teachers/uni admissions folk: question re disappointing AS results please

[ladette]

DS got 3Cs and a D for AS. He really underestimated how much work he'd need to do and is capable of much higher. The courses he wants to do at decent unis ask for AAA - ABB at A2. Given that he won't have resit results before UCAS application goes in, has he completely blown it (and please be honest). Would also appreciate any advice as he won't get to speak to his own teachers til they're back next week. Thanks.

That depends on a couple of things. If the results are certificated then I think they have to go on the UCAS form, which will obviously affect his chances of getting offers. If the school don't certificate until the end of U6, then only predicted grades go on the form and the universities won't know about the AS results unless his referee mentions them in the reference (which presumably he/she won't!). Then the important thing will be predicted grades from his teachers, for which they will take into account the likely results of Jan re-sits. He needs to speak to teachers first thing on the first day of term to see what the situation is and show willing. An alternative, if UCAS doesn't go his way this year is to apply post-A'level when he knows his final grades.

DC was in a similar boat but got offers from 'decent uni'. Find out what the predicted grades are, because they carry weight, and do a cracking Personal Statement.

Are these his main four subjects? Not general studies for example? He could drop the D grade and work his socks off if so.
However the best uni's would expect his dropped AS level to be higher than a D I imagine.

DD was the same, got BEEU! and turned that into BBCC and she worked very hard the second year, it'd be even more work to get up to A grades though. However she hadn't applied to unis as was planning a gap year and got a place through clearing at last minute.

Your DS could apply, but I'd be putting down some uni with lower grade requirements and maybe doing a bit of gap year planning if it doesn't work out. Goood luck!

DS1 did almost exactly the same - he got CCCE. Although he did re-sits and got the Cs up to Bs, by the time he had done those his UCAS form had already been sent off, and his college only used first results as their predicted grades.

As we knew the latter would be the case, it meant that he had to 'downgrade' the universities that he applied to.

Based on our experiences, there is absolutely no point applying now to a university with an entrance requirement of AAA-ABB if those are his AS results.

I'm sorry if that isn't what you want to hear - and it may be that it's different at your school in terms of what they are prepared to say re predicted grades - but certainly for us, this was the case.

The good news was, because he chose universities to apply to that had lower entry requirements for their courses, every one of his five choices made him an offer.

However, come the A2s, DS1 worked really hard (AS results were a real kick up the backside), and achieved AAB. This left us in a real dilemma because although he way exceeded the entry requirements/offer of his firm choice university, he was left knowing that he could have applied elsewhere in the first place!

So we've gone through what has been really traumatic experience of turning down his place and he will be re-applying to go next year.

I say 'traumatic' because now we have to go through the whole application process again - the personal statement, the choice of university, hoping he gets offers, etc, etc. And all this has to be accomplished in the next couple of weeks. Never mind wondering about what DS1 is going to do over the next year!

IMO the current system is stupid. I think that none of them should apply until they have their actual grades.

If I were you, I would suggest that you think hard about applying next year, and then think about what your son does in his gap year that will enhance his application.

I've spoken to several admissions officers now, all of whom were very encouraging and said that this is not an unusual occurrence. The advantage that you will have, of course, is that your son will be applying with his grades and, if he applies early (i.e. before the end of September 11) he will stand a very good chance of getting a confirmed offer very quickly.

Good luck to you and, especially, to him. It's such a fraught time!

Speak to the school. If they think he is capable of more then maybe resitting the whole of Y12 is his best option. If not, he may well need to revise his uni aspirations. With the sheer number of students achieving high grades now, he is unlikely to go to his choice universities on those AS grades.

DS2 got similar AS results and significantly improved (after retakes) for A2. His teachers said that he underestimated the step change/amount of work especially in the first half of Y12.
Your DS will probably have to put those grades down on his UCAS form, but what matters more are the predicted grades that his school will give - these should be higher than his current grades. IMO he is then restricted in choice this year to those universities he can get to on those grades.
If he can't find the course/university he wants based on those grades, he will probably need to consider a gap year when he can reapply with his actual grades.
No need to retake Y12 provided he is prepared to put in the extra work involved in studying for resits (mainly in January, but some may only be available next May/June).

thanks all, lots of useful info here. It's a shame when they are bright but won't work - but maybe that means he's not ready for uni yet. Thanks again

yeah, thought he would have to Pixie. Bugger! thanks for posting

I don't think he has blown it as far as getting offers if the school will give him a good reference and his personal statement is good. However, if he is not re-sitting year 12 then do make him put a uni with a lower offer than ABB down as a reserve. By the time the offers come in & he has to make a choice he will have the results from the January re-sits and can choose an appropriate first choice and insurance offer.

Ask his teachers for their honest advice and take it. Better for him to be realsitic about where he applies. Too many students with good grades got nothing this year as unis were not flexible with those that dropped grades. Clearing was almost non existant.

Keep a beady eye open to make sure he picks up maximum marks possible on coursework - no leaving it till the last minute.

Good luck, with hard work and determination he can turn things round.