Missed grades - foundation year?

[TheGoodBanana]

It's likely my DS won't make the grades he needs for his university of choice.

The course he wants to study has an option which includes a foundation year.

Will he automatically be offered this if he doesn't get accepted onto the the course he applied for or will he have to apply for the foundation course through clearing?

I think it's best to contact the admissions teams of the universities he wants and ask (I've worked on the clearing lines for a foundation studies course at a Russell group in the past).

It very much depends on the uni, especially on whether their foundation course is already full. Sorry to be no use at all, but it's one which really does need you to wait until Thursday (and be prepared to ring).

Echoing what others have said - it depends on the university. some may automatically offer it as an alternative if the grades fall short, but others you will need to find in Clearing (list of spaces is available now).

Foundation Years work well, just as long as the student is sufficiently academically able to cope with the full degree course which follows. DD2 did a Foundation Year at Sussex Uni, after falling well short on her grades - this was mainly thanks to Covid/lockdown issues and didn't reflect her ability at all. It worked fantastically well for her - it was a really well-structured and interesting year, it built back her confidence (which was rock bottom) and allowed her to join the first year of the full degree course at a university she always wanted to go to. She's doing really well.

We're thinking along the same lines.
I suppose we just call the clearing line when the results are out.
Unis seem to have dropped grades for clearing and I'm hoping ds will be able to get through on dropped grades but if not, then foundation year, hopefully.

Thanks everyone for the advice, we spent some time last night checking the current points requirements for the course he wants to do. Just a waiting game now but it looks like he will still be able to go.

@CointreauVersial I am glad your daughter found her groove. I hope DS has an equally positive experience!

@TheGoodBanana we thought my son had missed out and would need clearing but actually his uni and course downgraded the actual results required so he joined in Year 1 with no need for a foundation year. Fingers crossed he gets the results and course he wants

Thanks @Kayjay2018 his Tutor sent out a group message after the exam saying how horrendous it was and he hoped it hadn't out any of them off the subject. I am hoping that's a sign that although he feels he has done badly, the grade boundaries will be lower.

Its all just a waiting game at this point.

At some unis, courses with spaces are already inviting applications through clearing, you could check his foundation course to see. Then you’ll know if it has spaces.
my DS was between the two grade requirements and was offered to start in year one but chose to do the foundation, as he felt he needed to brush up skills whilst having less pressure- missed out due to Covid.
he’s really pleased he did the foundation year.

Hi. University lecturer here. One thing to be aware of with foundation years is the impact on student finance. Students are allowed four years of finance so if you're studying a traditional three year degree you have finance in place should you need to retake a year. Foundation years count towards the four year rule and so limits the opportunity to retake a whole year if needed. For most it's a good opportunity to get them fully prepared but I've known one or two students fall foul of this rule and sometimes it's those on the foundation year that struggle most.

Hi @Iworkformeanies, I'm really confused by this. I thought that funding was for length-of-course-plus-one, so integrated foundation courses (4 years) are eligible for 5 years of funding, just as with placement years or integrated masters'. Am I wrong? (Let alone medicine/architecture.)

Sorry for any confusion. Integrated yes but someone was saying that their DC went elsewhere after the foundation and I meant to reply to that particular post.

Thanks! That all makes sense. There's a difference between "four year course including foundation" and "foundation + separate three year course."😀

@Iworkformeanies not sure if it was my post you were referring to. I probably phrased it badly; DD2 didn't move elsewhere after her Foundation year, she stayed in the same place.

I've no idea if that means her course is considered "integrated" or not. She did the Foundation year, then progressed to Year 1. Yes, it is an extra year's funding/loan required, but it was worth it for her. I'm unclear about what would happen if she needed to repeat a year, but she's doing well so far, fingers crossed we never need to ask that question!

Glad it worked out for your DD, @CointreauVersial! In case it's useful to anyone on the thread, generally an "integrated" course (whether foundation or Master's) is one where you don't need to re-apply part-way through. It can matter for funding purposes.

Yes this is same for my DS, he progresses automatically to year one if he passes foundation.
it does mean another year of paying his rent!

Ahh, thanks for clarifying @PrivateSchoolTeacherParent . We didn't reapply for Year 1, so must be "integrated".

Best of luck for results day, OP. 😊

He got in on the course he wanted. No idea what his actual grades are, he's gone to college to get them now but UCAS has been updated with an unconditional offer so that means he's in.

Oh that was such a nerve wracking emotional journey!

Great news @TheGoodBanana !

Thanks