Applying with grades ‘in hand’

[buggybored]

Does anyone have experience of DC applying to university post-A level? I’m curious as to whether offers tend to come through more quickly than when applying in year 13. And also whether DC should be applying to universities where grade requirements are equal to what they have ‘in hand’ or a bit lower? I suppose I’m just a bit confused as to whether, if for example they’re applying for a course which requires 3 x As, they will be judged more favourably because they actually have those grades already or more harshly against someone who is predicted A stars. Or maybe it varies depending on course/university…

I help students with UCAS as part of my job, including those who are applying "PQA" (jargon you might hear; "post qualification application.") Students are generally successful if they apply to courses where they already have the standard offer (except for extra-competitive courses), and unis tend to reply pretty quickly. There are exceptions to both of those generalisations!

My DD applied grades in hand and got offers very quickly, she had the required grades. She then had the advantage of being allocated accommodation (although didn't get her first choice).

PSTP - would those exceptions include Scottish universities, Durham and Bristol by any chance…?

Hah! Yes, the unis which are slow to reply first time around are generally the ones to be slow for PQAs too (but not always, it sometimes depends on the department). Most other unis are much faster for PQA than for their 'normal' offers.

My DD had a horrendous A Level results day in 2021 (thanks to the exception to teacher assessed wonderful grades) and ended up applying again the following year with her correct grades.

She went from holding one offer that year (medicine) to 5 with grades in hand and all of these offers came in very quickly. She knew she was going to Manchester well before Christmas. Stark contrast from the previous year when she didn't get her offer until March.

Following as we are in the same position.

DS got AAB. Has gone for a review of marking for 2 subjects, one has gone up by 6 marks from a B to an A. We are still waiting for the other to come back, he needs 2 marks for an A star. He is taking a Gap Year as couldn’t make a decision over courses with these reviews pending.

He currently has AAA, course he desperately wants (and the whole reason he went for the review) states A star AA-AAA. It’s a very highly competitive course, so I’m doubtful that he’ll get in with AAA but wondering if it’s still worth a try as he already has the grades. For what it’s worth he got rejected pre A levels with predicted AAA for the same course, but wonder if he has a better chance with actual grades in hand.

Yes. DD applied post A level results to three universities. Her school was really helpful with checking her personal statement and providing a reference as well. She received offers straight away for two of them, one offering a scholarship, but Manchester acknowledged her application but never came back to her. She had already decided which was her favourite so withdrew her application to Manchester and firmed her favourite. This was pre pandemic when grades hadn't been mucked about with.

She graduated last year.

Friend's lad applied to five unis PQA but only got one offer.

Grades were IIRC A-star AA - but he applied for economics at LSE, Imperial, UCL, Leeds and Nottingham. Friend was astonished he didn't get more offers but I fear he was poorly advised. Esp as this was 2022 so statistically, more ppl got top grades.

But in general, IME, yes applying with AAA to a course that asks for AAA should see an offer.

Another friend's tho got no offers at all for vet sci, applied with grades in hand and some months' experience of working in a vet's and had three offers.

My dd has three A stars and A star EPQ and three of the courses she will apply to say AAB. There's a big gap between Cambridge and the rest (C says A star AA but assume the majority of applicants have at least two A stars). Even LSE is AAB.
My assumption is she will get quick offers from those which say they just go by UCAS form (no interview or assessment), but there are no guarantees!

Thanks all - I think my biggest concern are those universities which use some kind of algorithmic (spelling?!) review of applications. I’d heard anecdotally that they will rank forecast and actual grades the same, meaning that those candidates with schools generously forecasting A stars will be offered ahead of those holding ‘real’ A grades. I think this is particularly concerning regarding those institutions which pay little regard to the content of the UCAS statement (which may, for example, explain how the gap year is complimentary to the proposed degree such as work experience or language learning).

From conversations I've had at unis PQA and predicted are viewed the same (which seems bizarre given statistically c20% of people get their predicted grades) You would of thought a PQA was a better bet in that regard. We're in the same boat (although DC has a firm place as they got the grades needed this Summer and is taking a planned gap year ..... now considering reapplying to other places)

BFS - same position, DC on planned gap year and wants to reapply to preferred university (for which they received an offer last year but which wouldn’t agree to a deferral so declined) but nervous about ‘giving up’ the deferred place they have (as probably correctly assumes that deferred place university will tell them to get lost if they include them in the re-application!). Should add that preferred university is one of those whose decision making is notoriously slow…

@buggybored - Same! (Current) preferred Uni is one that is notoriously slow and will likely put them on hold potentially until May. They are holding an offer for a fantastic option so I'm hoping that the reality of declining that and rolling the dice again (along with the associated hassle of PS etc) is enough to see the positives of having a great Uni to go to in 2024, a great job for 6 months and travel to the places they've always wanted to go.

My DD applied already having grades. She had an interview and was accepted there and then which was fantastic! It also meant she was able to choose her accommodation earlier rather than the mad August scramble for what's left. Personally I would recommend anyone to have a year out and do an extra course of some kind or find a job. It just gives them an extra year of maturity. Most of her friends have done the same. Of the ones who went straight to Uni at 18, two have already dropped out.

I posted a similar question on here in the summer because my daughter was trying to decide whether to turn down a place. The people who replied to me back then seemed to imply that having grades in hand made the whole process much easier (and quicker) are you guys saying that you don't think that's the case.

