Worth a punt on university application?

[ideasinindigo]

Hi all,
dc reapplying to university this year after getting 1 mark off the grade needed/ not getting in to their firm or insurance uni this year. Their grades in hand are A star, A star, B but the courses they really want to apply for are asking AAA. Their grades are higher than AAA points but I understand UK unis can take a hard line on grades (rather than points). Just trying to do a bit of digging for my dc to see if it's worth applying or whether it would be a wasted application for that course. Anyone else experience something similar with their dc and have advice? Thanks so much in advance!

I think all unis have their own standard so try lots of others that do his course choice

He shouldn’t be looking at all choices at AAA.l at very competitive universities. The really competitive ones might not offer. So why risk the same again for all choices? He needs to factor in an insurance choice or two that he is definitely qualified for surely? Otherwise it could be deja vu.

Some will, some won't. She could ask the admissions tutor before applying. You can also look up what each uni/course actually accepted last year. A good ps with plans for relevant work experience or study may sway a decision.

As a former admission tutor, I advise contacting the admissions team. This kind of thing is what we’re here for!

It is best if your DC makes contact themselves. Email is usually preferred. DC should think of this as a small opportunity to show themselves to advantage in writing a concise (but reasonably thorough) polite query. If writing to the choice they would def Firm, it wouldn’t hurt to say that. Are they willing to resit the B? If so they could ask whether that is allowed. I see no disadvantage to this if they are also expressing a willingness to Firm asap, which is good for the uni.

I personally probably prefer your DC’s profile but I can’t say everyone does. Good luck

@poetryandwine gives excellent advice: your DC needs to approach the places she's interested in (former Admissions tutor here).

It will be a Departmental decision, and not one we can answer here with no information about discipline, A Level subjects etc. There's no UK-wide answer across all degree programmes.

Is there a story to tell about the B? In my discipline, if the A/ A stars were in the area of the degree sought, and the B was in something quite different (eg the As in HASS, the B in STEM) we would probably offer. But STEM disciplines sometimes have a different way of looking at applications, and in my university we still interview.

Oh, and to add: some universities/departments will look more favourably on an applicant who has grades in hand, even if the grades don't exactly match the template for their offers. Departments then know they have a confirmed choice - in the dark arts of estimation & judgement involved in the Admissions TUtor's work, certainty is often valued!

So your DC may have an advantage by applying with grades in hand.

It’s always nice to be on the same page as@BirdinaHedge . I am in STEM and if the B was an outlier that would also help in our disciplines. Agree with her that those early Firms are like gold dust, and your DC should (ethically) use this to advantage.

Hi everyone,
thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for your excellent advice. I realise there's so straight answer but it's great to hear from admissions tutors making the suggestion to contact the universities directly. It's definitely worth doing that, and possibly take a risk on one of the five at AAA (rather than all of them!...) - also, maybe a split Oct/Jan application with the riskier choice on the first application stage. The subjects are arts/humanities rather then STEM and unfortunately the B is in their best subject and the one they want to study - two grades under expected so doesn't bode so well :) They're not put off wanting to pursue the subject though which is a good sign in my book and their teacher is being hugely supportive which is lovely of them . Thanks again for your help all!

I don’t see the advantage of waiting when you have the grades in hand. Nothing will change. Often DC won’t get immediate responses anyway. I think two aiming higher choices out of 5 is fine. Just apply for what is wanted and sit back. Some Unis take until end of March anyway or even later! Just make a decision and go for it after speaking to admissions.

The subjects are arts/humanities rather then STEM and unfortunately the B is in their best subject and the one they want to study - two grades under expected

Hmmm, that is more difficult. A resit might help?

Or a Combined degree with one of the other subjects? In my discipline, we tend to have a higher tariff for the single Hons programme.

Being honest, the B subject is not the best subject. It’s maybe not worth looking at universities with competitive entry who state they want an A in the specific subject. Lots will for history, for example. So maybe he needs to look sideways. Support by the teacher doesn’t mean that much if the university fills up on students with an A grade.

I am in STEM but agree with @BirdinaHedge and @TizerorFizz that the subject matter of the B is a potential problem. Still, the strategy of simultaneously expressing a willingness to resit and a willingness to Firm seems sound - and I am open to differing opinions on this point. However the resit requirement has become much more likely.

If there is an interesting story behind the B, sharing it would be okay. But your DC should be brutally honest with themselves on this point. Excuses will be self-sabotaging.

@LIZS where is this info found please?

All the Unis I applied for had AAA on them, I was an Access student and was strongly advised by college staff not to bother applying because Unis like that don’t take Access students

Fortunately for me I was 31, not 21, ignored them and applied anyway; 4/5 offered me a place and I did really well at my chosen Uni.

Always worth a punt IMO.

Try discoveruni

I love your story, @HardLanding . May I ask what your subject is or was?

@poetryandwine Microbiology. Even when I got my offers, the same person told me I’d never get those grades. I did.

The one Uni that didn’t give me an offer said “Due to the caliber of our A Level students, we don’t accept applications from Access students”. So much for widening participation! I didn’t want to go there anyway, it’s the other end of the country, but I’d applied for the only 4 Unis in my area and decided my 5th would be a wildcard application.

3 offers from RG Unis and 1 from a Top 20. She didn’t like that at all. She also didn’t want to let me on the course at all, as it has a 60% drop out rate as it’s “so hard” and I was a lone parent to two primary aged children and a baby. I gave her more Paddington Bear stares that year than I’ve ever given anyone.

iswym, but it is their best subject...2 years of A stars against 2 days in an exam hall (well, 1 afternoon/paper). To clarify.. teacher support is in their ability in that subject and strong encouragement to continue with it despite disappointing grade. I fully support this and would not want any young person to feel defined by an A level exam result (1 afternoon in an exam hall...). This is the intrinsic problem with A levels as we know. I agree though given competition for places they will need to be open minded/explore a diversity of unis/ courses on offer - could turn out for the best in the end :)

@HardLanding what a great story - thanks for sharing!

@HardLanding I too love your story. DCs who encounter obstacles should take heart.

@ideasinindigo

I feel your pain. DD had a similar issue and lost a place at Oxford as a result. However whatever the teacher thinks, I honestly would look at the A subjects. Their support is making it more difficult to access a top university. The A subjects or a joint honours might be better?

My DD went to her insurance choice and didn’t look back. I would encourage a rethink regarding the other subjects.

Ignore the bold! No idea what happened there!

The bold is caused by using * to denote A stars.

Obviously, things have moved on a little - and again, the actual subject to be studied is key - but DC and their friends found that universities were often willing to be flexible where they’d dropped a grade, but that was not in the subject they were intending to study.

Depends what the b is in ... if it's a maths heavy course (eg engineering) and the b is in maths it's unlikely whereas if they have 2 a* in maths and physics but a b in French they are more likely to ignore

My dd got a B in her uni subject, got into a a RG uni and a first in a humanities subject and is now doing a masters. I'd say with those grades anywhere but Oxbridge they'd have a great chance.

@gogohmm
Its a humanities course. B in the subject to be studied!

@WaggledMyAerialAndWolfedMyCustardCreams Thanks for your advice.

@RedHelenB
Ir would be almost unheard of for say, Durham, to accept a student to read History with a B in History. Likewise Bristol and others. Unless contextual offer. They don’t need to. So subject matters. University matters. Not all subjects snd RG are the same. If they don’t fill courses, then of course they drop requirements to get the bums on seats. RG or not.