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?

The uni get the grades the day before the students get them.

If he checks UCAS on results day it will indicate if he has been accepted, even if the grades are lower.

Interesting. My son is in year 12. I'm worried that a lot of unis will go bust mid course down the line

That's on the school though - maybe they should stop quoting results in that format. It's the nature of universities that they move up and down the league tables over time. It's well known that some non RG unis are now consistently ranked higher than some RG unis.

Happens every year ?

It seems rather counter productive to me. If students with A and A star predictions know that Nottingham or Liverpool (for example) accept C grades these students aren’t going to apply, leading to fewer applications next year and still lower clearing grades. A downward cycle.

It is leading to a split between those universities seen as aspirational such as Oxbridge, Durham, Imperial, UCL etc and the others. These are becoming considered as a second tier by applying students. At least this is how it appears to me listening to my year 12 son and his friends talk about their UCAS applications.

In my opinion they would do better to take fewer high achieving students to retain their status. But, as others have said, it’s not about academic excellence anymore but about bums on seats.

I've been looking out for this. DS's 1st choice has gone into clearing (as it did last year) with much reduced grades than his current offer. Realistically I think he will miss his offer grades but will make this clearing offer.

Does anyone know if the Uni has discretion to accept him onto the course with lower grades or if he misses the original offer grades it's an automated rejection and he has to go via clearing to see if they will now take him on the reduced offer?

No, the university can just accept him with lowered grades if it wishes to.

As someone pointed out upthread the university isn't contractually obliged to do this although it might struggle to explain the reasoning!

I’m surprised as I know someone they rejected who has higher grades than this. And also at least one neighbouring Uni closed its English department this year.

Thank you. I'll keep my fingers crossed. It's a course where he's already undertaken a group assessment and submitted a portfolio so I'm hoping they'd rather take him with lower grades as a known entity rather than someone they don't know much about.

This might be my wishful thinking though because I have no idea if they think like that.

I've also been waiting for this, DD preferred course was in clearing last year and Im curious to know what the wiggle room is this year.
Shes also applied to Irish universities where the grades vs popularity of a course is much more explicitly set out, most courses tell you the lowest admitted points rather than advertising high and taking much lower. Its much more honest.

This is something that’s been happening for a number of years. But applicants often don’t realise that courses take students with significantly below the standard published grades…because they only look at the grades being offered for their year of application. Once courses are full, what was available in Clearing the previous year vanished and you can’t see which grades were accepted. Even UCAS info doesn’t distinguish between contextual offers, clearing and standard offers, so it’s hard to know.

It’s def worth those in yr12 screenshotting clearing availability now and first thing on results day, when a clearer picture will be available.

I agree though, that a tiered system is opening up even more. The applicant who has predicted grades of AAB and who has an offer of a middling RG course with those grades, is disappointed to find that lots with BBC are on the course. It does make it feel devalued.

What it also means is that more and more students go through Clearing. They trade up. So that AAB student, if they get their grades, might find they can get a place at a better uni on results day. Lots won’t be willing to think about it, research it or enter in the risks if accommodation, but more and more will…because they will get a better deal. So the uni market shifts increasingly to a post-results situation…but one which has to happen within 48 hours for top unis. It’s v stressful for all concerned.

But for those suggesting unis take fewer students at higher grades to retain their status….well that’s naieve in terms of the funding model isn’t it. Of course they have to fill. They are in crisis of funding already. It’s all demand and supply.

There was a poster last year whose DC was accepted at York with BBC when their offer was AAB.

So it looks like unis generally prefer the bird in hand.

Yes, I think most do prefer the bird in the hand. People who actively applied as part of the standard application cycle, probably visited and have looked at accommodation and are invested in coming…more likely to want to come and actually take the place if offered. The alternative is a theoretical person who might have better grades and then hum and hah about coming and be weighing several different options…and finally go with a different place.

The most competitive places with the most competitive courses probably won’t have flex, but the vast majority of places and courses will if someone misses a grade..or even more. remember over 80% of predicted grades are wrong, with most being too generous. It might seem like everyone these days must be getting AAA according to the standard offers, but that isn’t the reality.

One thing it shows, is that especially around middle RG unis it’s worth being aspirational with applications, esp if the course applied for its t one of the extremely popular ones like Comp Sci or Econ.

Yes we do think like that! An applicant who actively chose us and accepted our offer is far more likely to stay than one who ended up with us in a last second clearing panic

Thank you. I'm quietly optimistic but regardless we will be prepared for clearing on the 14th Aug with everything we can throw at it. 😂

Out of interest..Durham is showing loads of courses in Clearing for UK students, but generally with their usual offer grades. Are they likely to drop as time goes on? I'm just being nosey really! I've seen posts before saying Unis like Durham rarely go into clearing. DDs firm choice at another Uni is also showing in clearing but also with the standard grades. She should hopefully make her offer but who knows what will happen on the day.

Durham doesn’t tend to drop. If they still have those clearing places on the day, they will be looking for students trading up, who did better than expected.

I think you can probably make an inference from what those unis who have published their offers are willing to accept.

If Southampton, Liverpool and Nottingham are offering places on Sociology at BBC then eg Swansea (who are showing their standard offer of ABB - BBC) are likely to have to go lower to get students.

Even if there are compelling reasons why we can't switch to post-grade offers it really doesn't seem like this system is fit for purpose.

@WombatChocolate describes the trading up system above which is likely to add further unfairness. Your BBC student whose parents know how the system works will trade up to a "better" uni - the ones who don't - won't.

Hopefully the RG brand will continue to weaken.

They need to improve marketing and stop being shy about their achievements.

Many non RG unis have excellent provision in specific areas. But the general population doesn’t understand that, and there isn’t enough readily available data that has been presented in a way to help them understand.

you have to look at unis subject by subject, not as overall entities- and people don’t do that.

They need to improve marketing and stop being shy about their achievements.

Many non RG unis have excellent provision in specific areas. But the general population doesn’t understand that, and there isn’t enough readily available data that has been presented in a way to help them understand.

you have to look at unis subject by subject, not as overall entities- and people don’t do that.

My DS is in year 12 and has been doing open days based on his predictions. Im wondering if we should look round some of the higher ranking ones too.
Also, getting in isn't the end of the story. Will they have a mass clear out at the end of the first year or loads of kids unable to cope?

Can I ask how people are seeing the grades required for clearing places? I can see the courses available but they just seem to have their standard offer requirements on each course page. Thanks

Because the IB results came out at the weekend and I think the maths paper particularly was a stinker so lots of people will have missed their grades.

It's probably worth thinking about whether a student is best served by being a "bum on seat" on a possibly overcrowded course.

You know your son - my DD was always one of those who preferred being near the top in a lower set to struggling at the bottom of a higher one. So she would likely have hated being at a uni where she knew almost everyone around her had better grades.

Other students it wouldn't bother at all.

The posted links should be to the clearing grades.