When will Universities get A Level results this year?

[purplepatricia]

I'm sorry, I know this question is asked every year.. will it be Thursday 10th?

Thank you

Thanks @JoanThursday . That makes sense and is reassuring so hopefully a similar approach is taken elsewhere.

This is all so useful.

When you phone a Uni to try to get a clearing place what info do they need other that Ucas number, A level and GCSE subject/grades/boards, Degree course and code?
Do applicants have a mini interview and say why they want to go that uni and that course?

Yes, UCAS number, A level results, course name and UCAS course code are the essentials.

UCAS course code is frequently missed! We have 8 variants of a particular subject in our department so the ucas code is essential.

Gcse grades: be ready with any essential grades required (eg maths, English, sometimes others depending on the course - the essentials should be listed on the course oages), but the caller probably won't be asked for the full set.

Mini interviews: at department level, this is unlikely given the sheer number of calls we get. However, preparing a few lines explaining why a particular course is of interest won't hurt, particularly if it's somewhat different to those on the original application.

@JoanThursday Thank you. If I go on the UCAS clearing site now there are courses for 2024 entry too. So I thought he could he decline his firm and use clearing to apply for 2024 entry to his insurance choice. Have I got that wrong?

I can see where you're coming from, and I think the UCAS course finder could be a little clearer here.

You can search for Clearing courses OR for a particular uni/ course. If you choose the latter, you can toggle between 2023 and 2024 entry. Only 2023 entry will be Clearing opportunities. Here are two screenshots: when I click on 'Search Clearing courses', I get the selection buttons for choosing Clearing in 2023 OR 2024.

It's already possible to be drafting applications for 2024 entry - I think that opened in May. Students can send them off from the end of Sept.

@JoanThursday are you allowed to say in v general terms if most have been accepted?

Are you declining lots of students - lots of not made the grades or putting them on lists if they are narrow misses/ mit circs for departmental reviews?

Trying to keep myself busy today with lots of housework. Its going to be a long week for sure

Thanks for your input

I have no idea, as my bit starts tomorrow morning looking at near misses and mit circs.

In any case, I'd rather not breathe a word I'm afraid - even in general terms. Sorry

@JoanThursday Thank you, I hadn't realised that. So it's either reapply, or hope that the insurance uni will accept him through clearing and then defer. I'll get him to ring them first thing on results day and we'll go from there.

Just want to say good luck to all your DCs. I'll be diving into Confirmation from first thing tomorrow and will next be up for air around Wed lunchtime!

Always happy to try and answer Qs, but it might take me a bit longer to get back to you.

🍷and 🍰. All will be well, however you get there.

Thank you @JoanThursday , hope the next few days go well for you.

@JoanThursday thanks so much for being so generous!

@JoanThursday thank you for your posts and hope the next couple of days go well for you. I think you said you were a STEM subject so I know you definitely won’t be reviewing my dd but I really hope she gets someone who is as thoughtful and student cantered as you sound.

Thank you for all your posts @JoanThursday

I can only hope that whoever is dealing with my dd’s admission is as kind and lovely as you

UCAS was down for a day or so last week because I think they might have been loading results into there for the unis. Unis definitely get the results a few days before so I would think they will definitely have them from tomorrow morning, if they don't already have them.

Thank you to all of the admissions staff, especially the very helpful @JoanThursday, for going above and beyond. As a teacher I always dread results day (having to switch from happy to sympathetic/supportive and back multiple times in a morning, and then spending hours with those in Clearing and sometimes their parents) and it's incredibly useful to get a glimpse of who is on the other end of the phone calls and how they make their decisions.

Gosh I had no idea Uni's had the results so soon. I mean, it makes sense as they would need the extra time to make all the offers. Feels weird knowing this in the run up to results day. I was supposed to be away working but my DD has asked I be home "just incase." I really appreciate all the info on insurances and clearing.

My DD worked WAY harder than my son for her A'levels. But he had a gap year and was taken on a AAA course with his results of ABB - possibly as he'd nailed a niche relevant job in his year off (which came as surprise to all of us).

Thank you so much to the uni admissions people who have really made this thread a goldmine of information and reassurance. You all sound very caring which is all we can hope for really.

Gillian Keegan saying today that students should expect lower grades this year has not helped the angst with DD... and many others I feel.

