How do you know which unis will give an offer when you fill out UCAS( MEng)

[Tr3hern3]

Not done this before. Ds splitting choices to 2 punts, 2 middle and 1 safe but how do you know which will give an offer ie what if the middles are not likely?

Was that recently kitnkaboodle?

When DS was applying for Mech Eng, he went for 2 at predicted level, 2 at one grade below (MEng and BEng) and 1 at BEng 2 grades below as his safety.

Your DS school should confirm the predicted grades they will be submitting before he applies.

I think this year will be quite tight on acceptance numbers as universities have been badly caught out in the last 2 years with huge grade inflation leading to too many students meeting their predicted grades compared to normal years.
I think there will be some higher grades being asked, and more unis waiting until after the ucas deadline in January before making their offers,

The important thing is to make sure the course is accredited by the Engineering professional body.
Work experience/year in industry is great but ask current students how good the uni have been at helping them secure placements,
In terms of applying for Chartered after several years post grad Experience, he will need to do more academic study if he only has a BEng.

@Tr3hern3 it was last year. So already in one of the 'inflated grades' year. There is something to be said, I think, for taking a gap year and applying with grades in hand. I think a lot of unis will accept a grade lower if they are actual achieved grades. He had A Maths A Physics and C Chemistry. I think an A in Maths and in Physics will open doors ...

Definitely phone the admissions departments though. They are happy to advise although, obviously, they will often say stuff like 'we consider all applications individually/holistically bla bla bla...'

There is a thread about BEng v MEng and the latter more easily leading to Chartered status, so something to bear in mind.

stubiff Do you have a link!

Not got the MN link, but
www.imeche.org/membership-registration/become-a-member/chartered-engineer.
MEng qualifies for the Academic part of the Chartered status.
Otherwise it’s BEng + further study, I believe.

He is who he is, so better to apply to unis based on his likely grades. Usually most go for one punt, and the others are middling/safe.

DD was predicted AAA, she desperately wanted her first choice (AAA) so worked her socks off. Did two mocks AAB twice (B being in different subjects each time). Results were AAB so very close to her mocks despite the effort.

I think this year is going to be hard for students to get into some of the top tier universities. There are a lot of deferrals (some incentivised by universities) and this is a higher birth year than a couple of years ago. As an example, Loughborough has increased its grades this year for some courses on the grounds of increasing demand exceeding the supply of places. I think you need to email unis and get realistic answers from them.

I’d agree with dancing dreamer above.

Ds isn’t looking at the same courses as you but was disappointed to note that his aspirational choice has gone up a grade this year and is now out of reach as to be no point in applying.

Manchester politics and IR- 2021 wanted AAB and this year states AAA. He’s predicted ABB so no point wasting a choice.

You can swap to MEng from the BEng in many places if your grades at university are good enough. So we have 4 MEng and a BEng as our very safe option, all at different universities.

Looking at the A level grades wanted for an MEng course in mechanical engineering at the best engineering universities, his predicted grades come up short. I think it’s very difficult to predict what wriggle room there will be for dropped grades. However he could have one or two aspirational choices that are advertising AAA. I think I’m correct that Newcastle want AAB for their MEng so he really needs to look at all MEng courses at RG universities and see which ones are saying AAB. I don’t think there will be many though. Some will be A*AA so I’d probably avoid them. Loughborough is also asking for high grades as non RG so possibly discount them too.

Then start looking at places like Surrey, Leicester, Swansea, Sussex, and similar and see what they have. Then look at the former polytechnics. Many of them have excellent engineering degrees and they are a strength of these universities. Don’t discount them. Too many to mention but lower entry requirements will probably mean he could do an MEng and get accepted with his grades as they are.

This then leads to the dilemma of MEng at a lower ranking university or BEng at a better one and trade up to MEng. I would ask how many students actually do this? Ask each faculty.

Look at the differences in the courses. A year in industry adds 1 year to both degrees. Who finds the placement? These can lead to a job so is it best to add it to a BEng? Or is he ok with 5 years of study/placement for the MEng plus placement? That’s a big time/financial commitment. Is it worth it?

MEng leads to much quicker chartered status. Look at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers for guidance. They will have careers advice for engineering students. Most courses will be registered as educationally suitable for registration with the Engineering Council accredited degree programme but do check! Most decent grad engineers with ambition will get jobs. MEng is the higher ranking qualification because it can take a lot longer to get chartered with BEng. These days BEng commonly leads to Incorporated Engineer status - a rung below chartered.

Lots to think about - good luck

Would he consider an MEng with a foundation year added in? The University of Sheffield have a great Mechanical Engineering course if so but it is 5 years!

Yes. Sheffield is an engineering powerhouse. Bizarrely their MEng is AAA and their BEng is AAA too! The decision would be to apply to somewhere less prestigious or apply for the foundation at Sheffield? Sheffield is definitely worth looking at if you are prepared to do 5 years.

Engineering is also a great transferable skills degree. A BEng and then Intolaw/business/management .
It's normally a pretty straight transfer from BEng to the final MEng year if your grades are good. And of course you'll know by that stage which field you love eg marine think about Plymouth, research maybe Cambridge, construction law KCL.

If you're not enjoying the course, and it's really unfair to ask a 17 year old to commit to a huge amount of debt and a long pathway to chartered status and unnecessary, it's a really flexible subject with multiple pathways.

Engineering is also a great transferable skills degree. A BEng and then Intolaw/business/management .

Quite a few go into various sorts of software development/IT. Part of the skills shortage is doubtless because people with engineering (and other STEM) degrees have a lot of options!

Yes. It’s a big issue. Lots of engineers don’t become engineers. It doesn’t cost anything to become chartered, other than commitment to a career. Doctors manage this at 17/18 don’t they? All degrees cost something and converting to law costs too.

Engineering is also a great transferable skills degree.

Yes, especially those engineers that needed Further Maths and Physics tend to have lots of career options - many go into Finance.

Dh was absolutely convinced he wanted to do mechanical engineering and went to Loughborough. After he did his year in industry he realised mechanical engineering wasn't his primary interest and went into IT as people were recruiting numerate candidates into IT roles with or without IT experience (1990s)

For your son I think apply for a BEng and transfer up to the MEng if it is still what he wants to do. At Loughborough a BEng is AAB whereas a MEng is A*AA.

Also it isn't just about grades it is also about the personal statement showing why he wants to do it and what he has studied/looked at/read etc outside of the classroom for mech eng.

Plenty of engineering courses go into clearing. It often is about grades when universities offer places. This is why young people don’t stay in engineering. They are not “engineers”. They are people who have an engineering degree and are numerate. After 3/4 years they don’t want to be engineers No one really cared about that when they were accepted for the course. No one asked. The PS can contain a load of tosh and for some it inevitably does!

The best engineers are not necessarily from the top rank universities. Often the people who really want the job are not necessarily the ones with the best grades either.

Most people do not realise that engineering isn’t just maths and physics. It’s easy to look at courses and see the A levels needed but going on from that in engineering requires more. As in most jobs, personality, working in a team, problem solving and being quick on the uptake matter. Many highly successful engineers are not “academics”. They really didn’t all go to Imperial! Engineers are people who find solutions and engineers do that from lots of universities.

** Yes, there's a lot of truth in that.

Engineers are people who find solutions
Indeed'; 'Engineer' derives from the same root as 'ingenious'. It's more obvious in other languages.

It’s also the case, in other countries, that use of the title “engineer” is protected by law. It’s not used by the person who mends the washing machine. If there was proper legal status here we might find the professional engineer gets better recognition and understanding.