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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Wanting to go to university but predicted CCU at A level

55 replies

elliejjtiny · 25/10/2025 00:59

The C's are actually merits because he is doing diplomas or btecs, i can never remember which but they are equivalent to 1 a level each. The U is his a level. He really wants to go to university and do music production but the course he wants to do requires CCC. I went to university with CCU grades and ended up with a 2:1 but that was a long time ago and i think they expect much higher grades now. Also worried that if he gets in to university he won't be able to keep up as he is struggling with his a level now.

OP posts:
CoastalCalm · 27/10/2025 21:56

I’d honestly talk about what career they want and look at other entry points vs a degree - if they aren’t particularly academic then university won’t be any different and could mean starting off with huge debts and no real progression up the ladder. Vocational training , apprenticeships etc cover lots of careers now and could mean they reach the same level as they would as a graduate without the debt handicap

Wince · 27/10/2025 22:08

You can look up the lowest grades that have been accepted in previous years on UCAS for each course and uni.

OhDear111 · 28/10/2025 07:47

@Parkmalarky None of that translated to “they let in everybody”. What most have done is make savings through redundancies and cut courses.

RedToothBrush · 28/10/2025 08:08

elliejjtiny · 27/10/2025 21:28

Thank you. I think a gap year is a good idea because I think he would struggle with the uncertainty of not knowing if he got a place on his preferred course until the last minute. Ds1 had a gap year and it worked really well for him.

It's difficult as all through his life we were told ds2's disabilities were minor. He got turned down for dla at renewal when he was 10, after being on it since he was 5 months old. He was only diagnosed with autism a few months ago. Then we had an assessment for PIP a couple of weeks ago as i thought we would give it another try now he has been diagnosed with autism. The lady who came round said to me to make sure i applied for universal credit for him when he finishes college which makes me wonder if ds2 isn't as capable as we've been told all these years.

I have a friend with a son who is autistic and struggles. She lives in a different country and the system is slightly different there. The point being the educational system allows for him to stay in education for longer and he will stay in below university level for an extra year.

He struggled with public transport but he's improved a lot. Another of her children has come to stay with us before and the hope is he will come visit at some point when he mastered traveling by himself.

Given what I know about him, if your son is similar he's really going to struggle with university next year so that's your first issue. Deal with that first before worrying about the rest.

ScrewyouJonathon · 28/10/2025 08:42

DS is doing audio production at UWE and he is absolutely loving it. He got BBD in his A-levels and ended up going through clearing. I have no idea what job will come out of it but he does a lot of networking in the music scene and is always helping out with various club nights. Those who say it is a waste of 50k maybe correct however his Dad (my Ex) literally hounded him to do business management, they fell out for over a year about it and at the end of the day it is DS path to tread. No way was I going to be responsible for pushing him into a degree he loathed.

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