachers are not very helpful resolving this, I think they were both highly academic and their experience of A level students applying to do a BMus has been limited. Dc's teacher said she was expecting them to offer far higher!

[user1484040234]

Universities often take a grade or two lower when the results come out. I would suggest he firms where he really wants (the slightly aspirational offer) and uses his next favourite as his insurance.

[Allthebestnamesareused]

I agree with what user says.

[AlphaApple]

Yep, firm it with the higher offer. They might drop it on results day.

[Fifthtimelucky]

I agree with going for the one he wants. Music is not particularly oversubscribed and I imagine there will be places available on results day.

My daughter is in her 3rd year of a music degree. She was predicted better grades than she needed, but I remember checking clearing the night before results day to see what might be available, just in case she didn't make her grades, and when I saw that her reserve choice (Birmingham) had places available, I relaxed.

Even if he doesn't get the grades for his first choice, I can't believe he won't get something good if he only misses by one grade. Are you looking at Manchester, by any chance?

[RedPandaMama]

Yes. I applied for Lancaster for English which asked for AAA, I got ABC and got in without clearing or anything. This was only 4 years ago so recently. Its always worth trying.

[Nettleskeins]

No, Manchester is out of his league. It is Cardiff; he really likes it but they have already offered higher than his predicted grades, so it would be a stretch.
I suppose it is the uncertainty of it that creates the problem, especially when you have two unconditionals in reserve; the whole accommodation scramble etc which could have been avoided.

However reading on Higher Education threads, this uncertainty seems to be standard!

[Nettleskeins]

But you are right, I think it is worth him firming Cardiff. His unconditionals will offer places with lower grades as insurance even if they don't offer unconditional insurance..(only unconditional if he firms either of them) and if he gets lower than that, he really shouldn't be going to uni this year!!!

[Needmoresleep]

They won't know till August whether they have over or under-offered. If they have spare places they will almost certainly prefer to take someone who they have auditioned and who is clearly interested in their course.

I would go for it, if your son is able to accept that it is aspirational and a target to work for. I assume performers are better equipped to take this approach than many. The last thing you would want is for a high grade offer to provide an uhelpful amount of additional stress.

[Fifthtimelucky]

Well they have made him an offer on the basis of his predicted grades, which suggests to me that they might be prepared to be flexible.

The reason I wondered about Manchester is that when my daughter and I went to look at Durham, she asked about the interview/audition process and they said the only places that interviewed for music were Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester. Of those 3 only Manchester offers the BMus I think.

That turned out not to be true because she was invited to interview at York, but perhaps it was even less true than I realised!

Fingers crossed for Cardiff. I went to look at it last year for my younger daughter and she really liked it but then decided she wanted a campus university.

[Nettleskeins]

That is rubbish Fifth! Surrey and Ox Brookes interviewed, and Glasgow say they will interview/audition. Perhaps it is with the BA that they don't interview...Surrey don't audition though.
Trinity also interview/audition in Dublin..

[Fifthtimelucky]

Interesting.

Things may have changed in the last couple of years, I suppose, but two years ago Durham, Bristol, Birmingham and Nottingham definitely didn't interview or audition for music. Birmingham was definitely a BMus, but I don't remember about the others.

[QueenieBuchanan]

Cardiff had a lot of courses in clearing last year and I know several students accepted with two or more dropped grades (not music) so I would say go for it.