Applying for different subjects at different unis - a disastrous idea?

[coldchipsfortea]

Hello - DD is currently in the beginning stages of applying for uni for entry next year. She is broadly speaking interested in arts subjects/ music - but is somewhat undecided as to exactly what she would like to do.

We are in Scotland and she is keen to go to a Scottish uni, but while her grades are OK, they are not amazing so there are some unis which are a non-starter as she won't get in (Glasgow / Edinburgh / St Andrews / Strathclyde).

So DD is left with a fairly small bunch of unis to look at - and there isn't a course she is interested in which is offered at all of them. If I take music, for example, there are three unis which have a music course and DD has the grades to be considered. But she really doesn't want to go to one of those unis, so we are just left with two! So DD thinks she should apply for another general arts course at a different uni which doesn't offer music. I worry that would make her application look like she doesn't really know what she wants to do (which is pretty accurate tbh!).

I have no idea what to advise. Has anybody else been in this boat?

FWIW I have suggested to DD that she doesn't have to go straight to uni after school and that there could be a real benefit in taking a bit of time out to work and to think about what she would like to study - but currently DD does not agree!

Thanks so much for the replies on this thread - really useful. Interesting discussion on the personal statement too. I really hope they read the personal statements - as we are in Scotland DD already has her Higher results and for a couple of courses she is one grade down on the standard entry requirements (as in requirements are ABBB and she has ABBC) - so I'm hoping the ps might swing it! But if it doesn't then its not the end of the world.

I do actually think college would be a really good idea next year but DD not keen so far. I need to do a bit of persuading on a plan B

is your daughter doing a 6th year ? Or is the ABBC over two sittings? If she is staying on for 6th year then she would hopefully be taking more highers or an AH that would give the other B? For the universities you are probably considering two sittings should be ok. What standard is her music that would probably make a difference as well.

@coldchipsfortea The admissions statement should tell you about the ps. Often rejection for lower grades is for selecting courses. If the courses are in clearing, they may not be selecting. I would honestly read what each uni says about how they select, what they consider and wriggle room. What do they accept in clearing?

Applying for wildly different subjects is fine as long as they are not at the same University as it looks like the applicant isn't wedded to the subject. So if she applies to A and B to do music, she could apply to C, D and E to do another subject. That was the advice we were given last week at a Scottish university admission open night at our school.

I worked alongside Admissions at a university. They made offers based on predicted grades only, unless an academic department was insistent on reading the ps. Offering on predicted grades gave them a sufficient number of applicants to fill the course so they did not need the extra workload. Sounds harsh, but true.

Look at Liberal Arts degrees - they allow the students to take different subjects across the uni including music (depends on the uni) and different topics, like Art, Sociology, maths, Business,Science,Art - depends on the uni.