I posted a similar question on here in the summer because my daughter was trying to decide whether to turn down a place. The people who replied to me back then seemed to imply that having grades in hand made the whole process much easier (and quicker) are you guys saying that you don't think that's the case.

@andwhy I guess people can only speak anecdotally - and that means a very small sample. So one applicant will hear the very next week and another two months later from the same uni - what does that mean? Who can say. I do know people who got fed up of waiting for St A or Durham to respond snd withdrew, with accommodation worries a big factor in that decision, but they had predicted grades.
The couple of kids I know who applied with grades in hand did hear early from some universities, but do not know if they would have heard in the same time frame if they only had predicted grades. I guess the only thing we can know is that offers will be unconditional, which in itself is an advantage!
@MermaidEyes I totally agree! Having seen on WIWIKAU so many seemingly confident first year students return home within the first week due to feeling overwhelmed, a gap year to gain maturity is sensible. My own daughter knew she was not ready to leave home and opted for an Arts Foundation course (she was going to get a creative degree but has since changed her direction). And having grades in hand - well, her predicted grades were A star, A and B! So she would not have even considered Cambridge. Now she has them she can be much more sure of where it is appropriate to apply.

@andwhy I think if the entry requirements are at or below the achieved grades then it should be easier. However for certain unis and/or courses it doesn't seem to make much difference as predicted and achieved grades are viewed as the same (which seems crazy to me given approx 1/5 of people achieve their predicted grades)

DD applied for courses where she met or exceeded the standard offer. She applied in January. She had 4 unconditional offers by (I think) the end of February. The last one (Warwick) she had to wait for until pretty much the deadline for responses. So not necessarily quicker, but less stressful, because its not a 2-part process (offers then grades).

Some unis seem to deal with all the international and contextual offers first. Durham seem to do this and LSE. But it really varies by department. For instance, at Durham, the large 'flagship' courses take ages - History, English, Geography.

DD applied in Year 13 with predicted grades A star, A star, A (plus A star EPQ). Offer from Bath within a week (I think it was ABB - lower offer due to EPQ). Offer from UCL was in Nov (I think it was A star A A). Had Oxbridge interview, but rejected in Jan. Offer from Durham in about March (A star, A, A). LSE never replied! Their deadline came and went in May. They do not answer the phone in admissions and do not reply to emails. So she just gave up by May and firmed UCL. Who knows if they would have offered in the end, but you get past caring. They had held her application since the previous September.

Then she suddenly decided to reapply and take a gap year, so declined all offers (yikes). This time she had three A stars, plus A star EPQ achieved and some national essay competition prizes, super curricular things and plans for gap year that were very relevant to the degree. Received an offer from Bristol within a week. Got into Oxbridge in Jan, but had still not heard from UCL, Durham or LSE (god knows why she even applied there again) by this point. But she just formed the Oxbridge offer and didn't need an insurance second time round. So who knows if the others would have offered or not. LSE is notorious for keeping people hanging until April / May. No idea why as they don't interview and they don't rob that many undergrad courses compared to other unis.

I've heard St As and Edinburgh can also be a total nightmare with response times and it's all due to quotas for home students and internationals etc.

Good luck to all your DC. My advice would be to make the gap year count and, if applying to St A, Edinburgh, Durham or particularly LSE, be prepared to wait until at least March. Then, if you hear back earlier, great.

Hi, OP

Former Russell Group Admissions Tutor here. There is a lot of good advice above. PQAs should be quick and clean, especially given the notorious inaccuracy of PGs. I am sorry to see that this isn’t always the case.

Bur when DC has already achieved the standard offer, they should apply with confidence (a few ultra competitive situations excepted). Do be aware that some STEM Schools are wary of gap years as they are concerned about liosing Maths skills. Im a STEM subject DC should contact the admissions team to make sure the application will be considered, and address this voncern head on.

@mrsconradfisher when a range of offers is listed such as A star A A — AAA typically the higher offer is the standard one and the lower offer is the contextual one. (If there is a bigger gap, there may be a range of contextual offers). With grades in hand I recommend applying to places where you meet the offer fitting your background.

DS also applying with grades in hand (4 A stars) - its for economics so really nervous about the whole thing (acceptance rates can be 5-10% so really really hoping that real grades mean something). Gave up a really good firm last year as decided it wasn't the right place, and wanted a year to do other stuff (some of it 'course' relevant). Currently deciding on approach - thinking of three highly competitive, one good but safe(ish) to submit soon, and then the fifth will go in when he has a better sense of how the land lies. Are any of yours also doing this kind of stacked approach? Any insight on which unis said they treated predicted and real grades the same?

All of mine applied with grades in hand, in the end. I'd say it really depends on the course and how competitive it is.

One of them was accepted onto a 'standard offer AAA-AAB' MFL course with achieved grades ABC (and graduated with a first, a subject prize and headed off to do a Masters -- I think he had a point to prove!).

The others had A star/A grades in hand for more competitive courses and got plenty of offers.

Are you actually really nervous with 4 A stars? I feel like we should give up now if a that's the case (not really but you know what I mean) surely with the exception of Oxbridge and possibly LSE, he will get offers with 4 A stars in hand. Or am I wrong?