Applying for unis with lower grades than entry requirements

[Bufftailed]

First time supporting DC with this process.

Have seen UCAS pages and often quite big gap between requirements and most common. Eg Loughborough ECON: requires AAA, most common ABB. I know there are contextual, but lowest are BBC. So would it be worth DC applying with ABB or even BBB predictions? He is doing well regarded A levels if that makes much difference…Finding it all a bit confusing…

Thank you for any wisdom

If DC is in England, SFE will award the initial tuition fees loan for the length of the original degree programme plus one year.

If DC is admitted to a degree
programme including an integrated FY, my understanding - which should not be taken as the final word! - is that this is part of the degree programme and funded as such. Not even the ‘extra year’.

It has been a little while since I have made a point of staying up to date with this, but worth checking. 🤞

If it's anything like last year, all but the most elite universities are likely to be more flexible. They might well give their usual offer even if the PGs are lower, and then might still accept lower if the student doesn't reach them when results come out. This happened to my DD. The thing would be to apply for a range - so if you don't get the more aspirational one, you still have choices.
Another option is clearing - last year there were more courses in clearing than ever before for often quite competitive programmes at reduced tariffs. I work for an RG university and some of our quite prestigious courses which are normally AAB were in clearing for BBC or even BCC. Other similar universities were the same, as we are trying to increase UK undergraduate numbers to make up for falling international postgrads.

Also meant to say Lancaster requires AAB but most common BBB

Most AAB and below courses were 2-3 grades lower in clearing last year for Business and Economic degrees from memory.

Southampton was BBC with a B in maths.

Only Birmingham and maybe a couple others didn't go to clearing and were not flexible on offers.

To take some of the panic out of it, I would separate "worth a punt" from "plan". One aspirational choice with slightly higher requirements is fine if he genuinely likes it. The other four should still make a coherent safety net: two around predicted grades, one safer, and one he would actually attend.

Thanks - what do you mean ‘would actually attend’. Do they all not fall into that category?

@Bufftailed It’s fairly common for dc to fixate on one university and then get very cold feet about their insurance choice when it has to be the insurance choice. It’s somewhat immature but if you wanted, say Manchester, but you got Bangor, you might be unhappy to be somewhere small. So why even consider it? Young people are not always the most discerning and schools can tell them to look at the course. This advice is of limited value. They are living in a uni town or city for 3 years. It could be a remote campus! Will they relish that experience or do they really want a city and all a city has to offer? Ideally all 5 choices should be where dc are prepared to study and live so they don’t end up stranded with no choice on results day. Understanding what dc feel about a city or remote town matters.

I mean one they would genuinely be comfortable choosing on results day, not just one that looks sensible on paper. If the safer option is a place/course they would dread, it is not really a safety net. Better to have five choices where each could become the actual plan.

As a PP said, Loughborough was in clearing last year for Economics at BBB. As far as we could see, it was the only uni with a typical offer of 3 As or above that had any clearing places for Economics for UK students (my DD looked the night before results day in case she didn't get the 3 As she needed for her first choice at different uni). So I think that may have skewed the grades. I was surprised because it is obviously a popular uni so probably just an anomaly last year.