Unattainable offer?

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Dd has predicted grades of AAB and has received an offer for classics at Leeds (her preferred option) for ABB. Sounds great except that the offer includes a grade A requirement for the subject she’s predicted a B in and as this is a diploma course she’s already had 50% of her grade and achieving an A is nigh on impossible. I know there’s usually some flexibility in grades come results day but is there any point her putting this as her first choice or is it likely to be a flat out no without the A grade diploma? Her other 2 subjects are pretty solid so she’s very hopeful to achieve at least As in those

What are her other choices? Why is Leeds the front runner?

Classical civilisation and psychology. And her preference is based on a combination of the course modules, the university layout and Leeds itself

It depends if she has an insurance choice she would be happy to go to really?
I think it would be a shame to miss out on her first choice though, AAB is excellent and she should go to the best uni she can really with those grades

She’s still waiting to hear from two but as they’re also RG I’m concerned they may have the same stipulation

Does DD have a contact email for admissions or course tutor to ask them? I have no idea (yet) about current university admission processes but wouldn't have thought it would be a bad idea for DD to let them know how much she wants to do that particular course x

What is the subject she needs to get an A in? I am surprised she is not asked for a classical language to study classics at uni. Are they offered as a diploma?

ETA: ah just checked and there is no classics degree at Leeds – is it class civ she is doing? Again I am surprised at the specific subject demand then; my DD had a place for class civ (did Eng lit in the end) and there was no specific subject requirement so the offer was open (as in, it didn't matter what she got the A in). Just looked more carefully – is it classical literature and English with the English needing to be a grade A? Or could she ask to swerve to a Class Civ course which at Leeds doesn't mind which subject you get an A in?

Anyway; it might be worth her contacting admissions for the uni department and see what they say. The main issue IME is that there can be issues around accommodation with an insurance choice. And also yy is she happy with her insurance? Can you check what the process is for accomm - it varies by uni and some guarantee it for insurance and some not.

Thanks, yes she has an admissions email but thought that we'd only get the 'official' line from them. But it can't hurt to express how keen she is I guess

Sorry to clarify, yes it's class civ (I was just being lazy typing on my phone) and the her diploma is criminology. The A in criminology requirement came as a surprise; as you say there's no mention of specific grade requirements on their website.

That's a great point about accommodation for insurance offers, thank you!

The criminology requirement is probably to ensure she can do the psychology part of the degree. She should ask, and maybe think about some potential clearing places just in case she needs them.

Sorry I just reread & understood your question!

Her other choices are Birmingham, Notts, Swansea (ABB offer) & Reading (BBC offer I think)

She's doing class civ & psych at a-level so I don't think that can be it

That’s really weird that they want an A in (arguably) the least relevant subject. I’d be calling to check if it’s an error.

Ah, that's very odd then! Surely the sensible A, if they had to specify, would be psychology. Baffling.

Agree that I'd check that it's not an error, they do happen.

In reality they may take her with the B. There is so much horse trading on results day. The issue with Leeds is accommodation. From memory you get more chance of your preference if you firm.
if it was me I would still be inclined to firm it.

My dd had an off which was 3 A’s including maths and physics, she was doing 4 a levels and got a*aab they didn’t worry about the b in physics but had a 90 minute tense wait before her offer was confirmed on results day. She got a 2:1 from that degree and it very successfully working

It does say on the Leeds website that ABB is a typical offer, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make individual specifications. You say that criminology is a diploma course in which case the university may consider that your daughter is only doing two actual A-levels and because the diploma is more coursework based why they are asking for an A in that subject.

What are her actual predictions?

I'm assuming that's the reason @AlohaRose , unfortunately I doubt it's a mistake but will check. Unfortunately in this case the staggered assessments worked against her as the first one was when she'd just had her ADHD diagnosis and hadn't started meds.

Her predicted grades are A (class civ), A (psych) & B (crim). She's happy to firm Leeds if there's still a chance but doesn't want to waste a choice if it'll definitely be a no without the A in crim.

I'll ask her to email them & update here with the response.

Thanks all

So has she had an offer from Birmingham or Nottingham? If not, it’s early days.

It does seem odd given her other A levels. Best of luck to her!

Is it worth her flagging the diagnosis and timing of assessments in her email to them? As to why an A might not be mathematically possible at this stage but that her marks are improving post diagnosis.

DC's friend was given an offer of AAA for their subject, with one of the A grades having to be in Biology ...which was going to be really tough, given he was doing Maths, Chemistry and Physics. Took a few phone calls to the university concerned before it was changed on UCAS.

In her case I think I'd be happy to firm up Leeds and hope I'd still get in. Leeds did have clearing places last year so there'll probably be some flexibility on Results Day.

Notts. Swansea and Reading have been heavily recruiting from Clearing in the last few years so she shouln't have any problems getting a place and accommodation at any of those, whether as insurance or through clearing. Presumably she liked all three as they went on the form?

It would seem a shame to give up the chance of getting into her favourite.

Oh @mixedmessage that is really bizarre as others say. Why would criminology be needed at A grade - surely class civ is much more related to errrrm a class civ degree. When DD went to the talk about it at Warwick they said they were happy with any A levels, though they might query slightly if someone doing bio, chem and maths wanted to study class civ haha. (In practice and based on offer holder days, the majority of those applying took eng lit, history, classical civ, Latin or Greek as at least one A level - your DD ticks that box).

I can only think as @AlohaRose suggests, it is not so much the subject but the diploma – that the uni is in some way doubtful about its value (tho i would hope not tbh bc it is perfectly valid as a qual). I agree it's worth an email asking about it and flagging the recent ADHD dx.

@ClovisPlatypus lol at your story!

This has definitely come up before on HE in MN.

The WJEG Diploma in Criminology is indeed a level 3 qualification. However, not all universities treat it the same, and there may even be differences at course level. Points based Unis seem to be OK, grade based are more picky.

I seem to remember the previous posters DD was unable to get offers at any of her universities due to this. She was aiming high from memory.

So, give them a call, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's right.