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Higher education

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

Original poster

DC with an A* offer for university?

98 replies

MummyMastodon · 02/06/2013 20:26

Who has a son or daughter taking A2 that includes one or more A* ?

Join me in nail-biting and envy of the 'easy' AAA offer holders.

DD needs A*AA for her first choice, (Oxford) insurance is a nice AAB (Bristol) but she reeeally wants Oxford (Bristol looks wonderful too, but apart from anything else, if she goes there as her insurance she might not even get a place in halls, which wouldn't be a great start)

A just seems so relentless - 90% overall in A2 year. One bad exam can blow it all out of the water. She is on track for AAA at the moment, and resitting a rogue January module to hopefully bring the A back within reach for her third subject. But it all seems so dependent on a couple of hours in the exam room!

I suppose I should just be grateful that it's only one A* required, I know Cambridge and some of the London Unis can make offers for two or three Shock

OP posts:
2plus2 · 02/06/2013 20:35

Can I join you, DS needs A*AA for Durham, insurance is AAA for Nottingham. He seems very relaxed about it all!

NewFerry · 02/06/2013 20:54

The 'easy' AAA offers? Hmm hollow laugh

DS needs one of these 'easy' offers, his best friend needs CCC and is working just as hard, or harder, to achieve the grades he needs for his uni place.

Original poster
MummyMastodon · 02/06/2013 20:59

Yes, sorry New, I know AAA isn't easy, just in comparison with A* offers it is, not least because the marks taken into consideration spread over two years.

OP posts:
SilverViking · 02/06/2013 21:18

Even though you are rightly proud that you DC is trying to attain A*s, there are countless students under the same pressure to achieve up to... and beyond their ability.... Whether that is B, C our even D grades!

I.ll join you in nail-biting from a different point on the spectrum, but cannot condone your derogitary attitude to others less academically gifted than your own DC

Original poster
MummyMastodon · 02/06/2013 21:43

derogatary? really? really? when I wrote 'easy' AAA offers, the inverted commas were to indicate that I wasn't entirely serious... and an A* offer is, in any case, a different beast.

Where did I say that students chasing B,C or D grades are not under pressure? I wasn't talking about them. The thread references students with A offers... hence the thread title "DC with an A* offer for university?"* :S

You are welcome to start a thread for DC who are aiming at any particular grade. This one is for the particular challenge of A*.

Do you get upset at any thread that doesn't address your particular circumstances?

OP posts:
Yellowtip · 02/06/2013 23:14

OP I don't get that you're being in the least derogatory. I think too many people underestimate the particular pressure of needing to get an A*/ 90% average across all papers. It's a really, really tough call.

Durham struck out the year before last and asked for A* in particular and has had to retract.

A* at A2 is not easy.

Yellowtip · 02/06/2013 23:16

in particular subjects

NorthernLurker · 02/06/2013 23:31

Of course the OP wasn't being derogatory. Her child needs an A* - which is bloody nail biting. Of course their lives would be easier if it was a 3 As offer.

Good luck to your dd OP Smile

Startail · 02/06/2013 23:36

To me it just says what a joke the exam system has become.

With the possible exception of maths and physics, non of us ever got 90% on a O level or a A level paper.

It must be possible to teach exactly to the test. No room at all for interpretation.

DD1 got 99% on a science paper (DD is a good scientist, and had worked hard, but she's dyslexic and nothing she writes is that near perfect.)

Twgtwf · 02/06/2013 23:45

Agree with you, OP - it's really nuts. And they have toughened up so that it's harder than ever to get the star. Sad

Original poster
MummyMastodon · 03/06/2013 07:32

Oh, Yellowtip, i didn't know that about Durham. Did they change their course requirements, or just let students in anyway if they didn't make the high grade?

I'm worried about grade deflation, I've heard grades are likely to be lower across the board this year. And DD from a comp probably isn't getting the flawless coaching in exam technique that some of the independant school students get.

OP posts:
Original poster
MummyMastodon · 03/06/2013 07:33

And thanks, Northern :)

OP posts:
Yellowtip · 03/06/2013 07:42

Durham has had to review its use of A across the whole university but it now no longer requires offerees for History to have an A specifically in History. That was a one year wonder.

Yellowtip · 03/06/2013 07:45

At least it's Oxford OP. There's possibly more chance of your DD still securing that place if she misses the * than almost anywhere else.

