Applying with grades in hand

[nhsmanagersanonymous]

Just in a slightly odd position.

dd planned to take a year out as unsure about which degree.

she has her grades - A in the subject she’d niw like, CC and a B in extended project.

we are just a bit perplexed as to how high to aim, we suspect her predicted grades (ABB) would have got her good offers and she just missed a B in one subject which is a bit gutting.
its likely she might still have got in as places dropped their offers if she’d been holding offers this year.

Will they do that for her applying with grades or does she need to apply for places with typic offers of ACC?

I agree it seems a bit unfair that she would have got offers with her predictions and then probably would have been allowed in, but might not get an offer with her actual grades - it is the way the system tends to work though. Maybe apply to a couple of "aspirational" places that might not give her an offer and a couple of safer ones? She could consider going through clearing next year if some unis end up dropping their grades like they did this year.

She won’t want to do clearing, the whole point was to get a clear plan. I thought we were doing the right thing as she really wasn’t sure about degree course. Now I’m wondering.

Depends on the subject too - a popular course like psychology unlikely but if it’s something like an MFL maybe an ABB uni might be worth a go (I’m only assuming that MFL is not particularly popular).
She has five choices. I’d go 2 x ABB, ABC, 2 x ACC (though that’s an unusual combo, more likely to be BCC or BBC).
Oddly enough it’s the super competitive course where an applicant with A stars in hand may not get a place because there are just so many applicants to those unis with those grades. I think your DD stands a good chance and there is clearing as maentioned PP.

Ds applied this year (for PPE/Politics and Economics) with BBC in hand. He got an offer from a uni whose standard offer is ABB and another from a uni asking for BBB. In the end he rejected them, went through clearing and got Politics at an RG which usually asks for AAB!

You can but try. I agree that 2 maybe 3 aspirational choices and 2 more certain. Are you comfortable sharing what subject that A was achieved in? We might be able to offer you some university suggestions, if you want them.

If I was her I would put in a very early application for my top two choices (even if the standard offer is higher), and see whether she gets offers. If she does then great. Firm her choice and have a great gap year. If no offers result from the first two, fill up the other 3 spaces with more realistic choices including at least one where she meets the standard offer.

There's no guarantee she will hear back quickly though. My DD applied with grades in hand (one A star, 2 A's) and while she got some offers in within the week, she was led a merry dance by Bath and Edinburgh who kept asking for further information and kept her hanging on. In the end she chose from the other 3 and cancelled those applications.

Yes it depends on the uni. Might not work for Bath, Edinburgh, Durham, st A. But still worth trying and reassessing in eg Nov/dec if she hasn’t heard.

With an A in the chosen subject (not sure what that is, but this list could vary if very STEM or FL etc) I would suggest the following places will be open to her having ACC

Cardiff
Liverpool
Newcastle
Southampton
Sussex
UEA
Essex
Kent
Hull
Goldsmiths
Glasgow
Heriot-Watt
UWE
Oxford Brookes
YorkSt.John

They might, but it will depend on course/uni and whether her gap year plans might be relevant which she could highlight in ps.

For the benefit of. Anyone reading this with younger kids or those starting yr12, it’s worth knowing that predicted grades are wrong in 80% of cases and most are too generous.
Applying with PGs rather than grades in hand means most people apply with higher grades than they actually get - and are in their strongest position to get offers. Given unis will often accept near-misses, they will prob still get taken even if they miss (except for most popular courses) but they might well not have got the offer if they’d applied with PG or actual grades of what they achieved. Therefore applying pre-exams is often advisable. They can apply to defer at the time or so to defer later if they’d applied wish.
However, deferments are less likely to be given to near misses, as the uni knows they can take students next year with lower grades, but hope for students who meet standard offer.

It is possible to ring/email the specific depts concerned, explaining the grades and asking questions f an application is worthwhile. Needs to be student not parent emailing.

It is because of situation Ip finds herself that many schools and colleges advise students to apply pre-exams. If it comes to results and they don’t want to go/have changed mind about course etc etc, they can always withdraw or ask to defer. They can then reapply. But applying pre-exams gives that option of iffees based on higher PGs which might not be given when the lower actual grades are (possibly unfairly) are judged equally against PGs.

Doesnt help Op now, but might help others reading.

And I’d say too, that despite wanting a clear plan (and standard application working out) Clearing can still be an option next year. Having the grades now means when Clearing opens early July, she will be able to possibly get something good then when most won’t have results. And she can be looking in the 2 days before when Clearing becomes more accurate as unis know the A Level results …..and she might get something she won’t get another for in the standard round of admissions. The point is, there can be different phases of opportunity. Sometimes you have to try to be a bit flexible to seize them. By not applying pre-grades, one opportunity for offers with higher PGs has been lost….but there are further opportunities.

Thanks for the advice. Her grades have actually improved as we put a second paper in for remark and found the mark she needed for a b - so now she has ABC with B in extended project - which I think is pretty strong. She is still deliberating between English Lit with a plan for PG cert or just go for education from the off.

Does she want to be a primary school teacher then? Apologies if you've mentioned before. If it's secondary then she should do English Lit as I'm guessing that's the subject she wants to teach.

Congratulations that her grade went up. That gives her a good base of results ans EPQs are good to tall about on PS and interviews etc, builds good skills in general.

I think there are plenty of really top universities who will take her with ABC when the A is in English Lit, if that's her chosen subject to study. I actually believe it will be easier to get a lot of offers for Education / combo English lit / Ed.

best of luck - has she put her UCAS application in yet?

My DS had grades in hand last year and his application went in the week UCAS opened. All his 5 offers came back by the end of October. It was a relief.

I know you posted this a while ago, but which unis did he get offers from. My son is looking into economics and everywhere seems to want very high grade

I know you posted this a while ago, but which unis did he get offers from. My son is looking into economics and everywhere seems to want very high grades. I'd like to give him some hope

@Fearfulsaints this was PPE - he got Swansea, UEA, Essex and Lancaster (that one was in clearing). He also got offers for Politics and Economics from Leicester and from Surrey in clearing.

Thank you. That does give some hope