Something else to consider, for those whose kids are wanting to try to go to their insurance rather than their firm - check out the accommodation situation. Some unis will have accommodation for all their new students, but others may only offer guaranteed accommodation to certain students e.g. those who were firm choice rather than insurance. I would recommend they not make any hasty decisions without being sure to understand the accommodation situation at the uni they're now targeting, or you may be leaping straight from one source of stress to another. (This is assuming they're wanting to go this year, and not defer - in that scenario it's likely they'd apply for accommodation closer to the time anyway and be in a good position.)

Similar advice to anyone considering clearing places - they should understand whether they will, won't, or might get accommodation and factor this into their decisions.

Thank you @JoanThursday for taking the time to share so much information.

Good advice also about thinking through accommodation implications if going for insurance or clearing.

Best of luck to everyone

just read all of that - very informative! good luck to all the kids for Thursday morning.....

Hi All

thanks for this, really useful to understand how the admissions is working. Posted following on the A level 2023 results main thread and copying here to see if admission prefer a very near miss to an international student as my DD’s course is already on clearing for international students only. So the uni (Durham in her case) is hunting for students that will be paying full fees.
———————-
Hi All

Changed name as the details are outings. My daughter was in IB system so she already has her results. She has narrowly missed her offer for Durham and admission’s has said that they will make a decision when A level results come. Her offer was for 38 overall points and 666 in HL subjects. The 666 is considered equivalent to AAA in A levels.

She achieved 39 points and 765 in her HL subjects. The 5 is right at the grade boundary and unfortunately the remarking didn’t change her grades.
The 5 is her lowest grade (out of her 6 subjects) and unfortunately is on her chosen subject. So on paper she is applying for her weakest subject. We did have a big laugh about it.

In reality, she has been getting high grades and prizes on that subject for years and somehow didn’t do so well in one exam. IB grades are 20% based on internal assessments(IA) which more or less an essay or a report on an experiment for science subjects. She has done well enough in her exams( grade 6) but not so well in her IA. Her chosen topic was risky and apparently she had made few errors in her experiment and school wanted her to rewrite her report at which time she was too stressed to do so and I assume got a low grade. To make matters worse based on a sample of student’s work (not necessarily hers) the school was deemed to lenient and all IAs in the subject were moderated down by 3 points.

I am hoping that she will be accepted but clearly Durham is shopping for international students as the course is in clearing for these students so I am not very hopeful.

Apology for long post needed to vent so I can be calm for her.

Good luck for your DCs on the result’s day.

All I can say is it depends how many other students also missed and what numbers are like for the course. Tho at my uni a 5 in intended subject would be a straight reject.

Re the intl students we have govt targets for home students and get fined if we exceed these hence current places only being open for intl students, where capacity is the only limiting factor. It's not all money grabbing though it might seem it.

Has she met her insurance place?

@Matchingcollarandcuffs

Thanks for the response. She has made the grades for her insurance school that can be argued is as good a university if not better (Birmingham). She likes the course offered at Durham better. And I think the small town atmosphere might work better for her. We suspect she might be neurodivergent and get overwhelmed in a big city.

She got stellar grades in her chosen subject(chemistry) and probably neglected it near exam time. She was used to getting 7s without studying ( the difference was always whether she would get high 7 or near boundary 7).

She was more concerned about her Maths grade that was always hit and miss so she put a lot of work on improving her maths and hence the 7 (she was predicted 6 but could easily achieve a 5).

Frankly I was surprised that she was not rejected straight away by Durham after remarking did not improve her grade.

@Durham2023 sorry to hear that your daughter remains in limbo with regards to her place at Durham. Hopefully she’ll get a positive response on Thursday

Durham do have a reputation for keeping students in limbo in previous years, including those who secured a place through Clearing- without wishing to alarm you, you may wish to have a look at The Student Room which has a couple of threads on it.

I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for her 🤞🏼

I was under the impression that the cap on home student numbers had been removed (except for medicine/dentistry. Has it come back again, or do you work in a medical school? Thanks!

@Gardensaremyworld

Thanks I am already aware about Durham taking their time. However, some of the posts from admission’s teams here gave me some hope that her case will be carefully considered and that’s all I am hoping for. My fear was(is) that she will be rejected by a computer algorithm.

We are not going for clearing and can wait few extra days. However, I understand those that are going for clearing would want to hear a decision as soon as possible.