Missed place - worth contacting department directly?

[emkana]

Called clearing hotline - one mark off their offer. Is it worth contacting the department directly to make your case?

[MrsMozartMkII]

Call the admissions people.

We did (some years ago now), and the lady just kept saying check the website (can't remember which one). We did and they'd accepted her. She now has a 2:1 and starts her Masters next month.

[emkana]

Yes we're waiting for remarks but with STEM subjects I feel less hopeful that it can go up a grade.

[emkana]

We're getting remarks but she's not that close to the grade boundaries so I'm not that hopeful.
I think I'll talk to her about calling again and maybe emailing the department?

[MrsMozartMkII]

Daughter was a grade down in one subject. They still took her. Call.

[berlinbabylon]

Call. They may offer a place on a related subject and once she's there, there may be an opportunity to switch.

Not quite the same but when DH went to uni he had to have two O level languages for his chosen degree and he only had one (not an MFL or classics degree either!). So he went onto one course and after a term, switched to his chosen course.

[SoupDragon]

I don't think there is ever a reason not to try. You will never be worse off!

Friend of DS's missed his place by (I think) more than that and got accepted by yesterday afternoon after several telephone interviews. On the flip side though, DS1 didn't get accepted in similar circumstances but we don't regret trying. At least we know we tried our best (and he is happy now anyway)

[SoupDragon]

They may offer a place on a related subject and once she's there, there may be an opportunity to switch.

Yes. Friends of DS1 has done exactly that. I think they switched to their preferred course after only 1 term

[GeorgeTheFirst]

There is no downside to calling - so call. If it's a no then you can look at other options.

[verticality]

Yes, it's absolutely worth ringing and asking to speak to someone. It can't do any harm. This is an obvious point, but the student themselves should ring, not a parent. DH is Head of Department and is on call all day precisely to speak to students who find themselves in the situation your child is in. Good luck!

[parietal]

don't plan on taking a related subject and then switching. many places don't allow that if you don't meet the entry requirements for the thing you switch to, and then students find themselves stuck with a subject they don't like. Better to go to a different uni.

[Malbecfan]

Definitely call. You/your DD have nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain. Good luck

[OhtheHillsareAlive]

But just to reiterate. Your daughter needs to do the ringing, the emailing, the talking.

For a start, Admissions staff probably can't talk to you - it would break the law.

[Catalicious]

Call. The proactiveness might be the difference between her getting the place or not.

(And university staff work all through the summer!)

[emkana]

She's emailed. Fingers crossed!!!

[TanMateix]

One thing Emkana, remarks can take anything between 1 to 3 weeks so although a remarked grade may get her the grade she “needs” by then the course may be full and she may have missed the deadline to get university accommodation. So if I were her I would refer myself to the second best option and, if the grades go up, then call the first option, check they have a place and are happy to take her and once you have such reassurance, let go of the second option’s place.

[TanMateix]

Please note that most unis may consider accepting her if her grades are slightly below her offer conditions, but if they have rejected already it might be that they have already decided they won’t go to that level even if they under recruit.

The fact that there are still places available means... not much, many departments stay open for longer but it is not unusual for them to be considering just A/A* holders.

[TanMateix]

And no... proactiveness might not make up for the lower grades. You will have all their sympathy and will to accept her, you may even break their hearts but if she is below the minimum they won’t accept. Main reason for this is that they know that from x grade down it is unlikely for her to succeed, so they would be making her a huge disservice by accepting her if she is going to struggle massively to cope with the challenges of the course.

[Boyskeepswinging]

All very true Tan. And of course if they accept lower grades that'll impact on their average tariff and that feeds into league tables. So going below BBB is a step too far for many uni's, particularly when there's a huge number of BBB+ potential applicants still in the mix.

[BackforGood]

@MrsMozartMkII - It has already been established that OP's dd is more than a grade down in one subject though, if you read through the thread.

[emkana]

That's not quite true - she has BBC, the offer was ABB and on the clearing hotline they said they'd accept BBB

[MrsMozartMkII]

BackforGood Ah, sorry, I misread it. That does make it two down on tbe initial requirement.

Fingers crossed it works it for her OP. Only DD will know if she really struggled with the subjects and therefore the course wouldn't really be for her, or if it was just a bad day and she can step up to the standard needed. I think that knowledge should determine how much she fights to get onto this course or looks to another.

[HoneywithLemon]

I work in university admissions. HEIs receive A level results week before candidates and meetings are held in departments to decide what to do about near-miss candidates on the Monday/Tuesday of results week. Phoning or emailing is unlikely to change the decision if grades are missed no matter how narrow the margin. If you are set on this uni look at the other courses they have in clearing, or look elsewhere for a different course. BBC is still a decent set of grades. Maybe too late now although some unis will have clearing hotlines open today .

[OhtheHillsareAlive]

she has BBC, the offer was ABB

BBC is quite a drop from ABB (especially for an elite/research-intensive university). I can see why they didn't confirm her place. They may have concerns about how she would cope in the course.

As a PP has said, we've had the results since Monday - her case would have been considered, but the C is probably the sticking point. And I imagine the Department may have taken a punt on being able to get kids with BBB or better via Adjustment.

[emkana]

Yes I told her not to hope too much but we just thought there's nothing to lose in sending that email.

[titchy]

Has she started the ball rolling with her insurance place? The danger in holding out for the firm is that applicants don't sort out their insurance accommodation till much later, end up in distant or unpopular halls, don't engage with any of the social media groups that are set up now and just aren't mentally prepared for the insurance place.