To think that universities giving out unconditionals/nominal offers to everyone just devalues even going or having a degree

[Saygoodday]

DS is applying this year. He’s applied to and got offers from a mixture: 2 RG’s, 2 that require BBC and one post 1992 university that has given him an unconditional offer. Obviously not everyone can be ultra academic and there is a place for vocational qualifications and courses with lower entry requirements within the university system, this is not a case of snobbery or advocating that all universities should require four As. However, Lincoln this year has seemingly given out unconditional offers to literally anyone who has applied, I recently saw another university that would make offers for LLB (hons) Law for 64 UCAS points, etc. Lincoln in particular, it’s about an hour from me, has become a favourite for kids who’ve done no work for their a levels who know they will still get into uni. It’s not just Lincoln there are a big number who will take students basically with any results. To me it doesn’t feel at all fair that those who’ve done no work should get the same qualifications as someone who gets A’s. It feels like it just devalues the whole idea of going to university and getting a degree if you can just get one despite being on for terrible grades in your a-levels. Aibu?

For those saying that getting into a university isn't the same as getting a degree, the rigour of marking can vary considerably, which results in degrees from different universities not always being comparable, which is why the Russel Group universities have the status they have.

It's a huge pity that kids who aren't academic are pushed to go to university when they're not interested in formal education, but could flourish with an apprenticeship.

I’m not sure what you mean re students who do no work getting the same outcome as students who put in graft and get higher grades.

Firstly, some students will have to work incredibly hard to scrape through A levels, and others will get A* with barely any work.

Secondly, those with higher grades will probably go to universities with better reputations and more rigorous approaches. This has been done to death on here, but each university sets its own standards really. So a degree from say Oxbridge, Kings, St. Andrews, holds far higher value than one from the majority of post 1992 universities.

It’s not like A levels where it’s the same qualification no matter which college or school you get it from.

@Yorkyyorkyork that’s interesting about Plymouth.

Winchester is the one that’s the joke in my sector.

@Jagoda It's a little embarrassing 😂

The thing thats absolutely absurd is that I've heard Doctors chortle at Plymouths expense e.g "No wonder the hospital in Cornwall is so bad - most of the nurses down there come from the University of Plymouth"

Awkward! I personally like our hospital 😳

*In the 90s Oxford gave EE offers. I don't think that devalued the degree.

What it is saying is that they have great faith in their ability to choose students of the right ability.*

Not really the same thing. There were rigorous exams. Full length written exams, not just a short aptitude test. And an interview too.

Yup this. Universities are businesses, they want bums on seats paying fees, that's their priority.

I went to uni in mid 2000s

Unis then known to offer (shit) degrees to anyone (but predictably the 'first generation going to uni' typically enrolling to family fanfare:

• Plymouth (esp for shit teaching)
• derby (awful degrees like golf, media, hotels)
• the new Peterborough uni (can't remember name but basically a crap college giving degrees to people who cent afford to leave home town)
• Lincoln (take anyone)
• hull (nothingy is it RG can't remember but kind of not attractive for destination, location or courses so 'low bar' grades)

@easterHols23 Brutally honest 😂

Is it Netherlands where ... everyone can go. But only the people who pass exams can stay. Quickly gets whittled down based on who passed the exams.

Peterborough doesn't have a university.

Hull has several highly regarded courses. Birmingham does golf, not Derby. Nothing wrong with media, widely offered. Plymouth is well known for marine science

Aside from Plymouth , your geography is very narrow.

I'm sure you think your post is hilarious, but truly , the comment about first generation university is appalling.

You might mean UCP . It's not a university. Last year, Peterborough gained a branch of ARU.

Thought the same. The poster is very mean spirited.

I work for a University and you are so wide off the mark! Hardly any of our applicants get unconditionals, we are inundated with very well qualified candidates and we give out the appropriate offers.

What a horrid thread. To do nursing at Plymouth one would need 104 UCAS points - BCC in old money. Perfectly respectable A Level results.

@jaqueandjill I just repeated what the doctors said! I don't hold that view

I do know, as Plymouth graduate that my engineering degree is worth less than other degrees though! And rightly so

YABU early unconditional/low offers are a way of hedging places, universities know they're rarely taken up but insurance offers for people unlikely to get lower grades, a small amount will be taken up and actually there can be a whole load of reasons for lower than expected grades, not just academic ability. You still have to put the work in when you get there and then put up with the sort of snobbery you've demonstrated if you do go to a Post-92 institution.

I know someone who had basically failed his A levels and is now on course for a 121st from the UWE. They have a formative assessment system which allows exam retake and for this oarticular course everyone gets a first.

Twith university blind admissions this makes recruitment a nightmare and maybe more companies and institutions will set more.exhaustive entry tests now degrees have been so reduced in value. More.apprenticeships needed.

1st

I am doing a OU degree around working full-time and i am having to put the work .Writing academically and referencing takes some time to learn especially when i last studied 35 yrs ago .But i am getting really good results and i am proud of myself .And i never did A levels at school .

Ah @Yorkyyorkyork I have been an inpatient at that hospital (starts with T?) and was very well cared for 😍

I agree. Its very sneery.

If you are considering golf course management then a degree in it is very useful

So judgy

Hull’s entry requirements have tended to be lower only because of where it is. The city is a hard sell to prospective students.

Unconditional offers are one tool a university might choose to use. In many cases they’re the most appropriate tool. If I were applying to university (as a mature student), the only options would be an unconditional offer or rejecting my application. I’m not awaiting exam results; there are no sensible conditions that could be attached.

If universities want to accept school grade projections and offer unconditionally on that basis… then that’s up to them. They will be teaching and assessing the students. Perhaps their experience of young people whose grades were not exam-based due to covid has made them more confident that the teacher projections are a good indication of how candidates will perform. Unless you are working in the university, you don’t have enough information to know what’s driven the decision.

There was a big problem with not-actually-unconditional offers. It’s a good thing that universities aren’t allowed to make the condition ‘firming us as first choice by X date’ or similar. It doesn’t mean that actual
unconditional offers aren’t appropriate.

It's a marketing tool used to attract higher achieving students who they know will also have attractive offers from higher ranking universities. It is not just a free pass to a degree. Also worth considering that even the most successful A levels students flounder at university, so many drop out because they are not equipped to live away from home or because they have chosen the wrong course. This is particularly true of the Covid cohort who have not have the easiest time getting to university and need a lot more help than previous years.

We need to support and encourage our young people no matter what route or university they chose and leave the snobbery behind.