Warwick - is there any wiggle room on grades?

Spacerace · 2022-02-23T17:39:30+00:00

Hi Any advice or anecdotes would be welcome! My DD will need to achieve an A* in English to meet her offer. She was predicted an A but is currently working at a high B. I think with a lot of hard work an A is attainable but I'm not sure about an A*. DD is really keen on Warwick and would like it to be her firm choice. I'm fully supportive of this but would like to know whether it is likely to be an immediate rejection on results day if she's achieves an A not an A*? I suspect this is an impossible question to answer, but I just wondered whether any of your DC have been in that position and been accepted despite slipping one grade.

poetryandwine · 23/02/2022 17:58

Hi, OP -

Former RG admissions tutor here. I hesitate to sound overly pessimistic, but in my field I cannot imagine Warwick taking a student who dropped a grade in a core subject. Then again, my field is not English. I think your best bet is to contact the admissions team in the
relevant School and put the question to them. (Her offer is binding and
they are quite used to this kind of question.).

This year the grade boundaries will be computed using some kind of combination of the 2019 boundaries and the 2021 data, so that might help your DD. Best wishes

Daisysway · 23/02/2022 19:47

Have you checked what grades were previously excepted for her course. Warwick are quite strict on certain courses (over subscribed) ... Maths, Computer Science, Economics but a bit more flexible on other courses.

TizerorFizz · 23/02/2022 19:51

I fear English is usually a competitive course. If it was MFL there might be wriggle room. I would still remain hopeful but prepare for her insurance choice, just in case.

SeasonFinale · 23/02/2022 20:23

Agree unlikely. Where else does she have offers from and at what grade criteria?

Original poster

Spacerace · 23/02/2022 22:00

Thank you all for your replies, they are much appreciated.
Just to clarify, DD hasn’t applied to study English. She’s actually applied for Management (business).

DD is fortunate that she also holds offers from Nottingham and Loughborough; she will need an A in English for both of these though so still a tough ask!

OP posts:

TizerorFizz · 23/02/2022 22:55

I see. I rather assumed A* in English indicated English. However what she wants is still a competitive course. I do think she has great alternatives however.

DivorcedAndDelighted · 23/02/2022 23:10

A girl I know missed her grades for Warwick a few years ago. They offered her an alternative course which she wasn't keen on. She asked if switching to her first choice course later would be possible if she did well, and was told it was unlikely. However, she took the offer up, worked really hard and got a very good grade in her first year exams and was persistent, and was indeed allowed to switch to her first choice course.
The thing I thought a bit unfair was, she was at a grammar school for sixth form and was given a very high offer for her first choice course. There were other students on the course from comprehensive schools whose offers were the same as the grades she attained. So her grades would have been sufficient to get her on the course if she'd gone to a different school, and the school she went to wasn't very helpful! Anyway, her hard work paid off in the end.

ShanghaiDiva · 23/02/2022 23:20

As the course is offered by the business school (which has an excellent reputation) I doubt there will be much flexibility if your dd does not meet her offer. However, I think it’s still worth firming with Loughborough as back up.
My ds graduated from Warwick last year and Loughborough was his reserve.

TizerorFizz · 24/02/2022 07:44

I’m curious as to why they stipulated English to be A for a Management course. The standard offer is AAA. It doesn’t ask for any particular subjects. Although it does at GCSE. Was there any reason for picking out this subject to be at A*? Why not any one of the three A levels?

poetryandwine · 24/02/2022 08:41

Apologies, OP. I was the first to leap to the conclusion that the subject was English. I am also a little surprised that the A* subject is specified. Again, the offer is binding and people do want to help, so I would not hesitate to ring the admissions team

Original poster

Spacerace · 24/02/2022 10:00

Sorry to drip feed, I realise I should have included more information in my OP. DD has taken a convoluted path through further education and already has two level 3 qualifications in hand. The standard offer for Management is AAA so Warwick have taken into account her two existing qualifications and have asked for one A from either English or Maths that she is sitting this summer. DD feels that she is most likely to achieve this in English.

I know that the business school at Warwick is very oversubscribed. I think it is probably best to advise DD to firm Warwick but not expect them to accept her should she miss the A* grade.

OP posts:

TizerorFizz · 24/02/2022 10:42

Make sure her insurance choice will have halls of residence spaces for insurance students. This is a big issue now so many universities have to take many more qualifying students as grades have gone up.

SeasonFinale · 24/02/2022 16:28

If she already has 2 A levels at A and us taking only 2 more then I suspect the reason they want an A* is to show she can work at that level as she is only taking 2 A levels in this sitting?

thing47 · 24/02/2022 19:15

The thing I thought a bit unfair was, she was at a grammar school for sixth form and was given a very high offer for her first choice course. There were other students on the course from comprehensive schools whose offers were the same as the grades she attained. So her grades would have been sufficient to get her on the course if she'd gone to a different school

I'm sorry but contextual offers are perfectly reasonable and are an established part of our education system. The environment at a grammar school is generally much more conducive to high grades so any attempt to take that into account most certainly is fair.

LillianGish · 07/03/2022 09:44

@Spacerace you asked for anecdotes and I can tell you that last year one of my son’s best friends missed his offer for business at Warwick by 0.05 points (French Bac - needed 15 (the equivalent of A*AA) got 14.95) and didn’t get a place. He appealed, but was told places at the business school are so over-subscribed there is no wriggle room at all.

VincaBlue · 19/01/2023 14:59

DivorcedAndDelighted · 23/02/2022 23:10

A girl I know missed her grades for Warwick a few years ago. They offered her an alternative course which she wasn't keen on. She asked if switching to her first choice course later would be possible if she did well, and was told it was unlikely. However, she took the offer up, worked really hard and got a very good grade in her first year exams and was persistent, and was indeed allowed to switch to her first choice course.
The thing I thought a bit unfair was, she was at a grammar school for sixth form and was given a very high offer for her first choice course. There were other students on the course from comprehensive schools whose offers were the same as the grades she attained. So her grades would have been sufficient to get her on the course if she'd gone to a different school, and the school she went to wasn't very helpful! Anyway, her hard work paid off in the end.

Just to elaborate on this, as it may give the impression that all students who are from Comps get lower offers. That's not the case. Dd attended a comp and her offer was the same as the published one that would be made to students from grammars or private.
Bristol did give a lower offer as her school is in the bottom 40% for A levels results, but Warwick have stricter criteria and didn't.
You can see further details here warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/contextual-offers/#collapseFourA