Worth applying to Bristol

[Sophoa]

DS’s predications are AAB. I think this is very realistic. He’s applying for politics and / or politics and international relations. Current plan is to apply for Newcastle and Sheffield (AAB) Liverpool and Leeds (ABB) and he wants to apply to Bristol too, AAA.

I don’t think it’s impossible he will get AAA and there’s a small possibility of an A* in politics but I wouldn’t hedge my bets on it.

Question is, would it be a waste or an application to apply to Bristol. He went through an extremely traumatic bereavement last year which the school will make their first point on the reference. However, he doesn’t qualify for any contextual offers under other circumstances

Why not. It’s just one line on the form.

No one knows what will happen to overseas and EU student numbers. It may be that entry requirements soften across the board.

Got dejavu reading this as there’s another thread started yesterday or today about whether a DC had good enough grades to get into Bristol.

My taking you at face level response is yes he should apply.

My cynical response is that there seems to be a poster who loves to sock puppet about Bristol and LSE and constantly starts threads about them which they then answer under their proper name.

Afaik I’m the only regular poster who has had DC at both.

@JunoTurner I definitely haven’t changed names. I just don’t know if it’s worth applying somewhere he doesn’t have the predictions for and he definitely hasn’t even looked at any London unis!

Then please ignore me OP. I hadn’t searched your history and jumped the gun. It’s a perfectly fair question of course, just happens to be somewhat similar to one yesterday, but it is that time of year.

OP,
I hope you don’t mind me diverting the thread again but I am baffled by the implication that I regularly start threads under one name and answer them under another. I don’t, so am curious as to why Juno would think I might.

And please others, if you have a response to the OP, do ignore the divert.

@Needmoresleep where did I say it was you or someone who had DC at both? There’s actually another three universities that I think get mentioned a lot by the same disingenuous name-changer. I’m pretty sure there’s sock puppeting going on but it may well not be happening in exactly the way I say and may be within the name-changing rules. I’ve reported my suspicions so we’ll see and I’ll say no more of it.

I'd apply, there are five places on the ucas application, what does he have to lose ?

Juno (sorry OP) but I had sort of asked gently above, just before OP, and there was no response, so I was worried.

I have to say I have never noticed this. Perhaps I should since I often respond to posts about both Universities. (And about the Univerities DC currently attend.)

My sensitivity arises from the fact that I can be a bit of a cheerleader for non Oxbridge, especially London, universities. Not because they are right for everyone, but because I sometimes feel they can be dismissed out of hand, without a proper look. It’s getting better, but MN still seems to have a lot of strange snobbery.

Anyway OP, I hope your DS does apply to Bristol and that he gets in. And if he is still considering lower tariff fallbacks, Hull’s politics department is well regarded.

That sound like a reasonable spread - if he doesn't get an offer from Bristol, he should from some or all of the others, so all he's lost is an application to somewhere he doesn't like as much. If he does make the offer then it'll incentivise him to try to achieve those grades. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Thank you all. @ErrolTheDragon I agree. I think he’s being pretty sensible with his other choices so no harm on one aspirational one. I don’t think he needs a BBB one as he would rather retake. Hopefully he will get offers from the other 4, or at least some of them. I think if he got Bristol I would encourage him to take one of the ABB ones as a reserve so that if results are disappointing he isn’t left with nothing
Thank yoy

@JunoTurner

Got dejavu reading this as there’s another thread started yesterday or today about whether a DC had good enough grades to get into Bristol.

My taking you at face level response is yes he should apply.

My cynical response is that there seems to be a poster who loves to sock puppet about Bristol and LSE and constantly starts threads about them which they then answer under their proper name.

I started the other thread - it’s a genuine question- I’m no sock pocket (you can read my posting history) - I’m sorry you feel that way I was after genuine advice

Sophoa - although you say that your DS wouldn't be eligible for a contextual offer Bristol does have a list of schools (approximately 40% of all schools) where they do offer contextuals so you may be surprised.

List is here: www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/study/documents/aspiring-schools-2021.pdf

@SeasonFinale I’m afraid he still isn’t. The school is a state comprehensive but only really in name. It’s one of the highest performing state schools on the country with a good dozen of them going to Bristol each year and only about 10% going to non RG unis, not a hope of anything contextual unless they take personal circumstances into Account in compassionate grounds which I hope they might

I thought that schools recommend having an aspirational offer, so no problem at all with applying to Bristol. The other choices are good Unis, I loved Leeds but DC2 discarded them and DC1 didn't apply there.

Having one aspirational choice on his university list is fine especially since there are other courses that appeal to him that are in line with his predictions too.
I would say to give it a go. What would he regret more: not being offered a place or not listing it and obtaining higher than predicted grades and thinking that he should have applied?

@catndogslife that’s a great question. I think he will be really annoyed if he gets AAA and hadn’t bothered to apply or even more if he doesn’t apply and then finds out that they’re flexible on grades and he could have got in. Thank you so much for all your advice