Advice on UCAS please

[Radoy]

Hi: My eldest son is applying through UCAS. He's predicted ABB but the courses he wants to go to require AAB. He's had a blip but he's confident he can do at least AAB and possibly better. He's doing an EPQ and I think this will also be an A based on what I've seen.

Could I ask what the best strategy is? Should he apply for the courses requiring an AAB or will he be rejected outright? Should he limit his choices to below his predicted grades or do a mixture of higher entry and lower entry. Any thoughts on this, or how to manage the potential of clearing would be so gratefully received. Many thanks. :-)

Best strategy - apply for what he wants! He won't be rejected from AAB places with ABB predicted. And he'll probably still get a place even if he actually achieves ABB!

That form needs to be in pdq though.

Do put one lower offer down though, say BBB. Just to have as an insurance.

Many Unis wanting AAB will offer ABB if firmed. Also it's worth checking if your son would fit the contextual criteria for any of those he's interested in. Contextual offers are typically 1-2 grades lower than standard.

Put 1-2 higher, 1-2 at target and 1-2 back ups. He may well get offers from most, depending on the course and popularity, and then by the time he has to decide he'll have a better idea of whether those grades are achievable or not.

Some universities won't compromise on grades - it's difficult to know which and for which courses until you apply though.

DS is (I think) predicted AAB. He applied for one course which required AAA and the uni rejected him for that course and offered for a related course which requires AAB.

His other offers are ABB and BBC and the other two unis say AAB and ABB-BBB respectively - we'll see what the actual offers will be if he gets them.

Glasgow said AAB-BBB and offered ABB. Hull said BBC and offered BBC/112 UCAS points. However, if you look at the Student Room you see some generous offers coming out that are a bit lower than expected and not always contextual.

Ulelia's advice is spot on.

I agree with the advice above. He should get it in however. A lot of students get it in by about October half term! My children did and their schools preferred that so you can stop thinking about it and get down to A level work.

You are all wonderful to respond and thank you so much for your advice. Helped me very much. :-)

My son was submitting his UCAS today and told not to submit to two universities that were a stretch because he's predicted a "C" in his EPQ. This predicted grade happened in September and he had not yet even attended any classes due to lockdown. He only gave his presentation and turned his dissertation in this Monday. His English and Classics teachers reviewed it and said it was very good indeed. Had he known this would be the case, he wouldn't have even done an EPQ!

I am astonished that he can't apply to AAB universities when he's predicted ABB due to a "C" in EPQ which was set before he did any work whatsoever! He's written the EPQ mentor who gave him the predicted grade to clarify and had no response. He's so disappointed. Should I escalate this to his lead tutor at the school? Are predicted grades in stone once they are set? Grateful for any advice.

He can (and should) apply to wherever he wants. It's not up to his school to decide. If his predictions are ABB and a C in the EPQ he should include the AAB places.

No need to make a fuss, just click that submit button and get it sent.

What is the school's thinking on the 'only a C in the EPQ'? AFAIK an EPQ is only ever a subsidiary consideration, e.g. 'offer is AAB, or ABB if you get an A in the EPQ you are taking', not '... and you must get an A in your EPQ'.

Is the school actually saying that they won't complete the application if the AAB universities are left on the list? If so, he could take them off now, but then add them again once the application has been submitted...

If it's some kind of offers league table the school is concerned about, every year, people with 3A predictions get turned down for e.g. AAA courses (just go and hang out on an averageyear's LSE thread on TSR - and look at Oxbridge applications fgs) so I can't see why the school should be worrying about the not forgone conclusion that a student with ABB predicted won't get an offer for an AAB course (even if the offer is AAB).

Thanks so much for your help with this, I really appreciate it. I completely agree and you've given us the strength to go for it despite what the tutor says. She's dragged her heels on checking the form (which is a requirement before it's sent, and my son asked for her to do this repeatedly before Christmas) and seems to be continually limiting things for reasons I can't understand. Thanks for your help. :-)

That does sound strange advice. I think I would ignore it and do as others have suggested. If epq is going to be a c grade then maybe best not to mention it at all?
But if he was anticipating an A and now getting a C has the school made a mistake?
My understanding of epq is that basically everyone gets an a or b grade.

My daughter got asked by her school to substitute one of her choices for a uni (that were mostly all AAB, ABB ) to include one that asked for a C grade which we did as thought that was prob a good idea

I believe UCAS have extended the deadline this year until 29 January, but you may not want to tell your son that unless he needs extra time OP .

@sashagabadon

That does sound strange advice. I think I would ignore it and do as others have suggested. If epq is going to be a c grade then maybe best not to mention it at all? But if he was anticipating an A and now getting a C has the school made a mistake? My understanding of epq is that basically everyone gets an a or b grade.

Your understanding is entirely wrong. EPQ can be graded A-E. As much of the work is carried out prior to official entry is made then many do not bother to submit if they realise they are getting a lower grade. The moderation surrounding EPQs has tightened up considerably too and it is harder to get the A*/A grades now.

Finally if he has been entered it is fraudulent to not inclue it on the UCAS form unless he formally requests to be withdrawn from the qualification.

I can only echo the above that he should put an aspirational and a safe and the others at target. Just make sure they are places he would like to go to as otherwise there is no point adding them.

For parents of GCSE level children do always consider if the EPQ is the right thing to do. My sons decided not to do one and for them it was the right decision (as for them it meant better grades in the A levels)