Specific question regarding MAT test and UCAS form - help!

[Kilash]

Hi, I keep going round in circles with this and UCAS is closed so i can't ask! Ds is taking MAT for 4 Universities (Oxford, Warwick, Imperial and Bath) . I was told by UCAS that ds should enter it on the form which he duely did. School have now looked at the form and said they need to add a predicted grade for every 'pending' qualification which clearly they can't do. UCAS co-ordintor at school not sure how to approach this - can anyone whose ds have been through this please advise!

DS has also put in on the UCAS form under "admission tests" I think ( I haven't seen the form yet). But his hasn't gone to school yet.

Will be interested to hear if anyone knows where it should go/ if it should be on there!

I wouldn't put it on as a pending qualification. Dont you just have to tick something that says you consent to your ucas choices accessing the results. Dd1 did that for the BMAT.

Yes, it is on as an admissions test. The MAT application form asks to tick which Universities are being applied for but Bath is not on there, so I don't know how they would know an applicant is taking it - but they give reduced offers for a good MAT and as it is likely to be an insurance choice (all fingers crossed) it might be important. I'll have a closer look at the form tomorrow and ring UCAS again but if any kind soul knows, please put me out of my misery!.

School have now looked at the form and said they need to add a predicted grade for every 'pending' qualification

Uni aptitude tests aren't 'qualifications'.

I’m pretty sure you don’t have to list them, listing them makes it extremely complicated as you can’t get a predicted grade for an admissions test.
From my experience of it’s only Oxford and Bath who are interested in MAT, leave it of the from. Oxford will obviously know he’s doing it and he can simply send an email to Bath admissions once he has the result.

As @ErrolTheDragon said, admissions tests are not qualifications.

Uni aptitude tests aren't 'qualifications'.

While this is true, it is confusing as this is what it says on Bath's website:

How do we know if you are taking a Mathematics admissions test?
If you have decided to take either the MAT or TMUA, you should declare it in the ‘pending qualifications’ section of your UCAS application.

If you do not list MAT or TMUA on your UCAS application, we will assume that you are not taking them and any offer we make will be based on STEP or AEA.

If you are considering taking STEP or AEA, you do not have to declare it on your UCAS application. If we make an offer, it will automatically include STEP or AEA (either as a requirement or as part of an alternative offer).

In that case the OPs DS should do as Bath says, and his school should realise that they're not supposed to give a predicted grade for it - maybe they can put in N/A.

Kilash my opinion hasn't changed from a few days ago, you won't be surprised to hear. Not a qualification so shouldn't be included. That simple. None of my DC have ever included any aptitude test on the UCAS form incl those for whom the aptitude test was required for unis other than Oxford (LNAT, LNAT and BMAT). Tell your DS to leave it off, press send and relax!

That said, I'd give Bath a ring. Someone needs to tell them it's causing complications - their advice is bad.

In that my understanding is that schools can't do N/A.

On student room Oxford thread a college admissions person says it should not be included. I would go with goodbye’s advice.

strawberries Warwick and Imperial both want MAT as well as Oxford. Pepermint is correct, Bath have this on their website. I have rung them, they are useless and just say 'do what UCAS says and put it on the form'. goodbye has summed up the problem - school can't put N/A, they are not sure form will submit with a 'pending' and this is not a problem for any other course except Maths as BMAT, UKAT and other Oxford Admissions tests don't go on the form.
Ds really does not want to do both STEP and MAT. He may have to live with Bath making a higher offer and then negotiating them down or taking STEP. It's really annoying as Bath will very definately be his insurance if he gets offers from oxford, Imperial or Warwick and MAT score makes a big difference to offers.

Well it seems completely confusing because how would they put a predicted grade for MAT then. If the school is insisting it must be on the form, ask them what they will base this predicted grade on.

I honestly have never seen someone put an admissions test on the UCAS form so Batha advice is confusing.

It's very annoying indeed for you and your DS Kilash. Perhaps e-mail Bath and explain how circular it is? They may not realise that N/A isn't an option for school.

No, school are not trying to predict a grade, they are saying the form won't submit if the drop down box says pending. Ds is in a pickle becuase everything he has read on The Student Room says enter it under 'admissions test and he is adamant he should conform .
As you can see, his school have not had a Maths applicant for quite some years....(in fact i think I rememebr the last one becuase it was a ds of a friend of mine...5 yesrs ago).
I'm going to as the UCAS coordinator to get an answer from UCAS about how to submit

It's definitely a problem generated by Bath so Bath needs to offer the solution. When I first said don't list it (on the other thread) I hadn't realised there was that piece on the Bath website (my post on this thread crossed with Peppermintea's).

Looks like Bath have made an error, due to the fact that this is the first year they are taking MAT into account. (It wasn't part of the offers for 2019 applicants if you look on their website).

DS did MAT last year and didn't put it on UCAS. He ticked to have his result shared with Oxford & Warwick when he applied to sit the test. Durham say they will give reduced offers for good results and therefore emailed after the test had been sat, saying if you'd like to share your result with us please give us permission to access it.

Sounds like Bath will have to do something similar to Durham, they just haven't realised it yet!

Thanks zxcv I had not realised this was new to Bath who are clearly causing all the complications. I think we will take it off, then email Bath and ask them to accept d's forwarding his MAT result. Sounds like the safest thing to avoid delays. Thanks to all.

Alternatively you could submit with four places filled and then add Bath later?

titchy no: Bath needs to correct their advice, applicants shouldn't need to do fancy footwork to remedy their error.

I agree goodbye - but submitting now in time for the Oxford deadline, then giving Bath time, after an email to Head of Admission, to sort their shit out, is an alternative OP may want to consider.

I'm advocating submit now incl Bath and to then just tell Bath to sort its shit out. No need to give time/ wait on an answer. Worst case is that Bath gives a higher offer than it would on the back of a high MAT result - but that can be sorted later as PP has suggested, along the lines of the Durham procedure. Ball is in Bath's court, not in the court of Kilash's DS.

I emailed Bath asking them to confirm their advice. They replied that is correct. So I emailed again asking Bath "In that case, how do you enter it?" And they replied saying "Ask UCAS".