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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

What Unis are more likely to accept slipped grades?

39 replies

Morty12 · 24/09/2023 17:45

I know it's course dependent but in general what Unis are more likely to accept applicants if they don't meet their offer?
My ds missed his offers for Birmingham and Loughborough ( by one grade) this year and had to go through clearing. Keen to avoid that stress for ds2.

OP posts:

septemberoctobernovember · 03/10/2023 15:13

Spirallingdownwards · 24/09/2023 18:06

Lancaster used to because bizarrely ot was never a popular choice. However as it is a good choice financially as well as being a top 10 uni it's popularity is increasing and it may well not accept as many with dropped grades going forward as people see the cost of living in major cities such as Bristol and Manchster becoming prohibitive.

I’ve never heard of anyone apply to Lancaster or even mention it

Spirallingdownwards · 03/10/2023 16:00

BingoDingoZingo · 26/09/2023 12:24

Surely it depends on cohort performance? This year grades seem to have been lower then expected for many students so to fill spaces unis had to be more lenient. My DS got his 1st choice of York despite getting BBB rather than the required AAA. Same course was in clearing with ABB.

It wasn't lower than expected though. It was expected to go back to 2019 level and it was actually slightly better than 2019.

Spirallingdownwards · 03/10/2023 16:01

septemberoctobernovember · 03/10/2023 15:13

I’ve never heard of anyone apply to Lancaster or even mention it

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Dixiechickonhols · 03/10/2023 16:01

septemberoctobernovember · 03/10/2023 15:13

I’ve never heard of anyone apply to Lancaster or even mention it

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It depends where you are. It’s the most popular destination from my dc’s state grammar sixth form.

Panicmode1 · 03/10/2023 16:21

My daughter had Lancaster on her list - it is highly sought after for geography (friend's child turned down an Oxbridge offer to go there...!), and is a highly ranked choice by children at her state grammar....

Wotrewelookinat · 03/10/2023 17:45

From the unis my twins were looking at, Swansea and Bangor were the most flexible (and friendly!).

septemberoctobernovember · 03/10/2023 17:59

Dixiechickonhols · 03/10/2023 16:01

It depends where you are. It’s the most popular destination from my dc’s state grammar sixth form.

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I’ve genuinely never heard it mentioned. It’s Nottingham Birmingham leeds and Bristol here with very little else.

Monstermunchy · 03/10/2023 18:03

Lancaster is increasingly popular here - with high fliers

Singlepringle1980 · 15/10/2023 09:14

Lancaster requires higher grades AAA than Leeds/York/Sheffield for the subject my child is considering and has been suggested by his state 6th form. It’s not Russell Group so I think some people dismiss on that basis alone but is highly regarded from what I’ve heard. Friends with DC at private schools are considering too. We have visited and were impressed. Offers lots of bursaries too.

RedAndWhiteCarnations · 15/10/2023 09:21

Quite a few kids from my dcs school chose Lancaster too.

flotsomandjetsome · 15/10/2023 09:27

@Theworried2
Anecdotally, from 2 of DS friends Cambridge were not so flexible this year.

They both got one grade down on one of their A levels - one by an agonising 1 mark and the other by 3 or 4 marks if I remember correctly, neither was accepted.

LIZS · 15/10/2023 09:53

@flotsomandjetsome that was our experience too. In fact the course which had capacity of 40 only took 26 that year so several missed out.

O2HaveALittleHouse · 15/10/2023 10:22

On Loughborough I would talk to current pupils if at all possible. One family friend of mine is there and has less than 8 lectures a week, very little work gets looked at in an essay based subject, classes petered out to nearly nothing in the final term and this family friend can return home for decent stretches in term time. The parents are furious based on the expense of a uni education.

This might be subject dependent but it’s worth checking with current pupils.

123123123a · 15/10/2023 10:37

My ds missed by one grade this year at Exeter but was still accepted. He did have a grade higher than required in one other subject so maybe that was why.

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