Applying for uni in 2021 part 2

[poppycat10]

Hi all, this is a continuation thread from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3828249-applying-for-uni-in-2021?pg=40

DS cannot decide between Birmingham and Exeter.... Both courses have the same grade requirements. We have visited Birmingham (in so much as stayed a couple of nights in the city and walked around the lake and saw the accommodation from the outside!) so he does slightly prefer that one.
I am put off by the high crime rate towards students and much prefer the idea of Exeter....

I wouldn't have said he was a party boy (although he hasn't exactly had much chance this year) and my other son is currently studying in the Cornwall campus of Exeter.
He's going to talk to his tutor, but I have no idea how he'll make his mind up. Birmingham have put on much more with regards to offer holder days etc though

Loughborough are much more proactive than Nottingham up to now..
121s with tutors, campus tours etc

DS just got an offer from Bristol, we’re surprised they stated an offer of AAC when normally for that course it’s AAA

It’s a reduced offer “because of background”

Does anyone know what this means?

Could it be he’s at a state 6th form in a rough (ish) area?

Not sure I know what a reduced offer is about tbh

But I guess it’s good news

Hope other Bristol applicants on here have had good news too

printemps
Congrats!!
I've no idea regarding reduced offers...
Nottingham states AAA plus A at EPQ for ds1s course.
He doesn't have an EPQ and is predicted AAB but thought "stuff it" and applied anyway.
He got an initial offer of AAB and its now been reduced to ABB!
Ds is also at a state 6th form.
I don't know anything about admissions but I had assumed that it would be harder to get onto any courses this year due to deferments from last year and indeed I do think that's happened with Oxbridge and Durham sadly.
Lots of stellar students being declined.

Yes that’s exactly what I thought. 30% of students deferred from last year, so fewer spaces?

I found out from the Bristol site theyreduce offers for applicants at low-achieving colleges (6th forms)

DS college is on that list (it’s a good college IMO but in a rough area)

Maybe it’s the same for Nottingham?

Ds1s college isn't in a deprived area according to imd data do not sure if that is a possible reason.

@PrintempsAhoy out of interest did he also do his GCSE's in a low achieving school/ deprived area?

In any case don't look a gift horse in the mouth and all that! Congrats on the offer!

I think it says on UCAS if they are offered a contextual offer? Dc has a reduced offer of AAA (standard offer for course AAA) which is further contextualised to AAB if firmed. This is due to the context in which dc did gcses and postcode.

School was high achieving local comp in “naive” leafy area

The 6th form is in a town with lots more poverty, knife crime etc.

I wonder why Bristol is making reduced offers to people at low achieving sixth forms when apparently it's GCSE grades that are contextualised........

That's interesting...ds1s gcse result profile was very spiky - from 9s to 5s.

Chops it is on their website

They have a list of colleges that don’t send many kids to Uni, and if you apply from one of those colleges you get a “reduced offer”. DS college is on that list.

Not sure this is the same as a contextualised offer. (We did not ask for contextualised, as did not think we quality)

Jenthefredo DS GCSEs patchy too

DS heard back from Bristol and has an offer! So pleased for him that he can now made decisions and is no longer waiting. Good luck to those of you still on pause.

@SeasonFinale - I thought I would let you know about DS's offer, as we chatted about his course briefly on the previous thread.

@SeasonFinale said that Bristol balance performance of GCSEs at 20% and A levels at 80% when they consider applications. So with Bristol specifically, one assumes 6th form location is more important than place of study at GCSE. Other Unis will of course apply other criteria.

DS's college is on Bristol's list of the 40% lowest performing (?) 6th form schools/colleges, so he has had a reduced offer too. That just puts his Bristol offer in line with his other offers of AAB though, so not sure what to do re an insurance.

Yes as @TailTale says depending on which course Bristol are brilliant at setting out the criteria they use and %split between gcse grades and predicted or in hand A level grades.

They also issue a list of schools which amounts to 40% of schools and it is not purely ACORN/POLAR data but also includes schools in areas that are low participants in Higher Education in an attempt to boost that too.

To the PP who said they are not sure how a reduced offer works it simply means they are the minimum grades the student needs to achieve to secure their place.

Nottingham was one of those that previously issued conditional unconditionals to get students to pick them. These are now very much frowned upon so they are using the tactic of reducing grades required to get bums on seats.

So Bristol each course has different criteria but they publish it.

School location for 6th form is looked at as to whether contextual offers are given (which is different to contextualisation of grades).

@SeasonFinale

So Bristol each course has different criteria but they publish it.

School location for 6th form is looked at as to whether contextual offers are given (which is different to contextualisation of grades).

Thank you for clarifying what I said @SeasonFinale. I knew you had more refined knowledge than I was able to share! Your insights have been really helpful in this process.

Best of luck to everyone whose DC is still waiting.

@SeasonFinale so where a student goes for their sixth form can matter after all!

@chopc It's the same for Exeter. DS received a contextual offer due to the number / % of students who live in a particular area at his selective 6th form college. He hasn't received a contextual offer from anywhere else because we live in a leafy area (20 miles from his college) and both DH and I have degrees.

For Bristol yes

In the context of Oxbridge applications they contextualize gcse grades based on where they were sat. Contextualisation of grades within the determination of whether to offer does not mean a contextualized offer (ie a reduced grades offer) is made.

Can anyone help or has any useful insight?

DD is holding offers for Social Anthropology at Manchester and LSE and can't decide between them. She has heard that LSE has a highly competitive reputation. Is this just for Economics and the Law courses or all courses? She is at a comprehensive school and has excellent predicted grades so will have no difficulty meeting the requirements of either university. She is worried whether she will fit in at LSE or is it too good an offer to pass up. She likes both courses equally.

LSE has a reputation for being highly selective for all their courses. It’s a seriously sought after university. Lots of DDs friends have applied, some were rejected and some are still waiting. Manchester is a great university but doesn’t have the kudos of LSE.

Hi everyone, how are your dc's getting on with assessments? Dd1 is feeling pretty stressed. She has been getting marks back for tests but not overall grades and she is getting differing viewpoints on where grade boundaries sit - as a result she has chosen not to firm ucas yet as she is so worried about potentialy not getting the grades she needs for her favourite choice.
Can anyone shed light on the grading process? I know at the start of the year there was a lot of talk about 'being generous' with grade boundaries to keep them in line with 2020 as still affected by pandemic. Yet am not sure if this still applies with teacher assessments? They seem to be just as high as ever but i guess that is the result of this teacher assessment rather than exams situation.

DD's school are taking the view that there is no point in sitting loads of mini assessments when the time could be used for teaching, which goes a small way to compensating for the lack of lesson time in Y12 from mid March onwards. They did mocks during the Christmas term, plus a bunch of exam papers that were sent home in January, which they think will comprise enough evidence for moderation purposes alongside the real/not real exams next term. They say they aren't permitted to tell students whether they're likely to get the grades they need, which isn't much help to those who are delaying their final UCAS decisions until they're more certain of what they'd be likely to get.