5 choices.....

[hmmnotsure]

Hello

Thrashing around with DS trying to pick 5 UCAS choices. Trying to be strategic but in order to do that need the following info, anyone know where we might get it?

• which courses are oversubscribed at which unis?
• which courses at which unis are usually in Clearing?
• how you know which unis might offer a grade drop on results day?

The occasional uni offers up this info eg Manchester , on their course page by entry requirements but can't find the info for most.

Should I have been checking last summer for what was in clearing then?!

You probably need to give a clue as to subject and likely grades.

Should I have been checking last summer for what was in clearing then?!

Maybe. I certainly did this.

But this examination / admissions cycle for current Year 13s is likely to be all over the place to be honest; as was last years and the year before's. I don't think you can use what has happened for the last couple of years as any kind of template for anything. Just make some realistic choices and cross your fingers.

If you would be willing to say the name of the course and some of your possible destinations, people might have feedback.

If you're not, this website has more course-specific data than some: www.theuniguide.co.uk

Think your child needs to
Pick the course and uni that’s right for them. Otherwise they drop out. All unis teach subjects differently. Course content varies a lot.

Thank you - business management and looking at Loughborough, Birmingham, Sheffield, York, Cardiff, Nottingham and Southampton.

AAB.

Wouldn't have helped to look at clearing in summer this year as it was very different from normal. Loughborough for example had no courses at all in clearing, which is very unusual.

2022 might well be similar. Unis are likely (anecdotally) to ask for higher grades and make fewer offers.

Is your DS liked to get the grades asked for by the unis he is looking at? If so, put down the ones he likes the best. You have a range there from small town collegiate to big city, campus and non-campus.

If he might miss a grade then find somewhere with a lower offer that he likes and put that down. He is not obliged to hold the offer in the end. DS had one place he wanted to go and one he liked as well; the offer was the same but those were the two he held on the basis that one might have been more flexible on results day and he really didn;t want to go to the other three for various reasons. In the end he got the grades he needed. But if not, he was happy to take a year out and reapply.

If you look at discoveruni.gov.uk you can look up courses and get a breakdown of the ucas tariff of people who did that course. As a rough guide if most people get over the standard offer then it’s a competitive course, less likely to go into clearing etc and if lots of people are starting with points below the standard offer then they are probably taking people who dropped a grade on results day or are going through clearing with lower grades.

Thank you. Gap year not an option and unclear at the moment if grades are likely - will know more by March time.

These are the courses with the content he is interested in - he has a preference for three having visited them.

It's just a massive punt really isn't it?!

@clary

Wouldn't have helped to look at clearing in summer this year as it was very different from normal. Loughborough for example had no courses at all in clearing, which is very unusual.

2022 might well be similar. Unis are likely (anecdotally) to ask for higher grades and make fewer offers.

Is your DS liked to get the grades asked for by the unis he is looking at? If so, put down the ones he likes the best. You have a range there from small town collegiate to big city, campus and non-campus.

If he might miss a grade then find somewhere with a lower offer that he likes and put that down. He is not obliged to hold the offer in the end. DS had one place he wanted to go and one he liked as well; the offer was the same but those were the two he held on the basis that one might have been more flexible on results day and he really didn;t want to go to the other three for various reasons. In the end he got the grades he needed. But if not, he was happy to take a year out and reapply.

When you say it wouldn't have helped to look in clearing this year as different to usual, but then it may be very similar this year?

So sad it isn't widely known to look out for these things ahead of time. Seems a big advantage to those that are familiar with the system.

We looked closely at what was in clearing the year before DD applied, just in case. Those courses weren't in clearing the following year. This is pre-covid.

Rather than edging his bets in this way, I'd say he should choose the five courses/unis that he thinks would suit him better, ideally with a couple of safe bets (ie grades he's likely to achieve). If he's having problems working out what's best for different reasons, and asking questions would help, it's worth phoning. DD was trying to choice 2 out of 3, so phoned, two were very helpful - two unis were very helpful, one was appalling. If he has a strong Personal Statement and reasonably likely to get grades (or close), then he'll get an offer.

so @hmmnotsure what I mean is, say you were looking at Eng lit, if you looked at Loughboro clearing in Aug 2019 you would have seen places for those with BBB (I know because I looked).

If you looked in summer 2021 there was no clearing offer for Lboro at all - due to so many students with offers achieving their required grades.

2019 was the last normal year for this malarkey; it seems to me (tho I have no skin in the game now, frankly) that 2022 will also be unusual; more students deferring than usual (I know of quite a few) and more popular unis perhaps making fewer, higher offers after being burnt this year. So who knows what clearing will look like in 2022.

What I am trying to say is, I wouldn't bank on a clearing course.

Thanks for clarifying @clary

It's tricky as for the subject there are zillions in the lower grade requirements eg BBB and below that I suspect would be in clearing.

I understand the differences last year and this but these courses seem plentiful unlike others that are only offered by a few unis or have few spaces on them. They seem to be able to expand to fit the requirement at some places. It's trying to predict which ones may make reduced offers and or are likely to be in clearing in the AAB/ABB category that's very tricky.

So I would forget about clearing for now. Anyone who banked on clearing this time last year was sorry I imagine.

