Clearing questions

[rheafern]

I wonder if anyone who knows about how clearing works could help me. DD changed her mind a few times about course choices. Initially wanted to do Modern Languages, then Law and finally had a last-minute change of heart and applied for Economics and Politics. Her choice of A-Levels however was probably more competitive for her initial choice (English, Maths and French). Predicted grades A, A and A. She did German at Year 12 and got a A*. She applied for Warwick, Bristol (with year abroad), Edinburgh, LSE and Leeds. Got 4 rejections and finally one offer from Leeds, requiring 3 As. The problem is Maths. She said she did well on the first exam, but had a meltdown on the second, missing easy questions and all that and again did well on the last of the 3 Maths papers. So I think, with some luck, she might expect a B, meaning she might end up having to fight for a place through clearing. I wasn't really on top of things and hadn't realised how competitive Economics was. I'm now wondering whether she will get any place at all which is quite sad as she has always been really hard-working. Sorry for the long introduction, I just wanted to give a full picture.

And here are my questions:

.Do universities look at subjects when offering places through clearing, so is it a more qualitative assessment or does it tend to be more straightforward? I'm asking this because she could maybe use her A* in German to have a good a mix of 3 subjects with high grades.

Could she claim her Leeds offer regardless of her Maths results? She presented the 4 grades in her application (so including A* in German) and was offered a place with no reference to what subject she should get the 3 As. So could she present the results from English, French and German?

She's not considering a U-Turn, as she developed a big interest in Economics, but would it still be possible to get a place through clearing in Modern Languages even though her personal statement was very much focused on Economics? Would universities like Oxford and Cambridge offer places for Modern Languages though clearing? It wouldn't be crazy as she also loves languages and wanted to study French and Arabic at some point.

Thanks very much!

Hi OP. So firstly, what is her Leeds offer and does it specify which subject she needs which grade in? Their website suggests no requirement for maths, so if they offered her a pace with AAA and she achieves that, then she should get the place confirmed on results day.

Yes, she could certainly get a clearing place for MFL. The PS is irrelevant in clearing as far as I know. My DD got her uni place through clearing and unis just wanted to know her A level grades and her GCSE grades in maths and Eng lang. The subjects of A levels will be relevant tho - students will still need Eng lit A level for an Eng lit degree. If your DD is hoping for a economics place in clearing I suspect that is unlikely, or at least it is unlikely to be at anywhere better than her Leeds offer (assuming she is keen on Leeds). I know a fair few people with good PG who failed to get offers for econ and her choices were all competitive unis.

Clearing is a bit of a circus and you need to be focused. A lot of unis will flag earlier than results day what clearing places they expect to have - and there is not usually a lot of time to spare. DD had to accept her place by the end of the next day.

In recent years clearing has been a bit different bc of TAGs and more students achieving offers; in ds2's year (2021) a lot of unis had no clearing at all (when they normally would). However I think by this summer that will have eased and it should be back to more or less normal.

I would be very surprised if Oxford or Cambridge had any need, ever, to use clearing tbh.

Oxford and Cambridge don't participate in Clearing, so that won't be an option.

However, because her Leeds offer doesn't specify an A in Maths, she should be accepted with her A star in German and any two other A grades.

sorry I see you answered my first question about the Leeds offer! I assume she is a native speaker of German if she gained A* in year 12? Not sure if that would count against her tbh but I can't see why or indeed how.

And sorry for mixing usernames. Posted from a device that had an old login/username. Same OP.

If she’s already got A* in German at A level then gets AAB for example in her other subjects I’m pretty sure Leeds will accept her. Can’t think why they wouldn’t if it’s a full A level. She’s achieved 4 A levels over the requisite 2 years! And will have the required 3xAs. She could call Leeds admissions now to help put her mind at rest. Admissions people seem incredibly helpful.
Re oxbridge & clearing. A friend’s DD received a letter from Cambridge after interview saying to contact them if she gets her grades as there maybe space (or words to that effect). So yes a waitlist of sorts.

Re. Oxbridge - exactly that! If there are any spaces left, they already have pre-selected a 'pool' of students to choose from who have gone through the interview process but narrowly missed out on getting an offer. But this process is unique to Oxbridge

For other top-ranking universities MFL is often one of the easier ways (grades wise) to get in, and they often have places in clearing. Warwick, Exeter, Manchester and Leeds are all still showing as available in UCAS Extra

Unfortunately learning languages at university isn't very popular anymore :(

Your DD could call Leeds now (well probably not at 1am, but before results day!) and check that they will accept the A* + 2As (not an A in Maths). I agree with @clary and @Skule that I can’t see why they wouldn’t, unless Maths at an A is explicitly stated in the offer.

Oxford and Cambridge both make many more offers than they have places.

Thank you, @NotDonna and @cherryassam I will suggest she gets in touch with Leeds to be sure this could work. She loved their course so fingers crossed. Thank you all for the advice!

She’s hopefully done much better than she thinks but it’s best to check 🤞🏼🤞🏼for her!

I can't see why they wouldn't count the German grade. Effectively she has one in the bag already. Wouldn't be worrying too much about maths if they didn't specify it (except inasmuch as it's really useful to have for economics).