Is 2 A stars and a c, in a levels, equivalent to aaa

[JennyTals]

would that get accepted as triple a ?

In UCAS tariff points, yes. Both = 144 points which is usually well above the asking requirement for most university courses.

However, if all three A levels are ‘required’ or even if just the one in which DC got a C is required (eg it’s maths and you’ve applied to study comp sci or a stem subject), then they may reject the application.

the detail will be in the offer - or on the entrance criteria page

Given the time of year, am assuming you’re going through UCAS now with A Levels in hand, in which case read the criteria and if in doubt contact the admissions team. They are usually very quick to reply to emails/chat box and have been great whenever I’ve called them directly. I think you will find that if the C grade subject is non essential, that they will regard the UCAS score of 144 points as adequate for most courses - but you do need to check.

My brother had an offer for BBB and got ABC and they let him in. He'd been to visit several times and talked to the course director and they knew who he was by the time it got to A level results day though, which I imagine helped.

I think the A stars would help but I also think a B would be a Lot better than a C from that point of view. It's also better if the lower grade is in less relevant subject for the degree course.

Obviously there are never any guarantees though and it's much safer for your son to really put the hours in.

Grades are not in hand as haven’t done the real exams yet
they are in May/june
and results wont be until mid august
then start in Sept

So these are predictive? In which case, I’d focus on getting the C grade up - but still check with every uni being shortlisted whether they only go by grades or will look at UCAS points equivalents if a couple of A*s are achieved.

Also, as I’m sure is the plan, you make sure 1 or 2 of the colleges ask for lower grades (Reading etc often only require BBB for many of their courses) so that you have a banker for the fall back option. Most of my friends have sent their YPs to uni this year (mine is a year behind!) and the unis have all been very accommodating about the odd missed grade or accepting UCAS equivalences - but the YPs/Parents all spoke to admissions prior to applying, attended the open days and made sure to connect with the course tutors on Offer Open days so that there was a relationship there.

I feel your pain, am fed up with nagging my YP to finish her personal statement and submit it to her tutor before they break up for Christmas. It’s all getting very tense batting back the what ifs and urban myths that are circulating. My advice is to always go to the admissions dept of each uni directly and get it from the horses mouth as even experiences guidance staff at school cannot be au fait with the criteria and tolerances of every uni fir every course, so can get it wrong.

The predicted grades are aaa
might even be a star a star a
this so due to previous b in mock

Did they do any epq? If yes that would help. They need to get their c up to a firm b at least - some unis might accept an A*AB

Yes and got an a in epq

@JennyTals which degree subject are they looking at, if you don’t mind sharing? I assume they are targeting Russell Group Unis, hence the concern over grades?

I apologise for my earlier snarky post, but it did seem a bit ridiculous to ask whether you should tell your dc something vital to their uni admission.

I've looked OP and it's not clear what offers your dc has. If they've submitted their UCAS form it's irrelevant now what they were predicted. What have they been offered.

If they miss the offer in one grade but exceed in two others, the uni MAY take them. If the missed subject was missed by a couple of grades or more - they may well not, even if A stars are achieved in the other subjects. It will depend on the uni and the subject though.

If your dc qualifies for a contextual offer, then that will be made automatically, no need for you or your dc to contact the unis. And note, contextual offers will vary from uni to uni. Being first in family doesn't meet the criteria for lots of places as it's not that unusual.

Not all universities take notice of the EPQ. Does your yp know where they want to apply?

When my eldest got A level results he got his UCAS confirmation earlier in the day so he knew he had got his place at his first choice. It turned out when his results came, about half an hour later, that he had actually missed his offer by a grade in two subjects but they accepted him anyway. This was an RG university.

@JennyTals www.ucas.com/applying/you-apply/what-and-where-study/entry-requirements/understanding-historical-entry-grades-data. This link is what you need

Page not found @drwitch

Odd works for me. But ucas report now the full pattern of grades unis have accepted students historically for every course the link is at the bottom of each course listing. You can use this to see whether students with AAC were accepted in the past

For example

My dd applied for a uni that was AAA. Epq got it down to ABB. She was predicted A*BB, due to her crap teachers not guiding her correctly and possibly over marking her. She got CBB. Thankfully her university of choice still accepted her.

Epq and summer school at chosen uni

In @drwitch 's example below, bear in mind the lowest grades (ABB) will be contextual. So just look at the most common (AAA) and also the 19 out of 20 to indicate your dcs' chances.

I'd not rely too heavily on those figures because each year can be different even at the same uni. In addition, it looks at grades over the last 5 years, which would include some covid years. It is not telling you what happened in the last academic year. It is just an indicator.