UCAS points for year completed at uni

[LightandAiry]

Hi, my ds is unwell, but hopefully will complete his first year work with extentions from the uni.

Does anybody know if a successful first year would mean UCAS points, or make up for not gaining the A Level grades he needed for his first choice university last year? He gained A Levels at ABC, he needed ABB.

Any advice on this matter is welcome; I am unable to find the answer on a google search. Thanks in advance.

No. UCAS points are for Level 3 courses as that is the level required for entry to uni. Once he's at uni, if he wants to apply somewhere else they will consider both his A level achievements, and his first year at uni (Level 4) achievements. Probably more the latter. How are his grades this year? He'd be expected to produce a transcript of grades for the year.

Thanks for reply Titchy. Good to know. He is doing well, he says mid 2:1 for his work.

I work in admissions, and what @Titchy says.

To reassure you, we see this all the time, where the first year of study hasn't worked out for a myriad of reasons. I do recommend being upfront in the application and listing the first year of uni. Sometimes, we see a gap, a passing mention in a personal statement and it needs to be unpicked.

We like to see a reference from the current uni, but understand this can be difficult sometimes, so one from school is fine.

The grades sound absolutely fine. The universities may ask for transcripts from the first year but, if your dc is applying for courses where, say, they are only one grade down, the fact they are applying with grades in hand and a year at uni may swing it.

If your dc is changing subject entirely, it would also help to demonstrate the new-found passion in the personal statement. We understand interests change but it helps us understand motivations etc.

(The caveat here of course is that I'm answering from my uni's point of view (RG, for what it's worth) - other unis may vary!)

@LightandAiry you say your DS is working at 2:1 level. I often see that referred to on here but DD gets her results in grades ABC etc and we don't know how that translates. Does your son gets grades for his work?

@wooliewoo 70% is considered to be on track for a First; 60-69% a 2:1; 50-59% a 2:2.

In our gaff, we work on percentages too and I believe it tends to be the norm. However, your dc's uni webpages should give information on marking schemes - that should help. They might be on student pages rather than public-facing pages, or in the student handbook, but your dc should have access to something.

Thank you @SallyOMalley that's very helpful.

I've just looked on Ecctis (used to be called Naric) which we use for working out grade equivalences. On the page for the UK, it only mentions the numerical percentages I've given above, so I think your dc's student handbook is probably your best bet.