University admissions clearing questions

[GoodStuffAnnie]

Hello,

My son just got his A Level results. They were better than we expected, higher than his predicted grades but he did not get into his first choice uni.

He got A star, A and a B. He needed 3 As to get into his first choice (Bath)?

He Is my oldest so am a bit wet behind the ears. Can anyone help with the below?

When you ring a university clearing line who do you speak to?

Is it ever possible to speak to a professor in the department you are applying for?

Do universities ever tell the honest reason you didn’t get in?

Has anyone ever had a no overturned by a university then to get accepted after contacting them?

is there anything he can say to help his case?

Lots of his friends have got in with a grade or two below their offers to their first choice universities. Had anyone got into Bath or Bristol with grades below their offers?

They still have places for international students. If they don’t get enough international students in the next week or two do universities ever open up more place for home students? Would they rather have my money than no money?

Thanks so much in advance. Any help is much appreciated.

x

When you ring a university clearing line who do you speak to?

Clearing lines are staffed by admissions staff and volunteers from around the university (not academics).
It differs between institutions but some will have a system where if you meet the entry requirements you’ll be put through to an academic admissions tutor. Others just might make you an offer there and then.

Is it ever possible to speak to a professor in the department you are applying for?

Professors typically don’t teach on undergraduate courses or have minimal input. Most course leaders would be happy to speak to a prospective student though.

Do universities ever tell the honest reason you didn’t get in?

Yes, it will also be recorded on the record with the university.

Has anyone ever had a no overturned by a university then to get accepted after contacting them?
If he’s been rejected due to not meeting the grades then they won’t change their mind.
They will only look at him again if his circumstances have changed.

is there anything he can say to help his case?
Not really, unless he has extra ucas points or experience they don’t know about.

Lots of his friends have got in with a grade or two below their offers to their first choice universities. Had anyone got into Bath or Bristol with grades below their offers?
I don’t work at either of those universities but entry requirements are always flexible and the university may well consider students who haven’t met their offer. It will be course dependent though.

They still have places for international students. If they don’t get enough international students in the next week or two do universities ever open up more place for home students? Would they rather have my money than no money?

If a course is closed for home students then they will only look at international applicants at this stage. However, it’s always worth checking as it’s a moveable feast until enrolment. If a home students rejects their clearing offer a place may open up.

He didn’t get in because he didn’t meet the offer grades. They will have considered near misses if there was still space but it sounds as if all home student places have now been filled. If he rings there will be students manning the clearing lines but they may arrange for someone from the department to call back. Tbh by now there will be little room for negotiation if that is what you are hoping for. Does he have an insurance uni place?

What grade did he get in the relevant (or most relevant) subject?

Has your son spoken to Bath? That would be the best thing to do if he hasn't already.

Clearing is staffed by different people. Sometimes academics who teach on the course, sometimes student ambassadors, and other non teaching staff. Sometimes if you're made a clearing offer, the course director will call you, or the admissions tutor for that course. (Professor isn't entirely helpful here, I think you mean teaching staff. You are unlikely to speak to someone at professor level but there are other levels of teaching staff).

I'd recommend calling as many unis as possible with the right kind of course in clearing and gathering up as many offers as possible, after he's spoken to Bath.

He can accept an offer or decide to take a year out an apply in the next round with grades in hand. The advantage here is that he can apply to courses that aren't in clearing because they already filled up with students who met their offers. Its a risky strategy though, because, if you take Bath as an example, they may well say no again. So if he does do this, he needs to apply to carefully selected universities that he would actually like to attend. Its a bit simpler though, in the sense that with grades in hand you are likely to be offered an unconditional place if you meet the grade requirements which removes the A level results day stress!

Hope this helps.

I would agree with the PP. At this stage there won’t be a huge number of places left and competitive courses will most definitely be full. Why has he left it so late?

Forgive my ignorance but isn't A star, A and B equivalent to 3 As anyway? Surely the A star is one above and the B is one below so it averages out as the same total number of UCAS points?!?

It's a bit gutting that they didn't take him anyway with those grades. Was the B in a particularly relevant subject?

I think your question is not really about clearing (which is matching students with no offer to courses with spaces) but about whether it's possible to persuade a uni to take a student they've turned down. I suspect you're onto a hiding to nothing there unfortunately.

If he really wants to go to Bath, you could look and see what courses still have places through clearing and see if there's anything he'd consider. Or look and see what unis have places for his subject or a similar one.

Alternatively, suggest he takes a gap year and applies next year with grades in hand. He has a good set of grades, and should be able to get an offer without the scramble of clearing.

Edited. Posted twice, no idea why! Apologies.

They don’t have to accept equivalent points, especially if the lower grade is relevant to the degree. Dd exceeded her offer on points but was still rejected from her firm. There is discretion but the more competitive unis and courses don’t need to use it to fill places. In this case it sounds as if it was an ambitious offer .

I suspect the B is in a core subject and Bath require an A.

The most competitive clearing places will have been snapped up on Thursday. Does he have an insurance place he is happy with? Would he consider taking a year out and reapplying next year?

I would ring Bath and ask if there is chance they will change their mind. By now maybe they have had another student on same course call and defer or say they want to do a different course and a place has come up - you never know.

Yes but if the B is in the relevant subject then that might make a difference.
If you are applying to do History, for example, and you get a B in history it is not balanced out by getting an A* in Geography or whatever else you're studying.

I’m guessing it’s a competitive course like business and they have over subscribed or ended up with more overseas students then expected.

Sadly an A*, an A and a B is not the 3 A's he needed to get his place?

I hope clearing works out for him or he has a good second choice he'll be happy with.

Thanks so much everyone. Very kind.

Yes the B is in the subject he wants to study.

We did ring on Thursday but didn’t really have a discussion. Just asked one question. He feels there are extenuating circumstances so we will ring right now!

Be aware that the university cannot take into account extenuating circumstances, this is something for the sixth form to deal with and needed to be addressed when it happened ie during exams. If sixth form says a re-mark is doable then do that and if the grades then meet the offer the university will usually honour it, however all that must be done by 31st August at most universities.

It’s hard when someone misses an offer by 1 grade.

Will the school back up the extenuating circumstances?

The university will not consider extenuating circumstances retrospectively. They needed to be recorded at the time of the exam and supported by the school.

An update.

We rang Bath. It took a long time to get through.

After a short explanation I discovered that there is a process for getting a review of the decision. After I explained a couple of extenuating circumstances (he has special needs and we had a family death), her supervisor approved him for that process. We then did the explanation in more detail to go to a special committee. The special committee then reviewed the case and another admissions case senior person rang and interviewed my son. This all happened yesterday. After a short interview they basically said of course you can come to Bath you should have told us earlier! Hooray!!!

Alls well that ends well. He now has a place at Bath. They were absolutely lovely and extremely efficient.

On reflection I think we should have written a letter when he applied explaining his special needs. We should have written another letter after the family bereavement.

Thanks so much everybody. You are all so kind and helpful.

Great update, there should have been an opportunity to mention additional needs on UCAS application. Has he applied for DSA via Student Finance?

We have. He has the interview this morning.

He did all the ucas form himself - maybe he didn’t fill in the sn bit. I didn’t check it.

Great news OP - well done to you and your DS for persevering. And useful for others to know about your experience.