Daughters application rejected...

[halfbakedkate]

My daughter is devastated that her first choice university has not offered her a place. She got a fairly generic response about being unsuccessful due to a huge number of applicants.

She is predicted above the course requirements and has worked so hard - it's half term and she's in her room studying now. She had her heart set on this course and university. She feels at a loss at to what else she could have done.

I just wondered if there is any advice - is it a lost cause? I thought about calling the university tomorrow and see if there is any wriggle room.

I'm an Humanities (former) Admissions Tutor - and I agree with @poetryandwine - it may be that Psychology is not regarded as 'science' for the purposes of the specific programme she wanted to do. My best friend for 40 years is a Prof in Behavioural Psychology, and does a LOT of maths & stats everyday as part of his teaching and research. His students call his 1st year "Rats & Stats." Mathematics might have been a better choice.

If it was uni of Leeds unfortunately it will likely be the lack of Biology or Maths. But your DD's predicted grades in the subjects she is taking couldn't be better especially if she has had difficulties to overcome. You sound like a great Mum by the way.

I was rejected for my 'heart set' on course at uni. It was so upsetting.

But I went somewhere else, got a first, met my partner of 10 years, made close close friends and even did an MA at my second choice.

I'll never regret not getting in. My life would look so different if I had.

I help with UCAS in a school. One of my group of students is in an incredibly similar position; 4 offers for Psychology (with Psychology A-level as the only science) and then rejected by the fifth. So, OP, your DD is by no means alone!

As a UCAS referee we frequently see 'odd' things. Another of my current bunch has an offer (for something different) from Oxbridge but was rejected by a couple of other choices. Good luck to your DD, I'm sure she'll find a niche somewhere!

@Aurea
Leeds use the PS as part of the selection process. Bristol uses it as a tie break between similar borderline applicants. So it does matter but not necessarily everywhere. Bristol weight A levels at 80% and GCSEs at 20%. Some universities might not weight GCSEs. Some ask for at least one science and give a list of suitable sciences. Those with two sciences might well be scored more highly than those with one. Bristol say they look at all data on the UCAS application, with the caveat about the PS. Others might just look at A levels and predictions. It’s always best to nail the preferred subjects at most of the universities you apply to with one to spare! You would be very unlucky not to be considered with maths, biology and psychology.

Yes DS has a friend who has an offer from Oxford for her subject but was rejected by Durham.

Thank you everyone, I really really appreciate your collective wisdom and the time you have taken to offer it. It seems like she is not alone in a very complex system!

She has said this evening that she is going to go and have a look at the uni which was her second preference next week again. She definitely does not want to take a gap year or do anymore A levels. But wants to focus on getting her results and adapting to a change of plan. She is a lot less upset than she was last night, so hopefully this is a situation where it will all work out for the best in the end.

But thank you, I have really valued the advice I have received.

@IDontWantToBeAPie what a lovely story, a bit of a sliding doors situation!

@keepcalm11 thank you, that's really kind.

Ah OP am a bit late to this but I agree with everyone else, it is most likely the lack of maths or perhaps biology.

These last couple of years have been tricky. DS2 took A levels in 2021 and A LOT of more popular unis found themselves flooded with candidates who had made the grade and whose offered had to be honoured – so for sure some drew in their horns the following year. Plenty of anecdata on that.

If you do call and ask why she was rejected, as others suggest, stress to her that this call will not result in a place. Yes she could reapply but if it were my DD, I would want to do what you are doing, focus on the unis for which she has offers.

Small anecdote – my DD was very keen on Eng lit at Warwick and was buzzing after her offer day there – but then for various reasons her grades were not what was needed. She ended up somewhere else altogether through clearing. Subsequently she was happy to tell me that she suspected that Warwick would have been a pressured nightmare for her; where she went the atmosphere was much more relaxed, people much more laid back, which allowed her to achieve her best and feel valued. In the end she came out with a First and we are all so happy. I am sure your DD will look back in a year’s time and be happy with the outcome. Hope her second choice comes up trumps on a second look.