NorthernLurker · 03/06/2013 10:24

To some extent students are protected if they all achieve or otherwise en masse - if they all drop a grade and hardly anybody gets the * then some will still get in. Where you hit problems is when it's only you who drops.
I still don't know how I got my first choice - offer was ABC with an A in history for York. I got AAA (inc A in general studies) and C in history. All our year group did terribly - my friend and I got Cs and that was the best grade apart from somebody who got a B - she had been at another school and covered the same syllabus at GCSE. 18 years on and I'm still annoyed with our teachers because I think it was their fault not mine! Anyway I did get in. Maybe everybody dropped grades, maybe they looked at my other grades and decided to overlook it. Good job as my insurance offer was a B in history.

ISingSoprano · 03/06/2013 10:37

I do get that chasing an A is tough. However, while my ds does not have an A offer but the grades he is chasing are still a big ask for him. He looked like someone walking to the gallows when he went out this morning for the two exams he has today.

Good luck to everyone - regardless of grades needed.

secretscwirrels · 03/06/2013 13:44

OP good luck to your DD. You just worry that in spite of all the hard work something may go wrong on the day.

DS2 is doing AS levels this year but he knows that to get where he wants in Maths he needs to average over 90% per module. Some of his exams are actually A2 because of the sequential way they do Maths and FM. So this year we have a taste of what's to come.

Original poster
MummyMastodon · 03/06/2013 17:45

At least it's Oxford OP. There's possibly more chance of your DD still securing that place if she misses the than almost anywhere else.

Is that true Yellowtip ? Tell me more

The impression I had was tht there were a bunch of open offer holders ready to snap up the places left by students who miss their grade. It's science.

OP posts:
Original poster
MummyMastodon · 03/06/2013 17:58

And I just noticed the first line of my OP makes no sense.

I meant "Who has a son or daughter taking A2 with a university offer that includes one or more A* ?"

sigh.

OP posts:
MariscallRoad · 03/06/2013 20:03

MummyMastodon 'But it all seems so dependent on a couple of hours in the exam room!? I absoluetly agree with you. In couple of hours you it is hard to assess the analytical or reasoning mind of a student who worked for years. The problem also lies in what type of assessment is in the A Levels and who are they suited for because some A Level students might have done better of they had taken IB or the the equivalent US AP. My DS did the latter and did well.

Yellowtip · 03/06/2013 21:06

MummyMastodon all those with open offers are guaranteed a place, provided they meet their offer, just not at a particular college. Compare the over offering of places by other universities asking for quite exceptionally challenging grades in terms of multiple A*s and STEP and it becomes pretty clear that Oxford is operating a much finer game. Once offered a place, I think your DD has a better chance there than anywhere of obtaining the place even if she misses a grade. It's not a certainty, but I think it's significantly more likely.

Milliways · 03/06/2013 22:53

DS needs ABBa or AABa for his first choice (A must be in Maths. He only got exactly 90% in C3 so no room for error in C4. Crazy when he got really high marks for C1&2 and 100% in S1)

Moominmammacat · 04/06/2013 15:40

Nephew needs AAAA for Imperial for maths ....

Original poster
MummyMastodon · 04/06/2013 20:45

Thanks Yellowtip.

Milliways, that is harsh to have an A* specified in a subject. But, I read somewhere that the majority of students do better in June exams than in their January modules, so he'll probably be fine.

Moomin - ouch. But I assume he's doing Further Maths? I think that strong mathematicians usually find the A* in maths and further maths not too much of a struggle.

OP posts:
alreadytaken · 04/06/2013 20:48

I have a child with an offer from Cambridge, but at least it's for medicine so the backup is 3As. I do not relish the idea of possibly having to find accommodation for the back-up. Wine and my sympathy to anyone worrying about their child missing an offer.

For most courses many universities take people who just miss their offer, it's a difficult task to judge how many will make offers and making too many offers is more of a problem than making too few. The relaxation of the rules for certain grades means that someone missing a 3A offer still has a fair chance of a place. Someone missing a 3C offer might be offered a slightly different course or might find a better option than the debts of a university place. Universities are generally not open about it as the extent to which they do it can vary a lot from year to year.

Although some universities make very high offers they may also be quite good at predicting who will get them. That seems to be true at Cambridge where many applicants go on to achieve more than the offers. I would join you but I'm taking a break from mumsnet until the exams are over.