Why are engineering degree courses suddenly all wanting AAA

[CatM1nt]

Looking at next years entry and I’m sure some were AAB previously when we looked.

Probably because 52% of students this year got AAB or higher.

^ this

Because AAB no longer means what it used to

You’re kidding. So over half of kids are diligent all year and all schools can produce evidence to show over half are AAB. Are kids not already predicted AAA screwed then for next year?😩

Because the dropout rate is alarmingly high.

Went I did my engineering degree in the early 2000s between half and 2/3rd were expected to fail or switch courses each year. It was a good uni and most went on to graduate in something, but it wasn't the degree they started off on.

And that has changed in a year?

Probably because it’s a tough subject and kids are getting smarter

Compared to 90s when I took a levels. The only people needing As were doing medicine

Is it a popular course nowadays? When I was at university in the 90s, I don't remember it being so - I was the only one in my year to apply for an engineering degree.

I got a BCC offer to study Chemical Engineering at Imperial in the 90s. One of my students received an AAA* offer to study the same degree at Imperial last year 😱.

So with this years inflated grades particularly students in the south and some of these students deferring to 2022 where does that leave Uni Admissions for bright students in this coming years year 13’s in the north particularly the ones competing for Oxbridge and other top uni’s.

That should read A A A*.

I suspect the selecting institutions (ie RG, high tariff places) have had their arses burned with the number of offer holders meeting their grades this year. Hence the number offering cash to defer a year. As no one really knows what twatty Gav is going to tell the exam boards what to do to get grades back to pre-CAG levels (if anything...) they aren't taking any chances.

I'd bet offers will be a grade or even two higher for next year, pending some more knowledge about how grade boundaries will be set. With the actual grades they'll accept being decided at Confirmation next August.

37% of students got 3 A's or better this year, a near doubling on two years ago.

What are universities meant to do?

Any exam which doesn't give produce a meaningful skill gradient, simply can't be used to allocate a relatively fixed resource (university places).

Grade entry inflation seems to be affecting many subjects.
Edinburgh required AAA for computer science for 2021 entry (though possibly only offered for those predicted over this accordingly TSR).
For 2022 entry they require 3x Astar!

Shit. This is really putting my ds off. He says he can’t face looking at UCAS now and feels really demotivated. His predicted grades so far are AA/ B maybe even ABB with an EPQ. He did it on Quantum Physics but log book late at times so sure he won’t get an A for that.He is an AAB type student. He thinks he won’t get in anywhere. He is a born engineer from a family of engineers but a bit scatty.

And that’s nuts re computer science. My other son is a gifted coder who picks up coding languages really easily . He probably could get A in CS but A in everything is a massive ask. He has had a year off with illness and just going into year 12, frankly deserves an A* in resilience. What a shit system.

So how do you think universities should decide which applicants to accept? Grade inflation is becoming such an issue most universities will probably have to go down the entrance exam route.

How is his physics and maths. DS did engineering and physics was studied every year for the 4 years (in Scotland) - if those subjects are As would that be enough - assuming there aren't vastly more students applying for engineering?

Came on to say exactly what HollyGrail just said, look at Scottish universities, those grades would be high enough. Don’t just look at Edinburgh/St Andrews. Glasgow & Strathclyde are excellent for engineering, others are also worth looking at.

Because they can?

Why would you fill your course with AAB students when you could fill it many times over with AAAs?

When I went to university 20 years ago the course I wanted to do was traditionally AAB but the year I went they moved it to AAA because they were particularly oversubscribed. There was no A* in those days so basically meant no slip up in anything

DH is an engineer and he just told me it’s because the best engineers in the UK tend to go down the BTEC / work sponsorship / foundation degree route; not A Levels. That’s why A Level requirements tend to be so high - as they are more likely to drop out.

@CatM1nt

And that’s nuts re computer science. My other son is a gifted coder who picks up coding languages really easily . He probably could get A in CS but A in everything is a massive ask. He has had a year off with illness and just going into year 12, frankly deserves an A* in resilience. What a shit system.

If he’s a gifted coder it might be a good thing to avoid uni and just join IBM / Microsoft / MOD directly via a traineeship when he finishes his A Levels. He will receive a salary and a degree by the end of it.

But private schools are giving so many more As and As. Teens have enough pressure as it is.. Saying AAB isn’t good enough is shit and wrong. We know it is because he has a father with an Mech engineering degree and MSC Masters who got in to a red brick uni with BTechs and who has a successful STEM career now. One of his grandfathers was a very successful aeroplane engineer and the other an electrical engineer. His physics is good and always has been, ditto maths. He isn’t an A student though and the stress of getting 3 As or no decent uni is making him feel crap. Sheffield, Southampton, all the way down the list- all want 3 As.

Three As is what both my DS needed to study engineering 10 years ago.
Yes it’s the same bar as medicine, and rightly so. Just take the example of an emergency hospital visit.
The roads, ambulance, hospital buildings and medical equipment have all been designed by engineers.
The Doctor rightly gets the credit for fixing you when you need medical help, but engineers make that help possible.