Pick his four faves from the ones you mention (and let's face it, Lboro and Brum are very different places to be a student so he must have a preference) and then pick one place that offers BBB (if that is the lowest he will achieve) - the place/course that he likes the most. That can be a back up offer. He doesn't have to keep it tho but at least it gives him more time to think.

Clearing is not only for less well-rated unis; when DD was looking (in 2019 as you perceive) York, for example, was in clearing for English lit. That's a pretty popular RG uni. The clearing offer was AAA which made me laugh (if you got AAA and were looking sat Eng lit you would probs have bagged your first choice unless it was Oxford). But anyway, it was there.

It's a really good point about giving him more time to think, it all seems so rushed at the moment.

Of course in an ideal world he will get 5 offers and then be able to look round them again in March.... but I realise that probably won't happen.

@clary looking at the differences between Brum and Lboro, please let me know if I've missed anything obvious! (non course specific):

• both campus unis, both accommodation on site for first years
• Lboro little outside campus, nightlife a train ride away in Nottingham; Brum a big city with loads going on
• Brum larger proportion of PG students and much bigger uni with wider variety of depts
• both v strong on sport
• great transport connections at Brum inc own train station

[quote hmmnotsure]@clary looking at the differences between Brum and Lboro, please let me know if I've missed anything obvious! (non course specific):

• both campus unis, both accommodation on site for first years
• Lboro little outside campus, nightlife a train ride away in Nottingham; Brum a big city with loads going on
• Brum larger proportion of PG students and much bigger uni with wider variety of depts
• both v strong on sport
• great transport connections at Brum inc own train station[/quote]

Yep that's about it.

The campus at Lboro is very self contained tho; hard to be more than a 15 min walk from anything, whereas the halls at Brum are a 15-20 min walk from the main uni. That's fine tho.

YY not much to Lboro outside the uni - whic kind of makes the uni much more active and vibrant. For example, inter-mural sport (between the halls) is very big which I cannot imagine is so for a lot of other unis.

Brum is a big big city with lots of nightlife. If DC wants to go clubbing, to the theatre, to concerts, classical or rock, to the cinema, to a range of restaurants, then Brum wins over Lboro.

DS2 is at Lboro in his first year and is lapping it up as far as I can see. He is very sporty tho. A friend of his has been disappointed with the non sporting offer (tho for sure there are orchestras, theatrical groups etc) and has left; is considering Brum or Manchester next year.

Oh, one thing tho - halls. There are some halls at Lboro which are v £££ - about half the halls are catered which means they cost £6500-£8k depending on how many meals. This may suit or it may not. DS2 otoh is in a self-catered, shared bathroom hall and his fees are just under £4k. Which is about as cheap as you'll find.

Brum halls IIRC are also a mix of catered and not, but the catering is more "tickets to eat in a canteen" style. Self catering there is but not much that is very cheap (as I say, this is from memory from three years ago).

@hmmnotsure

Thank you - business management and looking at Loughborough, Birmingham, Sheffield, York, Cardiff, Nottingham and Southampton.

AAB.

Have you considered Durham? also AAB. My DS is also applying for Bus.Mgt and in a quandry over Brum and Lboro. Not the living environment as he'll adapt to either but more which uni has the better reputation although both are strong, but one must have the edge.

@clary That's really helpful thank you. We had looked briefly at accommodation at Brum both in person and online and was surprised at the £££!

Interesting perspective on the inter-mural sport - DS is sporty which is why he loved Lboro but he'd also like to be in a city which is why he loved Brum.

Let's see what happens with offers!!

@Shimy thank you he won't countenance Durham for some reason.

"Not Wales, Scotland, London, Durham or Exeter thanks mum"

No idea why!

@Shimy the rep of the course/dept/subject is a tricky one as that changes over the space of their time there I reckon.

Lboro seems higher in the tables but we aren't quite as keen on the content. Brum seems v good on graduate prospects but Lboro not shabby on that front either.

The business dept at Brum was shut when we went to look round - did you get to have a proper look? We weren't able to get to the dept at Lboro either.

That's funny, DS also wouldn't consider Durham, I still think it's a great option. What about Bath (BSC Management)? AAA but AAB with Epq?

I miised your question about the Brum bus. dept, yes we did get to look around a bit. We saw several lecture room..not much else to say really except it was all just fine I guess. We attended the bus. dept drop session and had a long chat with one of their placement officers and a senior lecturer (forget his title now). Very, very impressive both of them full of enthusiasm about the course, the opportunities, the industry links. DS loved it.
We haven't been to Lboro but it sounds amazing on paper.

Durham & Exeter both have a reputation for snobbery and ex-public-schoolboy wankery. Whether it's deserved is a different matter, but it might be colouring your son's perception of them.

@Shimy

That's funny, DS also wouldn't consider Durham, I still think it's a great option. What about Bath (BSC Management)? AAA but AAB with Epq?

No EPQ but also not keen on Bath!!

As a basic guide, the 5 choices should include aspirational, spot on their prediction and safety net institutions. Look at the course content as it varies a lot, also the city the university is in - 3 years is a long time if you hate where you live! Don't worry about clearing, most institutions do go into clearing in normal years