How many insurance choices?

[Dixiechickonhols]

DD in yr 12 predicted A* x3.
Shes been consistently working at this level and achieved AAand A/A* in her mocks so the predictions do seem realistic but I’m very aware that nothing is guaranteed.
Course she’s looking at is A*AA for most top unis. One she likes is AAA so was planning on using that as an insurance backup.
Is that enough or is it advisable to put one with lower offer.

Which course is she hoping to do and what are her current choices?

Who can say? It might be an idea to look at one offering AAB or ABB maybe? She can only hold one firm and one insurance anyway tho. But if there is a course she likes offering ABB as much as an AAA one then she might want to hold that one instead?

DD had PG of AAA/AAB, offers of AAB and ABB, got a lot lower and had to go through clearing anyway. It ended well tho.

Law. Looking at Oxford, Durham, Kings, Queens Belfast so far.

It’s same course wherever she goes it’s just as you drop down rankings grades drop.
It’s her choice. It’s just I’ve been suggesting she looks at some open days with lower expectations and she’s not keen and I’m not sure how far to push.
I was in uni/poly era so held offers from ABB down to I think DDD.

Hi, OP —-

Speaking as a former admissions tutor, I think that unless your DD has an exam panic, even on a bad day she is quite likely to get AAA.

The real question is whether the universities advertising AAA really mean it. Law is very popular (as I am sure you know). Even if the published offer at, say, Kings, is AAA, this could be a minimum. They might (and I am in STEM so I know nothing about admissions strategies in Law) prioritise applicants with higher PGs and make offers based on those.

For this reason I would apply to an AAA School and an AAB School, then see what the offers are. I think the latter should be fine.

OP - It's interesting that your DD is considering QUB.

If you're not from NI, one thing to be aware of is that it can be very quiet at the weekends, as the majority of students, who are NI natives, tend to travel home most weekends.

Not from NI. She really loved it at open day. We have heard mixed reviews re home thing. She was looking at the Elms accommodation and that seemed a very sociable set up. It’s definitely on the list anyway.

Thank you. Just had another conversation with her and possibly may look at Lancaster think that’s AAB.

It keeps auto correcting to wrong info sorry! Mocks yr 12 were A star, A star and A star/A.

OP My DC got very similar mock results ( 3 A*'s ) and wants to apply to Oxford for history 3 unis ranging from 3 A offers to ABB and a former poly that offers at course at 3 B's just in case!

I would think it fairly unlikely they drop 2 grades from year 12 level. Although obviously a bad day can happen.

So I'm trying to convince DS that he doesn't need to go lower than ABB, as I think clearing will do the job if there is a complete disaster.

Thank you.
Yes clearing or a year out to regroup and reapply is probably what she would do.
My nature is to cover all bases but we have done several open days and I’m just thinking is it really worth trekking to more when they are realistically not on her likely to attend.

hi OP

One thing to consider is the likelihood of an offer at each place. Law, especially at London universities, can be very oversubscribed such that people with great applications don't receive offers. Had the same person applied for history/ MFL etc they would have had the offer.

So long as she is happy with a year out thats fine - nothing wrong with applying to the most competitive places and some benefits to doing so.

Is she looking into LSAT?

I agree with @jayritchie - friends of DCs this year have not got law offers despite wonderful PGs, GCSEs etc at some univ on your DD’s list as they are very popular indeed; i think it is a shock to some DCs/parents when offers don’t arrive even when PGs etc clearly meet or exceed standard offers but alas it is a numbers issue at some places

Yes I’m very conscious she’s going for a competitive course at competitive Universities. All except one on her list need LNAT. Her EPQ was law related and she has a good range of extra curriculars but then I keep reading they pay little attention to those!

Yes that’s why I was wondering if she should have an easier/lower grade option too but then if her heart isn’t in that one then probably better to take year out and reassess.

Why not just apply for 4 to start with and see what happens. If by 6 offers haven't come through, she can add a 5th, lower choice then in time for application deadline

Thank you, that’s definitely something to think about I didn’t realise that was a possibility.

Is the Northern Ireland degree a qualifying law degree for England and Wales? The law we practice in England and Wales is different to the laws in other parts of the UK

Reality is that if she gets lower than three As then she’s unlikely ever to get a training contract anyway (assuming she wants to practise law).

That should have said "If by mid December."

And yes, you don't have to submit all 5 applications at once

Yes it’s a qualifying law degree.

Not sure if she wants to go on and qualify yet.

Thanks. That’s very helpful.

Ds was predicted 4 x A star, applied to 2 unis with 2 A stars and one A, 2 unis with A star AA and 1 uni with AAA. Got offers from 4 of them. His first choice was Durham with A star AA. He did achieve 4 A stars, 2 of them being maths so not subjective like English etc and therefore less likely to be affected by grade fluctuations on the opinion of the examiner.

From Freedom of Information requests available online we knew that Durham only took a very small number on A star AA because the course and uni is oversubscribed so they can pick the top performing A star students.

I think around half of students who go on to practise law do a conversion so study a different subject at uni then change to law. I am sure @xenia posted on this recently and said that if you do law then wherever you apply to afterwards want your grades for every module you sit right from the start of uni.

she has a good range of extra curriculars but then I keep reading they pay little attention to those they don't care about the job but they do care about the skills she has from them. They care more about supercurriculars that demonstrate her love of her subject that she intends to study. There should be lots of personal statements for law online, have a look at those to see what other applicants have said.