Is there an applying for 2023 thread which isn’t early entry

[KittyMcKitty]

I can see there’s the Oxbridge one but dd isn’t an early entry applicant.

anyway she’s finally submitted her UCAS I know school have added the reference so imagine it’ll be off in a day or so 🤞🏻

Shes applying for sociology and has applied to:
Durham
York
Lancaster
Sheffield
Birmingham

her predicted grades comfortably exceed all the standard offers so I hope she gets some offers (and please please please let Durham offer!!).

anyone else waiting?

In fact DC tells me they call it an aspirational now rather than a stretch

That's really interesting - I had no idea that unis might consider a student applying with less than the required predicted grades.
The info we've been given is slim to say the least ☹️

Yes, "aspirational" is what's used on Unifrog when setting out the three groups of options.

But UCL say that they won't consider applications with predicted grades under what's stated - so do UK schools tell students not to put UCL as an aspirational?

Some schools seem to be really well informed about the process others less so.
Our school are being pretty good with DD2 but we’re seriously lacking a few years ago with DD1. She applied to two aspirational choices at A*AA with predicted AAA for example - one offered at their standard grades Astar AA (so wasn’t lowered and remained aspirational if she got above predicted AAA grades) and the other rejected immediately. DD2 isn’t applying anywhere aspirational as it’s too much pressure to then get the aspirational grades. There’s no reason why they’d offer her lower. Does that make sense?

Yes - I suppose there is time to see if your grades are likely to improve but getting an offer above what you are likely to get doesn’t actually get you very far. DS is going for 4 at his predicted grades and one slightly below in the end I think. Not much range but hopefully he will have some choice of offers without having to take too much risk.

@UCASstress from visiting UCL in the summer they made it clear that the minimum grades they consider is what's advertised on their course requirements for the subject and most of their student exceed these grades substantially so anything lower would be a wasted choice on the UCAS form and the lecturer stressed not to bother in his talk.

Remember there is another aspect to aspirational. There is it being a stretch to get the grades (either above predicted or just that the predicted are punchy) and there is aspirational because getting an offer is competitive, even among the group of candidates that do have the right predictions. This is more of an issue in the last few years that it perhaps used to be - putting down, say, Oxford, Durham, St A, UCL, Edinburgh for a decent candidate used to be a fairly sure way of getting 3, probably 4 offers, but not so much anymore.

Also, there has been an increase in offers beinf made which are higher than the advertised tarrifs.

@Revengeofthepangolins Ive heard this too but don’t know anyone in our social circle over past few years who’ve had this. Is it with particular universities? Fingers crossed not the ones DD is applying to.
What I have seen is say a standard offer of A*AA but a candidate’s offer when it comes in states that the A star must be maths, for example.

@Revengeofthepangolins Ive not come across this at all either in my DD’s year (current year 13) or my ds (2 years older). All offers have been at the standard publicised grades.

I do know of people being rejected from courses where their predicted grades exceeded the entry requirements but equally I know many people predicted AAA who received offers from 5 unis all asking for AAA.

I’ve never been a fan of aspirational applications- I think the chances (assuming applicant is non contextual) of being given an offer lower then the standard offer when your predicted don’t meet standard offer are slim to non in a competitive Uni - I don’t know anyone who has had this. I know people who have been given the standard offer which is above predicted eg predicted ABC offered AAA. Bearing in mind schools predicted optimistically students really need to be realistic about what they achieve. Our school in last summers A levels achieved pretty much the same as what they predicted.

I know of someone who already has offers from Manchester and Liverpool at their published grades (higher than his predicted). It depends on the university. Clearly some like st Andrews, LSE etc will be a waste of a choice since they’re so ultra competitive but plenty of others won’t be. If the child is confident they can get the grades with hard work then it’s worth doing in some situations.

Clearly there are others like Oxford who go the other way and say they only want 3 As when actually practically all their offers go to those predicted A stars.

I do think people need to be realistic however - my ds is at Manchester (too a levels summer before last) and the day before results came out they (and a number of other unis) issued statements that there was nothing in clearing and that they would not be taking anyone who didn’t meet their offer. Last year they only had I think 2 health courses in clearing. Being given an offer is only meaningful if you can achieve the grades.

Yes @user73 thats what kitty and I are saying. Other than contextual (EPQ perhaps too) it’s unlikely to be offered grades lower than published standard offer. Some also lower if firmed but that’s slightly different & an alternative offer.
what I’m really interested to know is the universities that offer above their standard as revenge has highlighted. Oxbridge may publish AAA and get 3 x A students but the offers would still be AAA. What revenge* has highlighted is something quite different. I understood her to mean standard offer is AAB but student is sent an offer of AAA. That’s a bit of a curve ball.

Arrgh the star formatting has made that a nonsense!

Oxbridge may publish AAA and get 3 x A star students but the offers would still be AAA. What revenge has highlighted is something quite different. I understood her to mean standard offer is AAB but a student is sent an offer of AAA. That’s a bit of a curve ball.

Interestingly I’ve noticed quite a few unconditional offers apparently being made again. There are reports of them on the student forum. They seem to be where the student is predicted much higher than the asking eg required ABB and student is predicted 4x A star

Although don’t some universities take some offer holders who haven’t quite met the grades but not go into clearing? So you only have a chance if you are holding an offer there? Only if they are not full with those that have met the offer of course.

I think there’s always been those sort of unconditional offers - a few of my ds’s friends had them if they firmed. My dd has been given a reduced offer if firms (but her predicted are a lot higher then standard offer).

My dcs school has said that practice has all but disappeared. Universities are very sophisticated with their predictions now and good places are very much in demand. They might end up with spaces on the course but if they go into clearing it’s at their standard grade requirement. They rarely let people on without the grades who were holding an offer but missed. Apparently it’s a noticeable shift in practice over the past few years.

It definitely is happening eg a UCL course showing Astar AA tarrif being offered at two A stars and similar. I don’t think it is widespread, but it definitely did happen last year. Cambridge has always done it, but their tarrifs are shown as indicative, so not a surprise. But I hadn’t heard of it happening elsewhere before.

Birmingham seems to be one which offers a lot of lower offers if you firm them. A friend's child was offered CCC if they firmed Birmingham although their standard offer was AAA for that particular course. (They were predicted 3 X A * ).

It's interesting reading about predicted grades and uni offers. One teacher I know very well says that getting predicted grades correct is very important as universities know which schools over- or under-predict and it does the students a disservice. I don't know if that's true.

Interesting to see the UCL advice as DS was considering applying as a punt. He has the predicted contextual grades but they specify an A* in a particular subject, which he doesn't have and isn't motivated to try for so I'm advising him to switch UCL for another option.

At parents evening last week we were told he was on track for a B in one subject yet they predicted him an A* for UCAS. I queried this as seems mad to be so far off reality but they said it was an algorithm based on GCSE performance. Hardly helpful though as he's basing his choices on the predicted grades. I think it's a teacher issue rather than a school issue though as school usually very sensible.

DS has reduced offer at Newcastle if he makes it his firm option.

Dd got an offer from Birmingham today - their standard grades - nice to have but she prefers the other offers she has. Also v exciting as one of her friends has an interview for medicine so great they are starting to come through too!

DS has 2 offers in now. Liverpool - standard and Lancaster - 1 grade lower than standard if he puts as firm, which he won't. Lancaster is his insurance choice and Liverpool second choice so a great start. Keeping fingers crossed for Birmingham though.