University help please

[GloryHunter]

My son got all A/A* at GCSE in a grammar school. Basically was very lazy for A levels and thought he could 'wing it' as he had in his GCSEs. He couldn't he got two Bs and a C. We had one of the Bs remarked as only a couple of marks off an A, but it stayed a B. The C was in German. He was always planning a gap year and is now working full time and planning his university application. He wants to go to a RG uni but I don't think he can with those grades. Anyone had any experience of applying with actual grades lower than required? He thought he could do a foundation year at a RG but apparently doesn't meet the requirements. Has he completely messed up here? Not keen on resitting any exam but I think it's his only option. I'm soooooo cross with him.

Anybody?

You can sometimes get a place when you drop a grade, once you've been given an offer, but this is different as he already has his grades.
He needs to look at which courses he can do, and where he can do them, with the grades he has got.
'Russell Group' isn't the be all and end all.
He can go and get a degree with the grades he has.
or
like you say, he can try to find a college place where he can either re-take, or take a new A-level.
or
He can look at other alternatives like higher levels of apprentiships
or
Look for work.

He probably needs to do an access course to get into university with those grades or retake some x

What does he plan to study? He should compare his grades to those of their standard offer. Some admissions may be lenient if he has other relevant experience but RG may be less flexible. However those are not always the elite uni for all subjects anyway, so he should not restrict himself to those. He could ring and ask?

What subject does he want to read at university?

Thank you for all your replies. He's thinking about Management, possibly at Sussex who do a foundation year for applicants with lower grades. He's found himself a full time job as a lifeguard and is motivated enough to cycle there for 6am starts. He's a good boy but feels disappointed with his results and I'm struggling to accept them too. He doesn't want to discuss anything with me at the moment
I just need to get my head round him not going to. RG uni. Phoning the admissions office is a good idea, I'm guessing he needs to do that though.

You sound a little bit too invested to be cross with him? I assume he's an adult, so no need to be "cross", he hasn't slighted you in any way.

He should decide whether he wants to resit or go to a university within his range. It may not be a RG but may well be more on his academic level! If he's not achieving A/A* at A-Level then he might struggle on one of the RG courses so it may be right for him.

Just saw the update and think it's terrible that you're "struggling to accept" his results. He's done bloody well to get BBC, I think you should be proud. Whatever you do, don't let him know how you feel disappointed. Don't be that parent, it'll do him no good.

Yes, phone Admissions Teams in the morning to explore his options. Either you or he can do it - answering queries from worried parents is not unusual! You should ask if they would accept resits or consider an Access course from a non-mature student (not all do). Time is now of the essence to retake A levels or start an Access course should he decide to go down that route.
Good luck and don't forget that non-RG Uni's offer some outstanding courses. I really wouldn't get hung up on the RG thing. I would get hung up on finding the right course for him.

I would look at including the German with management. RG might be out but universities are really struggling for German students. It might help him get a place to do what he really wants.

Some universities are just as good as RG for some courses. Bath is excellent for management for example. I would look at some of the ex Polys and go from there. If he keeps up the German and does a year abroad he will be employable! All is not lost!

Queen's Belfast is an RG Uni. DSS had a BBB offer but was accepted on BBD to read Geography. Might be worth a look. Bonus is that accommodation costs are really cheap too.

Has he tried putting his grades in the WhatUni app for the course he wants to see what unis come up?

Thanks for all the help. Hadn't heard of WhatUni will try that now.

BBC are excellent grades. Nothing to be ashamed of there. However, I would doubt the value of doing 'Management'. What does this mean? The vast majority of companies will prefer to promote from within because they know the business, the customers and the people. No employer will take in a 'manager' (unless at a much more senior level) without having 'tried them out' first.

Your DS should absolutely NOT do a degree just for the sake of it or because he doesn't know what else to do. Far too many young people are going to uni when they would be better off doing something else.

TwitterQueen - what rubbish! Thousands of undergrads take management degree courses! They offer them at Oxford. It’s a qualification that’s highly sought after. A bit less so as you go down to the lowest tier of universities but there are plenty of opportunities to get into grad schemes offered by decent employers if you are good enough. Very many courses offer a year out in industry too. So you are seen by prospective employers. Universities like Bath are well known for this.

The courses are all slightly different in terms of focus and specialisms and grads can apply for a wide variety grad schemes afterwards. Of course they don’t go in as highly paid managers! It’s a qualification to get on the bottom rung -.there is no competition with existing employees. However grads are given training and opportunities to prove themselves on the schemes and they are often given accelerated promotion.

The universities would be empty if the courses were not filled and that’s not the fault of students. There is perhaps heightened expectation of what being a graduate will lead to, such as that expressed by TwitterQueen. Good grads will still earn more than non grads though.

OP - have a look at Sheffield Hallam and Portsmouth for suitable courses. RG isn’t everything in this field. A year in industry is often more valuable or a year abroad.

Whatuni and university.which are really helpful. Even though I'm sure you were annoyed/worried about his lack of effort with A levels, it's time for everyone to move on. He has a focus and that's something to aim for. Universities will look at A levels results, but they also want to know about GCSEs, if there's a course he's a grade or two short on might still be worth applying to as an inspirational. Also, any experience he can gain in relation to the course, or anything he can twist around to commenting on about his new job that's positive, ready books on the subject etc.

If he can't get into a RG, then he can still get a degree. I guess this is a comment thought, as my DD won't consider anything that's not a RG.

Yes, my daughter has just started uni - her grades BBD were significantly below typical offer (according to ucas/prospectus) of ABB though she was just one mark off the A, and her D was one mark off a C. She called the admissions tutor before putting in her application and went and met him! (She only applied to one, wanting to stay at home)

ShalomJackie thank you so much for your suggestion, he is quite interested in Queens and could get on a Management course without having to do a foundation year. Does your DSS like it there?

@TwitterQueen it's probably past it now but 'Management' is a mix of subjects useful to working in business eg Economics, Marketing, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Corporate Financing, Strategy etc.

A friend's son is doing a management course at Nottingham Trent and had an unconditional offer. Think his actual results were ABC so very similar to your DS's, OP. May be worth a look.

Two bits of advice:

1. back off, he needs to do this for himself
2. studying for a degree needs 100 time more self discipline than A levels. He needs to be sure he is committed.

Yes DSS is loving it at Queens Belfast. It was his insurance but he missed his firm and (on paper) missed his insurance too but was accepted anyway. Interestingly too some of the firms like PWC do internships etc based in Belfast which might be of interest to a student studying Management.