Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Butterflies

184 replies

LondonMother · 30/07/2012 20:10

17 days to go. Anyone else getting nervous about A level results day?

All the evidence suggests he'll get the grades he need for his first choice. But logic doesn't count for much at these times, in my experience, going all the way back to my own results days!

OP posts:
BreconBeBuggered · 15/08/2012 13:15

Oh my God, totally crapping myself. DS was pretty relaxed about the exams themselves, but he had a lot of time off due to illness early in the year, and we had a family bereavement right in the middle of exam season as well. The one bright spot is that he'd be as happy with his insurance offer as his first choice university; it was actually touch and go whether he'd only consider the AAB offer.
WIBU to nick a couple of DH's bp tablets? (only joking, but would I?)

melodyangel · 15/08/2012 13:37

Good Luck to everyone for tomorrow.

cinnamonnut · 15/08/2012 15:07

Quirrel, the boundaries are so high for AQA this year for sciences for what were much more difficult exams than last year :(
Should be okay in the end.

Good luck everyone!

creamteas · 15/08/2012 15:20

I hope it all goes well for you (and me in admissions) tomorrow.

In case it helps, this are the rules which we are working to for admissions this week at my uni. The offers were related to particular courses

All students who missed AAA but achieved AAB have been accepted (we don't make A* offers).

Some students who missed their AAB offer but have ABB have been admitted where we have quota spaces (they are ranked on overall UCAS points so things like general studies or AS not taken to A2 come into play.

Some students who held an offer of ABB or less but achieved missed it by one grade have been admitted. Again only when there are quota spaces and their overall UCAS points is level or above the original offer.

We will not reverse any decision already made unless a grade change occurs from a remark.

In clearing, students above AAB will be admitted on most programmes (spaces vary depending on the course).

For students below this level, the website will state the entry level required. In the first few days we cannot admit anyone below the stated level. If places are still available next week. On popular courses, this usually only happens when a student who held a place withdraws.

BTW the reason UCAS points are important at this stage is that it is the average point level (rather than the grades) that are used to compile league tables. Entry grades are a more important score than value added (how much students improve). Getting a higher league table position on who you recruit rather than how well you teach is really stupid IMO, and unlike schools the difference in the data is not easily seen.

ALittleScatterOfRain · 15/08/2012 15:29

Last year you were able to get onto Track before eight, there was a link posted on the thread so there are ways around it, just I'm not good enough on computers to work out how!

It might have been a link directly to the log in page, because they had a screen saying 'Track won't open until eight' but if you got past that it was all working.

If you can manage to get on early I would, because I saw people last year waiting until 1 or 2 in the afternoon before they could get on and not knowing if they needed to go through clearing or not.

Hopefully nobody will need that though Smile Good luck! My DSis is waiting this year and it wasn't that long since I was so I can still remember how it felt.

out2lunch · 15/08/2012 15:35

just found this thread Smile

i am so jittery for ds - he seems to be oblivious

we have been told by college to look for results on line - does anyone know what time they will be available?

good luck to everyone - hope you all get what you need

quirrelquarrel · 15/08/2012 15:51

Does anyone know how long adjustment takes? Only we're leaving tomorrow evening on holiday, so I've got a day to decide what to do if I have options.

I'm quite looking forward to going to my sixth form! dear old place.....seeing people from my classes. Talking to my lovely teachers Smile I would have loved it if it hadn't been for the lessons!

Thanks for that post, creamteas.....was this the case last year re: AAA grades being missed? Or is it just because admissions were down.

maddiemostmerry · 15/08/2012 15:59

Good luck everyone!

Does anyone know if you can reapply to a uni that has rejected you, through clearing?

Have no idea of how ds has doneConfused He says I am too stressy about it all and should just relax.

eatyourveg · 15/08/2012 16:03

surely they won't need to check track if they are sending out emails instead

creamteas · 15/08/2012 16:03

quirrel lots of students miss their grades, but others do better than expected!! No change this year

The main difference between last year and this is the AAB rule which is making life difficult for everyone!

Usually we only go into clearing for a small number of courses. This year we are trying to recruit extra AAB students but also having to reject more students who have just missed their grades where they have dropped into the non AAB places.

