Southampton publishes Clearing grade requirements

[HPFA]

I think this is the first time I've seen an RG Uni publishing Clearing grade requirements before Results Day.

It's not for all courses but a lot of popular subjects nonetheless

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/clearing/course-vacancies?subject=All+Subjects&filter=&studentType=uk&availableOnly=true

Not sure what it means for those students holding offers at Southampton - does it indicate how far they can drop grades and still get in?

We're looking at economics where original grade requirements were typically 3 x As. So far from DD's list, there are no clearing vacancies for economics at either Leeds or Manchester and yet Loughborough have gone from requiring 3As to BBB.

Reading now have grades;

https://www.reading.ac.uk/clearing/available-courses

Keep an eye on Loughborough- it’s dynamically updating.

Unfortunately DDs York course not in clearing for UK, just International and still at original AAA! Now to check her insurance!

Surrey:

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/clearing/courses

Economics at Loughborough still showing as vacancies and needing 3Bs - but for the life of me I can't see anywhere on their site what the clearing phone number is! Maybe they only publish that tomorrow?

01509 274403

Thank you!

Southampton has just updated and is now showing even lower grade requirements.

Both English and History at Southampton offered at CCD.

Maybe this will be the end of Russell Group snobbery.

Wow, required grades look even lower than last year. DD's desired course at Lancaster is on for BCC and her offer was ABB. It was in clearing for BBB last year. Certain (presumably popular courses) still need an ABB. I wonder what's going on, are Unis trying to persuade people to trade up quickly tomorrow? I suppose we don't actually know how many places are available at these grades.

Bloody hell
That is low
Definitely should put an end to the Russell Group nonsense .

I have no objection to genuinely elite universities being seen as a group - Oxbridge, Imperial, Warwick etc.

Their graduates will get a benefit and that's fine.

But what now distinguishes Southampton graduates from those at Essex, Reading, Leicester, Aber.....

Both English and History at Southampton offered at CCD.

That's crazy isn't it? What are other RG unis asking for? The only RG DD applied for (Cardiff) - she got a relatively low offer but didn't choose it, doesn't even have her course in clearing but it's possible to apply for 2026. Not sure what to make of that.

My DD is doing MFL and has firmed Surrey (with an offer of BBB which changed to BBC after she firmed them). Surrey has now gone into clearing at CCC, but Southampton has gone in lower at CCD. Nottingham, where she got an offer which she rejected, has some really weird permutations in clearing like A* CD. All very different compared to when I went through the process!

Is it even worth applying for 2026? You may as well wait and apply with grades in hand! It's going to be chaos if people decline grades all over the place to try and get a better place!

We've said before on this thread there's very little point now anyone predicted BCC or CCC applying in the first round.

Prepare for Clearing and take your fave from that - which might not always be the one highest ranked.

I doubt the CCD student at Southampton is going to have a happy time.

I suppose it's if you have a firm offer at BBC but you get CCC they will still give you a place so you could just ring them rather than ringing round everywhere

I think that's correct. I would not be attempting an economics degree for Eg with a c or a d in maths.

This post and the follow up from @RainbowBagels are insightful and important. Aim for the best fit, where your student can thrive. That will matter most in the end.

DS is thinking exactly this!

He applied for 2026 and was given standard offers. His 1st choice is an aspirational ABB offer. It’s in clearing for BCC. So he’ll prob get rejected for 2026 if he doesn’t get ABB but could go this year for BCC.

He’s thinking why did I bother, should have just applied with grades in hand or better still wait till next yrs clearing!

i guess the advantage is that school helped him with his PS as he did it in y13. He can use it again for his next application!

Oh yes, fingers crossed she will make her offer or if not they will still accept her, I was just shocked that Southampton (RG) is offering lower than Surrey (non RG). We were looking in case anything caught her eye that she wouldn't have considered with a higher standard offer the first time round. As it is, she's likely to stick with Surrey anyway as it has a great reputation for her subject and the course should suit her best.

I did a postgraduate at Surrey. I absolutely loved it! It's so beautiful round there

Yes, and History and English both require ABB, so that Politics grade isn't representative of all Humanities subjects.

Meanwhile Southampton really are slashing things aren't they? They must have had very poor recruitment or have bigger financial issues than others? Or both?

I'm not sure, University is quite different to A levels and the assessment styles they use do not necessarily translate into being very successful from one environment to another. For example there is a lower focus on traditional exams and more focus on coursework and group work at university.

Grades for entry largely represent the popularity of a course not how difficult it is. 35 years ago getting in to do engineering was easier compared with now and the reverse for English. This is just reflective of the fact that more people want to study engineering now than they used to.