Exeter admissions

[breeze77]

Hi all, we went along to the Exeter open day yesterday and absolutely loved it! It’s jumped straight to the top of the list. However we are a bit confused about how offers are made in a competitive uni like this.
The expected grades listed on the website for DDs subject are AAB. If she has this or higher in predictive grades, will she get an offer? They didn’t seem too bothered about anything other than grades in the admissions talk we went to. They talked about how they teir the applications into grade groups (3 a stars followed by 2 a stars and an a, etc). Am I correct in thinking that they then work down this list until all their places have been offered? So predicted grades of AAB might not be enough if there are lots of applicants with A stars?
We should have gone to speak to them about how it works but the day was so full that we completely ran out of time.
Thank you!

You are broadly correct. Ds has insured Exeter (firmed Lancaster).

They are likely to offer if your predictions meet or exceed the grades. If they don’t then you might be rejected but it’s a numbers game so it depends on other applications. Exeter offered very quickly for ds (within a fortnight) but his predicted grades were a star a star A plus an A in EPQ and the course needed AAA with a reduction to AAB with an A in EPQ.

A star A star A star is tier 1, A star Astar A is tier 2, AAA is tier 3 etc. they broadly know they’ll have space for the tier 1 and tier 2 and tier 3 applicants if they’ve put the grade requirements at AAA (of course they know their offer conversion rates).

if your predictions are lower you are likely to wait a lot longer for your offer since they need to know how many applicants they’re going to get with the higher grades.

exeter is lovely. It was DSs top choice until he really started analysing the course and the flexibility with modules which is when Lancaster switched to top spot. I’m still half hoping he ends up in Exeter in the sunshine!

She still needs a good personal statement though showing passion for her subject

@Era thats really interesting. So, at the moment through yr12 DD had been predicted 4A grades. We don’t know how the AS levels went yet and I don’t think they do stars in yr 12. If her predicted grades stay up at As on a course wanting AAB, she should hopefully get an offer? If that the way it works?

We are planning to look at Lancaster next. It’s on our very short list of 4 unis. It also looks fantastic. But not as good for the access to the water which is high on DDs wish list.

If she has four As predicted in her UCas application and they want AAB then unless her personal statement isn’t focussed she is pretty likely to get an offer. Exeter doesn’t tend to get massively over subscribed for its courses, partly because it’s so far for lots of people.

lancaster is amazing. It’s extremely social (due to the fact that every college has a bar). DS loves the collegiate system and the fact that you don’t have to choose your subject until then end of the first year (you do three in part 1). It’s also about the same distance to the sea as Exeter (probably a bit closer). You can see the sea from some parts of campus and some students choose to live in Morecambe in years 2 and 3.

Eden project also being built at Morecambe so lots of new investment.

I know several candidates who's predicted grades exceeded the published grades for courses and didn't get offers (one was Loughborough, can't remember the others), one was offered a place in a related course (which did not interest him). Popularity of the course, quality of other candidates, whatever. I've been told to think of the grades listed as a minimum with no guarantees. Of course there are also cases of unis accepting grades lower too, but unlikely for a popular course.

I know someone with excellent GCSEs and predicted 4 x Astar who didn't get into Warwick for law this year! The student is at a top performing private school which must have gone against them.

Of course but Exeter is a bit different. It sits below Loughborough and Warwick on the league tables and it’s miles from anywhere (particularly if the course is at the Cornwall campus). It isn’t nearly as competitive as Warwick (or Loughborough for anything vaguely linked to sport). Unless is medicine which is obviously a whole different ball game. Both Warwick and Loughborough are top ten (or just outside in some rankings)

exeter generally sits in the top twenty but outside of the top 15. Anything in the top ten you could find you get unexpectedly rejected.

My friends DS has a Cambridge offer but got rejected from Newcastle which is the lowest ranking RG university and sits right down in the late 20s (medicine though which is quirky)

Exeter miles from anywhere…?🤣🤣🤣

Thank you all! I think I understand it all a bit better now. It’s a minefield trying to understand all the quirks of the system.

Badly phrased. What I meant is that like other places at the extreme ends of the country, it’s a long way to travel for many applicants.

warwick is slap bang in the middle, Exeter, Aberdeen etc will have fewer applicants from further afield. Even for us in the midlands it takes 4 hours (6 on a Friday..)

Distance doesn’t matter for many (I’m hoping ds doesn’t come home too often and miss out on stuff going on at uni) but lots of kids want to come home a few times a term.

DS found Exeter's clear explanation of their tiering system useful - he was predicted AAA, for a course with typical offer of AAA, so knew it was going to be a while before he heard.

In the end Exeter emailed early February to say they should hear back by March 21st and he did, exactly on that date.

What course is your DC applying for @breeze77 ?

It's worth looking at www.theuniguide.co.uk/ IMO - it tells you both typical grades of people on the course, so you can see whether they are above/below the typical offer; and also the percentage of international vs UK students - very important if you're applying to a popular course for international applicants in popular locations.

As DS learnt to his cost, applying to A&F in both Durham and Edinburgh was a mistake due to this.

My DD was rejected by Exeter last year with predictions of A star, A A plus A in EPQ for a course requiring AAA and allowing a grade drop for an A at EPQ. Ironically if she had been predicted what she actually achieved she would have been in Tier 1 and likely to have received an offer. (Luckily she got an offer from her preferred uni and is very happy there).

@lastdayatschool she is looking at English Lit & MFL joint honours. Thanks for the link, I will have a look.

@GoldenRuby oh no! So glad it all worked out ok in the end. So that means that they filled their course numbers already with Tier 1 predicted grade students?

@breeze77 they must have filled the course up with Tier One and Tier 2. Possibly some Tier 3 if they consider other Tier 3 applications to be stronger than my DDs. Her school considered Exeter to be a 'banker' for her as well. She was rejected from 2 other higher ranked Unis, but is at one that is higher ranked than all of these in most league tables (not Oxbridge) - it is so competitive out there in high birth rate years.

Or, it could have been one of the "money-spinner" courses such as Economics, Computer Science or A&F; where they highly favour international applicants, and all logic for UK applicants with good predictions or achieved grades goes out of the window

@lastdayatschool - No, it was a social science based combined course.

Following because my DS wants to do MFL at Exeter. The AAB required will be a stretch though! He’s likely to be predicted AAB or ABB so will be in tranche 5 or 6 #nothopeful

@MFLmother i wonder what teir they go down to generally with their admissions.

Hi @breeze77 with A - star AA she should be a shoe in for an AAB course tbh, esp one like MFL (less popular).

Trying for economics at LSE with (say) AAA if that’s the offer suggested might be trickier; econ is having a moment and you might well need three Astars there, asa friends ds found.

She might want to bear in mind that if her MFL course includes a year abroad, everyone she knows in English will have graduated when she comes bavk. I took MFL plus hiumanties subject and this was an issue in my final year :(

Sorry, not suggesting she is trying for economics at LSE! Just giving an example of unis wanting more.

clary is right about some people in English etc moving on, but the flipside is that the MFL finalists tend to get much closer and look out for each other in year 4. And there are often people staying on for MAs.
Exeter MFL is excellent - v nurturing and some really new and different courses in the last few years.

Your DS should def apply, MFLmother. He stands a strong chance with predicted grades.