She has said this evening that she is going to go and have a look at the uni which was her second preference next week again. She definitely does not want to take a gap year or do anymore A levels. But wants to focus on getting her results and adapting to a change of plan. She is a lot less upset than she was last night, so hopefully this is a situation where it will all work out for the best in the end

Excellent update. I hope she really likes her second choice and does well (and enjoys herself) wherever she ends up.

Plenty of anecdata on that.

Not just 'anec'data (esp. wrt Russell Group UK applicants, slthough fascinating that LSE of all places took more than previously)...

www.palatinate.org.uk/durham-university-sees-one-of-the-highest-reduction-of-number-of-freshers-across-russell-group/

@MarchingFrogs
As LSE has a large international student body, one imagines fewer of these Dc deferred. So they can be more flexible now? Plenty of others had too many qualified students. So there’s a limit now being imposed perhaps? However the lack of maths or biology is probably the reason.

I fear we are going to be in exactly the same situation so I really feel for you and your DD.

DS wants a specific course at a specific Uni and in his eyes nothing is even coming close to it. He does have the appropriate A levels but they want A star A A and on the UCAS form he has been predicted 3 A’s (one has now gone up to an A star though) but clearly UCAS won’t know that. He has decent GCSE results, mostly 7’s but nothing outstanding. His PS was amazing to the point I even questioned whether he wrote it(he did!) but I fear he is going to be very very disappointed.

I just wish they could actually meet him and see his drive and determination before making a decision.
He has 3 other offers but desperately wants this one.
Apologies for waffling on, I just really feel for you both.

Which uni is it OP? I know someone who has been accepted at all the RG unis she applied to for psychology without maths or additional sciences. I was told she was targeting psychology degrees where she could choose modules that would suit her strengths -although still wonder if she understands the difference between A level Psychology and a psychology degree.

It might not just be the lack of A level biology or maths, but they could have looked at her GCSE maths and science grades. Some ask for a 7 in maths GCSE.

It's good she has 4 other offers. I would guess psychology is one of those courses that doesn't differ greatly between unis, plus creates a close knit department. If she's passionate about the subject, she should end up loving her 2nd choice.

24,000 undergrads study Psychology each year. I suspect a tight knit department isn’t available. The Nuffield Trust gives a lot of info about the destination of grads and career prospects. As in most subjects, university could well matter. There are such limited options for progression to qualify, it is extremely competitive.

Yes, I am sure university does matter, depending on what you hope to do afterwards. Although clinical psychology, if that is even what the OP's dd is aiming for, doesn't appear to draw from such a narrow range of universities as other competitive careers.

Any degree which includes lab work and group work allows its students to become close knit. That was what I was referring to.

I am not a psychologist or a psychology graduate but a decade ago I worked closely with an academic psychologist on postgrad applications for a very competitive Psychology MSc. She told me to pay no attention to the prestige of the undergrad university at all in shortlisting for interview. This had a lot to do with the fact that we did panel interviews for all shortlisted applicants so any shortcomings in their base knowledge, especially of research methods and stats, would come out then (and did - not limited to students from less prestigious places). We also required some relevant work experience, which they had to talk about in detail, and the reference from that was looked at very closely.

Her justification, though, was that we only looked at people with Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, which meant having an undergrad degree in single or joint honours in Psychology which the British Psychological Society had accredited for its content, research culture and so on. We were accredited too, and it was a tough process to get through.

In theory, therefore, any university with BPS accreditation should be OK. Not sure if everybody is as accepting in practice as my colleague.

I guess the question is are all courses at all universities accredited? Do some have suitable work experience as part of the course? Would you really think a Bath grad wasn’t likely to be better than a grad from the university ranked 117th for Psychology in the UK? I bet they achieved more to get in.