Which offers would you hold...

[another20]

DS has an AAA offer for a course at Bristol and AAB offers from his other choices (Leeds, Manchester, Exeter) for same course.

However he also applied for a joint honours same main subject and dept) at Bristol and has AAB offer here also.

He is keen to go to Bristol, hence 2 applications to same dept - but I am thinking that as a contingency he should accept the AAA and an AAB from elsewhere - as if he misses his AAA he might get in on AAB to that course or offered the joint honours again --- and if he drops to ABB he might have a better chance of getting on to the course at Leeds but might be rejected by Bristol?

I am thinking that having a foot in two camps is better? Or am I just talking nonsense?

[GnomeDePlume]

What are his predicted grades and how secure does he feel in them?

If he feels reasonably secure at being able to achieve AAA or AAB then the advantage to having Bristol for both firm and insurance then either way he has got his accommodation sorted.

[BubblesBuddy]

I agree. Firm and insure the Bristol courses. You don’t know what ABB might bring. He might be rejected from all of them. I don’t know if Leeds, Manchester or Exeter will drop grades. No-one will know because it depends on the results of other students. It’s a gamble.

[another20]

His predicted grades are AAB - he has A grades in the bag for his AS and his course work - he "seems" confident but did n't work for mocks and didn't do well. I think realistically that he will end up with ABB....

[titchy]

Wasn't the deadline for decisions three weeks ago?

[another20]

No. 3rd June

[another20]

whoops.... was the date in his recent UCAS communication

[brizzledrizzle]

Firm and insure both Bristol choices would be my advice.

[another20]

Seems a unanimous response to hold both at same uni rather than spread bet - but not sure that I understand why?

[titchy]

Why do you think he'd have a better chance of being accepted at Leeds etc if he drops a grade, than the joint course at Bristol? I'd say all were equally as likely to accept one dropped grade.

[GnomeDePlume]

The advantage is that if he misses his firm but gets his insurance then he will still have accommodation sorted at Bristol plus he will be at the university he wants to be at.

The risk is if he doesn't hit either firm or insurance then he is into clearing or waiting a year.

At offer holder days Sheffield clearly said that if students missed by a grade then not to panic as they would likely be accepted. Bristol did not make the same statement.

Much of it will depend on how popular a course is and how many students will step down into Bristol as their insurance.

It is a gamble. For my DD the course was the thing so her insurance is the same course but at a different uni.

[BubblesBuddy]

Why don’t Sheffield just lower the grades they quote on their web site then? It is probably because they don’t want to be thought of as “second division” but the whole process is ridiculous because you cannot trust what you read, only what they say! If you are not there on an offer day, because you thought you would not get in and therefore didn’t choose them, you
don’t actually know their generous policy. It isutterly unfair and puts off good students who don’t take an aspirational punt.

If anyone applies for joint honours and includes a language, they are more likely to take you. Language depts are in desperate need of good students!

[titchy]

Why don’t Sheffield just lower the grades they quote on their web site then?

Because their cohort of applicants this year might be particularly strong, and more than expected meet their offer so they'll be n need to look at people who dropped just one grade. On the other hand that cohort might be particularly weak and therefore they need to look at those that dropped a grade. Gives them a bit of wiggle room either way.

Offer to enrolment ratios is an art not a science!

[GnomeDePlume]

BubblesBuddy I think the difference is that they are not saying the dropped grade is available to everyone just to the people who made a positive decision to apply to the university and are likely to achieve the original grades.

It's a bit like unconditional offers. They arent made to everyone. They are made to students likely to achieve or even over achieve the grades normally required.

[another20]

titchy - I have no presumption that dropping a grade with the others on his list is in way more acceptable - my thoughts are along the lines of eggs in one basket (as ins would be same course but joint hon / same dept) if he firmed and accepted both offers at Bristol - so only negotiating with one department on the day if worst came to the worst - rather than having the opportunity to talk to two separate unis if he slips. I am also wondering if he missed his AAA offer and they wouldn’t take him on to the single honours at Bristol could they offer the joint (that he would have rejected by then) ?

[mocha70]

It would be better to go with the two offers from the same place so that he will have accommodation. Otherwise probably little chance of getting into halls in the other places.

I would not count on other unis accepting anything lower than the specified grades.

[GnomeDePlume]

TBH if his realistic grades are ABB and his lowest offer is AAB then it doesnt look to me like he has a real insurance option at the moment.

What is his plan if he gets ABB and doesnt get a place? Does he have a plan?

I'm sorry if this seems harsh. Did his school/college give him advice on choosing courses?

[Nettleskeins]

Bristol is his first AND second choice pyschologically. Surely best to leave it at that, and if he fails to get the grades or get in, go into Clearing then at Leeds etc. I know someone whose offer from Manchester was AAA (they didn't take it as the same as their first choice grades) then failing to get into their first (Oxbridge)and second choice (Birmingham so very much booked out with unconditionals) with ABB went into a clearing place at Manchester with joint honours. (popular humanity subject) And now loves it there. It would have been even better if she had put Manchester as her insurance and banked on them dropping a grade, so much less stress. [But I think Birmingham is one of those universities that locks up so many of its offers in unconditionals that it is not so flexible as an insurance offer.]

[Nettleskeins]

I think it depends what the course is. Maths and Engineering perhaps they need those A's in everything, but humanities seem to be more flexible in some departments and if you have a strong academic record or personal statement which shows your interest in the subject , and do particularily badly in one paper as a one off, yes they might well accept a dropped grade, why wouldn't they? They want students who engage with the subject for three years, whether you get a B or an A in two exams doesn't really prove much more than the fact that you are not especially good at writing essays in exam conditions. It is still hard to get a B.

[brizzledrizzle]

Seems a unanimous response to hold both at same uni rather than spread bet - but not sure that I understand why?

because it's where he really wants to go so why put anywhere else? If he misses the grades he can always take a gap year and do a resit.

[Nettleskeins]

Gnome I don't think the schools know that much, the whole landscape has changed. Most schools just want their students to go to rated unis, whether that uni is perfect fit for THAT student is of less interest, as it doesn't affect their data. Similarily there is little data by schools and colleges kept on students dropping out at a later date from the wrong university choice.

[GnomeDePlume]

Whether resits are accepted is subject specific. This is worth a look:

www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/admissions-statements/

[GnomeDePlume]

Nettleskeins I was just wondering whether the school/college had given any suggestions on the strategy for choosing firm and insurance places.

DD2's school didnt but I wasnt sure if it was typical as it is not a high achieving school and hasnt really provided a lot of application support.

[another20]

Thanks Gnome - that link is v helpful - he wants to study Politics. If he gets ABB (stressed mothers negative pessimistic prediction - not necessarily based on facts) this is just dropping one grade down from his offer AAB from Bristol and all the others. On the link that you have posted it says that near misses are considered - so if the worst came to the worst he would be in with a chance. If that bore no fruit he would enter clearing. Will try to find same links for other uni offers that he is holding. And yes he really really wants to go to Bristol - so that will be his choice. I am just trying to understand the nuances in the system so that he doesn’t end up with nothing.....

[GnomeDePlume]

This is the advantage of DCs doing sciences. You can tell when they are working because they make you look at pictures of Petri dishes with revolting things growing on them or demand that you test them on concepts which weren't even concepts when you were at school.

The downside is that they will be poor as church mice when they start working.

[user2222018]

The downside is that they will be poor as church mice when they start working.

This is a very sweeping statement. And an inaccurate one, based on tables of graduate earnings. Huge variations, depending on what you do with your science degree. My PhD students typically walk straight into jobs that pay 50-80k+.