ALittleScatterOfRain · 15/08/2012 16:06

From what I saw (although obviosly not as knowledgable as creamteas) last year if you missed your grades you were almost definitely having to go to your insurance/through clearing...then again, the ones I saw that had missed were mainly medicine/vet/dentistry which are incredibly competitive anyway, never mind with the extra competition last year.

However, I don't think any university (including Oxbridge) refused to hold the offer while a remark was done so that will probably be the same this year.

AlmostAHipster · 15/08/2012 16:10

My heart is in my mouth too!

I've been fine until this morning but now I'm snappy and horrible and can't think of anything else. My girl needs AAB and I had no idea about any quotas or fines or anything and now my brain won't let me comprehend what it all means as I'm panicking!

Aargh!

creamteas · 15/08/2012 16:12

maddie you can reapply to the uni, but are unlikely to be offered the same course. At my uni, we look at all the applications who have just missed, and if it was possible to accept we will have done so

But sometimes there are different requirements for single honours subjects and joint honours. So if you get rejected from single honours history, you might find that history and sociology have places that you can apply for. Once you are at the uni, there might be a chance to transfer if you do well in your first year. But don't apply assuming that this will happen, as it is never guaranteed.

Tressy · 15/08/2012 16:15

So if they are rejecting applicants who don't meet AAB and going with these places to clearing. What happens if the precious AAB students don't take up their clearing places. Does it mean less on the course therefore less funding? I don't understand it.

gelatinous · 15/08/2012 16:22

That's very interesting and useful creamteas thank you. It seems the critical thinking course dd will take next year when she enters sixth form may not be as pointless as I'd thought. Cynically I assumed it was merely there to boost the sixth forms league table position.

I've spoken to several very jittery parents today, I think their dc are either better at concealing it or are much calmer. Hold on tight everyone - not long to go now, and hope it's all good news in the morning.

iamamug · 15/08/2012 16:29

I have just spent ages looking at alternative universities online in case DS doesn't get the coveted AAB - he's upstairs nursing a hangover Smile
Sleepless nights all round tonight! The very best of luck to all of you.

thisnameisalreadyinuse · 15/08/2012 17:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

maddiemostmerry · 15/08/2012 17:59

Cream thanks, the uni that rejected him required the lowest grades. He is predicted above their requirement so not sure why they turned him down without interview(primary ed). I can already see that is has places in clearing on this course.

Think i am way overthinking it all. Above uni is our local and I am quite worried about finances

maddiemostmerry · 15/08/2012 18:00

it has places, sorry keyboard very slow and sticking

out2lunch · 15/08/2012 18:18

does anyone know what time the results are available on line?

ALittleScatterOfRain · 15/08/2012 18:24

Track is supposed to re-open at 8 o'clock out2lunch but as I said further up the thread there was a link posted on this thread last year that meant you could get on earlier, so it's possible you could get on earlier.

However, it's probably going to crash at 8 again, so who knows?

quirrelquarrel · 15/08/2012 18:26

Well, everyone gets an email either at 8:10 or around midday/later telling you whether or not you've got in. Personally I'm going nowhere near my emails until I know my grades!

out2lunch · 15/08/2012 18:32

thanks both of you haven't had time to read all thread

will start trying at 8 ish then

this has been a v v long two years - am so hoping it all ends well

creamteas · 15/08/2012 18:58

Tressy yes the situation is ridiculous. If we don't get AAB students we can't fill the places with other students and they will be empty. The fines for taking students over our quota is more than the fees they would pay. This AAB idea was a Government plan, and not one that was wanted by universities Angry.

Maddie sorry I misunderstood you. If you have been rejected because you don;t get the grades for your firm or insurance offer, there is little point asking them to reconsider. But it might be worth asking a uni that rejected your application initially to reconsider.

Also if you are trying to get a place at a local uni during clearing, it is sometimes worth going to see them. Last year the phonelines were pretty jammed, but the students who dropped into see us were usually seem straight away,

handwringer · 15/08/2012 20:04

Sigh. Waiting for exam results has got to be one of the worst bits of being a mum. All the numbers and technical aspects just turn somersaults in my head.

Good luck everyone.