Uni advice too late ?

[sambamyty]

Before I start no one in my family has ever gone to uni before so I'm still learning . Please be kind. I'm a bit out of my depth.

Daughter was predicted average grades. With that she's applied for average non red brick uni .
She's actually achieved a lot better than expected good enough for a Russell group .
Last Thursday was a bit of a shock and blur so she accepted the perfect fine average uni but actually we've had a few comments / advice to say she should apply for better. The course she wants is very popular so not now available for clearing.
What do we do ? Go ahead with the average or see if we can get an offer for next year and defer ? Will unis allow this or will it risk the current offer?
Tia

I think this boils down to whether she wants to take a gap year and what she would do with it.

There is nothing wrong with going to perfectly fine average uni. Presumably she likes it and was happy to go there before her results? She'll probably find she is not the only person there with better grades (particularly these days, where more people are simply going to their local university).

You'll find a lot of snobbishnes around universities (especially on here) but I would not want to throw in a perfectly good offer in the hope of a better one next year. Unless, as I said, she has strong ideas about how to spend a gap year.

Thank you for the reply .

She currently has a part time job she could easily increase to a full time if she took a gap.

My thinking ( it's it's an option) is to secure a place for next year if this year is full.

A few people have been quite negative about employers always choosing red brick or standard .
I naively thought it was that elitist

Depends what course it is? Did she have to have an interview to gain a place on the course?

It's for computer science .
She gained an AAA.

Is it worth calling round uni's tomorrow even if website states clearing for international students only ?

She'd have to apply in the next UCAS round, alongside next year's Y13- which isn't necessarily a problem, but not a guarantee of a place.

Is she happy with the course? Are you willing to share the course/uni? Some people are very snobby, and go off historical reputations, but there are a lot of unis out there that are really good unis but perhaps not the traditional ones people think of!

I wouldn't push her to take a gap year if it's not what she wants to do!

If she has a University and course she prefers nothing wrong with taking a gap year. Well done on the great A level results.

Check out the employment stats for the place she’s got- and salaries. How is it ranked for comp science compared to othe4 unis?

She should also check out the courses very carefully - a lot of top RG will be more academically focussed and, depending on what she wants to do afterwards, she might find the university where she currently has the offer to be more practical and potentially a better fit for her interests.

A lot of employers are doing blind recruitment these days, and for IT jobs practical skills are often valued more than qualifications, so I don't think her university should hold her back.

Would she need any post-grad qualification before going into employment (MSc etc)?
If so, assuming she gets a decent degree she could go to a higher ranked uni for that.

Don't underestimate the importance of a student being happy with where they are studying. If she has done research into courses, visited the uni and picked it after that, I think that is important.

She's happy to have a gap year if it means a better uni .

Sorry to drip feed.

She has a confirmed place a Manchester Met . We are now hoping for Lancaster, Liverpool or Nottingham .
She still doesn't meet the entry for Man uni

She won't secure a 2024 place now, unis are focussing on this year's intake. She is better reapplying via UCAS in September and securing an unconditional place , then making most of her gap year .

I wouldn’t go to Man Met with 3 As unless there was a special reason to do so.

She should reapply.

She definitely shouldn't go to Man Met with 3 As.

Get MM to defer the place and reapply next year to see where else she can get offers for.

Also worth checking if any RG/plate glass unis are in clearing for the course she wants

Congratulations to her!

Do you mean reapply for next year and take a gap ?

Have we realistically left it too late for for this year ?

You can't hold a place and reapply.

Thank you !
She's completely blown our expectations. We are very proud

Has she looked at the Data Science course at Lancaster? That is still in clearing. Lancaster mum here - well worth considering. 😊

I don't know much about computer science, but if there is a lot of maths involved I would think twice before deferring. Maths is very easily forgotten and it can be difficult getting back into it after a year off (I know, as that's what happened to me! 😬)

Call some admissions departments tomorrow and ask questions. Good luck. How fantastic!

I've had 2 family members applying to unis with confirmed results, and they were both given offers very quickly. If you apply early, it's not really competing against current Y13s, as they only have predicted grades.
I think i'd be encouraging your DD to apply for next year, and to do something a bit more special with the gap year than turning her part-time job into a full-time one. Maybe work for 6 months then travel a bit?

Quite a lot are still getting offers in clearing on Wiwikau so I say call them.

Will look at this ! Thank you 😊