No offer for a course now in Clearing?

[Tarjet]

I’ve been looking at clearing places for DS (just in case his results aren’t what he hopes) and I found a course he applied for - Comp Sci at Durham is now in clearing. He met the entry requirements on predicted grades but didn’t get an offer. Does this mean his PS wasn’t good enough and he wouldnt get a clearing place if he tried for it? Or would there be another reason? Obviously no interviews were done for Durham so it’s hard to know

I assumed clearing was for courses that were not filled by suitable applicants (ie with the predicted grades required) but TSR was full of rejected Durham CS applicants (inc my son!) so I’m very confused!

Call them and ask?

It might be worth a call on Thursday if he is still keen—nothing to lose. Is there anything to say that previous applicants shouldn't try?

Apparently you can’t call admissions now til after results are out otherwise I would have!

Once ds has his results, he should call them on Thursday ( the earlier the better I imagine). I think this is something your ds should do, his mum shouldn't do it for him.

If it’s definitely in clearing for home students on Thursday and he gets grades then he can call and ask to be considered.

@Tarjet , Computer Science is showing as closed on the uni website, there is nothing to indicate it will be available on Thursday.

Hmm I think solved the mystery - WhatUni is showing CS in clearing but on Durham’s site it’s only available to International Students. Obviously WhatUni doesn’t differentiate and lumps all ‘open’ courses as available.

Glad that’s “cleared up” 😜

You've just prompted me to check (as I'd not thought of it) and DD's course at a t different university is also in clearing - at lower grades than her offer so if she just misses I'll be encouraging her to call them though knowing her as I do she'll be saying if they didn't want me the first time that's the end of it!!

What subjects did he take OP. Some courses want certain subjects. Some Unis won't accept certain courses.

It is probably because they are in their embargo period.

I believe the universities have the A level results from at least today so know who has met their entry grades and have been accepted onto their course. They potentially also consider those who have missed it depending on the uni and the course.

Due to stringent regulations universities cannot communicate this hence having to wait until results are out. Fingers crossed for your son and his uni aspirations. I hope clearing gets him somewhere he wants to be.

Your DS needs to talk to Durham, NOT you.

We get the results on Sunday, and staff work flat out from Sunday night onwards to do the admissions process by the time results are out on Thursday.

We are legally bound to be fair & transparent, so we can't make offers etc until all our applicants are sorted - either have their offers confirmed or not, post results.

Then staff + a huge cast of extras will be staffing the telephone lines from Thursday to handle enquiries about unsuccessful places and Clearing.

Dn't telephone till Thursday basically!

Just coming on to echo previous posters comments. Also to add...clearing is a VERY different beast this year. Many courses, at many universities that have previously not been in clearing will be in this year. It is absolutely a buyers market. Remember clearing is not just for people who haven't for the grades required. You can absolutely see what is available elsewhere and if you are able to get an offer on a course that didn't previously seem possible, release yourself from the offer you are holding and accept it. Definitely wise to see what is available at this stage!

^

Unis are waiting to see which internationals actually take up their places. I don’t know if they will release those places to home students. Possibly not worth their while. But worth that call on thurs good luck

Also to add...clearing is a VERY different beast this year. Many courses, at many universities that have previously not been in clearing will be in this year. It is absolutely a buyers market.

It was the same last year. RGs practically begging people to come to their uni.

Fewer international students has an effect on unis. Plus some courses are no longer popular. Look at concern over dc taking a narrow range of subjects. Some courses are very popular but others far less so, RG or not,

That's the impression I get from those unis that have put up their clearing grades.

Nottingham Uni has clearing courses on offer at BBC - I guess in reality they'll be able to fill these with people who have higher than that but it still seems very low. Sussex has most of its clearing courses at CCC.

I do wonder if some institutions just put their official requirements above what they know is the reality in order to make themselves look good. DD did early clearing with grades in hand - put in for a course that wanted 112 points and got an almost immediate acceptance even though she only had 104.

There are few courses available for UK students in Durham but many more courses available for international students. This is from their website directly rather than any portal.
I don’t know why there isn’t a bigger fuss about this. The truth is that the universities will prioritise int’l students for improved fees and as a country we aren’t willing to pay more to subsidise increasing fees, be that through tax or student fees.
But on a fairness level, it isn’t right.
(I also know people who didn’t get comp science or maths at Durham who would swap in a heart beat if they got the grades, normally A(star),A(star),A

If they're offering places in clearing at lower grades than you'll probably find that your DD will be offered her place even if she doesn't quite make her grades. This happened to my friends DD last year.

@PlateUp Universities always get results on the Saturday before A level results are released.

Universities will only ever receive X number of fees for UK students and the International students are not involved with those numbers at all. Without overseas students who pay far more Universities would fail and are failing to an extent as overseas numbers are way down. Almost all are currently offering severance deals to staff and I include big hitters here, my old RG University is. That’s why they are taking lesser grades they need those bums on seats.

In no circumstance should a parent call for a child to enquire unless they were ill in hospital or something. Of all admissions tutors I have known which is many. If they had a space and a potential student or a helicopter parent rang and they had a decision to make they would choose the student who has some independent thought.

UK versus Overseas lists is apparently a bit more nuanced these days, just checked with DH who is head of a dept due to the issues in HE. His dept
is full which he is delighted about, my old dept has lots of spaces. This is a complete reversal as to how it used to be. His course is vocational with a high employment rate and mine was as he used to tease not a real science.

Hi, OP -

I am a former RG STEM admissions tutor. In our fields and amongst the RG+ institutions the very frustrating situation you describe often means one of two things:

1. This year in particular, many Schools did not fulfil their International targets. The School could be in Clearing for International students only to address this issue
2. The School like many CS Schools (because CS is so competitive) could have had many more offers from qualified students than places available. When this happens, some Schools make tiered offers. Eg if the standard offer is AAA, a School nake make its first tranche of offers around 1 Dec to applicants with A star A star A (or better). Depending on how quickly they get some Firms or other data, they begin slowly adjusting downwards. They may never make AAA (noncontextual) offers. It need not be personal to the applicant.

In the second scenario, simply following the dosh dictates a preference for International applicants.

I don’t like the second approach at all: when it works accurately it says you didn’t have the courage of your convictions and it misleads applicants badly. I also dislike double standards for Home/International students, but the reality is that every Home STEM student incurs a financial loss of thousands for the university, so this issue is complex.

(STEM Schools don’t typically weight the PS as much as other disciplines, but Durham has a reputation for considering the PS, I think. No guess on the balance there. My bet is on one of the scenarios I suggested.)

I am sorry for the experience your DS underwent, and I hope he has got something to look forward to

DD, who used to advise people with results, says it's not saying it's in clearing on Durham's website. She also says it's a very small course.
She thinks it's unlikely it will end up in clearing, although there's a possibility that they've got a few people who have missed their offer and are thinking about seeing if they get better candidates in clearing before accepting/rejecting them.
So if it does appear in clearing and if he's got better than their standard offer, then it could be worth calling them, but don't get hopes up.

Loads of DDs friends who didn't get predicted grades last year were still given their places at their preferred Uni.
She has had a gap year to do an additional A level and her preferred course is showing in clearing now with lower requirements than her predicted so hopefully she will be ok if she doesn;t get what they originally asked for