Applying to Law with only Highers

[Bluepeach]

Hi, my son could not attend school for two terms in S5 so did not complete his Highers. He is now able to attend again so will be doing his 5 Highers in S6 and will be applying to university without any grades (other than GCSEs). Am I correct in thinking that the majority of kids who are applying to uni stay on to S6 so are usually applying with actual grades? Does not having grades go against you? I also seem to see kids getting offers for degrees other than Vet and Medicine that are conditional on additional Highers/Advanced Highers. I though Vet and Medicine were the only two that required anything more than 5 Highers? He is hoping to apply for Law which is of course super competitive, so wondering if not having achieved grades and not able to Advanced Highers essentially means there is no point in applying? The advice from school and from the one uni he contacted is to explain in the PS. I just wondered if anyone has lived experience of anything similar?

I don't know for certain but I think he will be in quite a weak position, both not having his higher results from S5 and not having any additional highers or advanced highers.

I wanted to medicine but didn't get a place during my 6th year. I had a year off after school and did a few other things while I figured out what to do. This meant I had time for my 6th year grades to come through and also gave me a bit of extra time to work and get experience doing other bits and pieces. I then went on to study law and became a lawyer. I was 19 starting university and felt more confident.

Would something like that be open to him?

I know law is even more competitive now than it was before, so fingers crossed for him.

I think most youngsters do now stay on for S6 so will be applying with grades in hand. However entry is based on Highers so there is no reason why he shouldn't apply

DD applied from S6 and her offer was conditional on the AH she was doing but another youngster we knew was given an unconditional offer.

If he is keen then he should apply and make sure his personal statement is strong - and explains his circumstances.

Aberdeen definitely gives unconditional offers on highers only.
I have a young relative just graduated and the younger sibling going into 2nd year. Both got unconditional offers for law during S6. Their Glasgow and Edinburgh offers were conditional on AHs iirc.

But your DS will need to explain in the personal statement and school will need to mention in reference the reason he missed most of S5. Otherwise it will look like he did a higher course over 2 years which probably wouldn't be acceptable for law.

I remember reading in our local paper a year or two ago of someone in a similar situation to your DS who got a place at Glasgow. Glasgow use LNAT scores so maybe that would help to allay any concerns.

Strathclyde uni used to offer 3rd year law entry via a specific college course (class mate of DS1 did that as had poorer results than expected in S5).

Yes Glasgow use LNAT. Friend of dd's got an unconditional at Edinburgh on Highers ( but think that's quite unusual)

Yes, plan is to do LNAT (already booked) as that seems to be the only way to potentially make the application more competitive. May be that a Gap year will be necessary which is not ideal but also not the end of the world.

Just before Covid lockdown I (then in my late 50's) had started an Access course at Glasgow University, doing Law and Politics. One of my co-students was an 18yo with basically no qualifications because he had been living rurally in an African country, though Scots born. Passing the Access course (part time, evening study) would pretty much guarantee a place on the actual Law course. The Access course cost £500 then, I know it increased to £550, may be slightly more now. Might this be an idea for your DC?

I don't really know specifics but know a girl who got a conditional offer to do law at either St Andrews or Edinburgh after s5. She must be fairly confident as she left after her Highers. Bright girl but not outrageously so.

UCAS references are changing going forward. From 2023/24 the teacher reference will focus more on any circumstances that have impacted performance and will move away from teacher giving their opinion on pupil suitability. That might help your specific circumstances. Teachers will be asked to:

1. Enter a general statement about your school/college
2. Enter any information about extenuating circumstances which may affect this applicant’s performance in examinations or other assessments
3. Use this section to outline any other circumstances specific to the applicant that you think universities/colleges should be aware of

My understanding is that the applicant personal statement will still be in place for 2023/24 but be removed the following year 2024/5? to be replaced by a questionnaire style section.

@Indiana2021 That is good to know, thanks. @HirplesWithHaggis I also did an access course to get into Uni many moons ago after leaving school before my Highers and then realising within a couple of years that had been mistake - absolutely loved it! Loved being with a mix of ages (including some people in their 50s) and loved the course - studied Access to the Arts so included Sociology, Philosophy and Psychology, which were not available as school subjects at that time. Looking back, if those kinds of subjects had been available at school, I would have been much more likely to stick it out - good to see them on school curriculums now. I am imagining for my son, once he has his five Highers, that should be enough - I am just doubtful he will get an offer with only predicted grades. Worst case he would work for a year, but definitely would be his preference to go straight away.

Ds's gf and a couple of her friends applied for law last year. They all had 5As in the bag for higher in S5 and I was told good LNAT results, and all offers they got for all Scottish unis were conditional offers for one more A (or B at AH) in S6. Not sure if that was because they wanted to encourage them not to stop studying, because of the confusion over grades during the turbulence of the last couple of years, or because of the competition. They were also widening access candidates so their offers may have been lower.

If your ds does struggle for a straightforward offer, there could be other routes available.

When dd applied the impression we got was that they wanted S6 candidates to continue to study/not slacken off.