Disappointed by GCSE results/ waiting until after A level.to apply for university

[Anamechangethistime]

My DC was very disappointed with her GCSE results. She did very well in the subjects that she is taking for A levels . Would waiting until she has received her A level results before applying to university be the best option. She is hoping to study at UCL , LSE etc.She knows they are very competitive and admits that she didn't work hard enough. She feels A* at level is within reach and has had a big wake up call.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would get her to work hard in year 12 and revise for end of year exams. This will mean she will get good predicted grades and can apply for university. No need to wait.

Thank you @stardust40 will predicted grades count if GCSES are low ?.She has a couple of 6's , the rest are 7,8,9 but it should have been all 8/9.
She's had a real wake up call and I don't think that working in year 12 will be a problem. I just thought her chances might be increased with the results in hand.

What does she want to study at uni?

She has a year to see how well she does then decide whether to alter her choices rather than wait.

@stardust40

Apologies posted too soon @Rummikub .
She wants to study Economics at LSE or UCL.

My DC got a couple of much lower than expected results but was told by the place they will be studying their A Levels that as the GCSE subjects they scored very high in and relate to A Levels they are still very much on track for Oxbridge.

Whether this is entirely true or not, I don't see why not, it has made my DC much happier and more confident moving forward.

It's been a good wake up call

Applying to Uni has to be done within a specific time frame or you default to clearing

@formulatingAresponse that's great e hear.
Best of luck to your DC going forward.

Apply for those as aspirational and the rest as achievable / back
up would be my suggestion.

She has awhile to make her decisions.

I don't think there's anything to lose by applying now. Their decision may take GCSEs into account, but will primarily look at predicted grades. An offer would likely be conditional anyway - they're not saying yes or no, they're saying "if you do this well, then yes" - so from their point of view the GCSEs don't mean a lot.

If she applies and doesn't get a place anywhere she likes, then she has the option to go through Clearing or to apply next year with results (unless the department has any rules about not accepting anyone they've previously rejected - it would be worth an email to their admissions team to check that won't be an issue. If it's not, there's literally no reason not to apply now - you still have the option to apply again next year if the preferred answer is not forthcoming!)

Those GCSE results are not low and are fine for her aspirations, assuming she is able to achieve during Y12. She should apply during Y13 to take up school support and then if she needs to reapply she can do that, but with knowledge and confidence having been through the process once