Countdown to exam results. Anyone else feeling anxious?

[jellybrain]

Waiting for DS1's Gcses results on 22nd of August. He did really well last year but, all the talk of moving grade boundaries has got me worried. Fingers are very tightly crossed for maths as this is the subject he struggles with most.

[jabeen100]

my favorite education page is study.result.pk

[jabeen100]

well i know how you feel...all of those quotes are true, but i can see how they aren't too helpful to get your mind off of it for too long...!

[circular]

Thanks Creamteas. sounds like its still a possibility for DD with 2A*, 4A and 3B for her proper GCSEs.

[creamteas]

circular If all RG universities filtered out applications without A they would go bankrupt! There would not be enough applications left to fill their places. In RL, the majority of students do not routinely have mostly A/A grades. The vast majority of applicants will have a mixture of As, Bs, and Cs.

Some subjects (like medicine) might receive a majority of applications from students with large numbers of As, but with the exception of Oxbridge, pretty much no other institution could recruit just from applications with GCSEs at A/A

[circular]

Creamteas So the admin staff could be filtering out potential students with the right A levels, but too few A* at GCSE.

[creamteas]

Circular They are all read in most institutions, but they are not necessarily read by admissions tutors. Often this is done by admin staff working with a institutional and/or dept protocol as to how to screen potentials against non-potentials.

Where I work, I only read a minority of applications, the ones that don't easily fit into the protocol. So I don't see any applications from school leavers with relevant A levels, but they would ask me to look at an application when the applicant was sitting all science qualifications but applying for a social science.

[Horsemad]

That's a massive jump Bunbaker, no wonder you are pleased!
I noticed that our local failing comp which was in special measures not so long ago, has beaten its local rival this year. They'll be very happy as the school has had a terrible reputation for years.

I haven't seen figures for the grammar my DS attends, they'll be out this week I think.

[Bunbaker]

I am feeling pretty pleased with DD's school as their GCSE pass rate has rocketed from 62% last year to 80% this year. They have invested a lot of effort to improve the school in every way and it has given me more confidence in my choice of school.

[circular]

Thanks Creamtees
So do all applications get looked at properly by admissions, or are any filtered out earlier (by computer or otherwise) for not having enough A*s?

[littlemisswise]

No, mumslife he did Psychology, he did think about doing Politics but it was just as well he didn't because the Politics teacher left last Summer and they didn't replace him, so he couldn't have carried it through to A2.

[creamteas]

if they have the c in english and maths or above at gcse level and they get the a level requirement including the a lvel requirement in english. Do you then look at the gcses

Some universities will, but many more prefer to use AS results (plus predictions) as the main way of distinguishing between applicants.

If they are interested in GCSE grades, the extent to which a B in Lang will be relevant will depend on which English degree she is applying for. They are all different, so will be looking for different things!

[creamteas]

Mumslife Most universities have two levels of entry requirements. General for entry to any the university and course specific.

GCSEs are usually listed in the general requirements, so, for example where I work there is a general requirement of GCSE English and Maths Grade C. This is clearly not enough to get on any of our degrees, but all students need to have this (or equivalent).

Course specific requirements vary from course to course and can be either just A level grades (or other qualifications) or ask for specific subjects.

So for example to study English at my uni you need ABB including A level English. But if you met these requirement but had a D in GCSE Maths you would still not be allowed in.

Because A levels are the most important aspect, staff usually focus on this for open days. Not all the staff at open day events will be admissions staff, so they may not always know the details on the general regulations. But it will be on the website if you look for it.

[littlemisswise]

DS1 did his GCSEs 2 years ago, he got 2A*s, 7As and 2Bs. He did Alevels this Summer and got AAB. He got the A's in English and History. He was going to go to Loughborough to History and Politics but has decided to have a year out.

History and English A levels are a lot of work. DS1 loves both subjects, he got 100% in History GCSE, and a very high A in both Eng lit and Lang, but at times he found it hard going.

DS2 did his GCSEs this Summer, he got 8As and 2Bs.

[littlemisswise]

DS1 was accepted to Nottingham to History, mumslife. When we went to open days they said they looked predicted A2s and personal statements. It was never mentioned about the 4As at GCSE, perhaps it might be useful if that was made clear to applicants.

DS2 wants to go there to do Nursing, I think the entry process is different for that though.

[creamteas]

Circular Universities will have different policies, and there is also subject variation, and I obviously can't speak for all. But having worked in admissions in two different universities (both with high entry grades, one RG, one not) and attended lots of admissions related events, I would say that the AS and predictions are more important than almost everything else (one exception being negative school references).

The problem with forums is that any reasons given for rejection are pretty much always speculation as universities don't give reasons. So people make up their own minds why.

But getting into a good university is not that difficult (expect for a few specific courses) and is getting easier. Most universities are looking to expand and the numbers of school leavers is in a dip for a couple of years.

At the end of the day, if an applicant doesn't get the offers they want in a Year 13 application, if they get good A2s, they will get places (ahead of the rest) the following year.

[circular]

Creamteas As a parent that worries about likelihood of DD getting into an RG Uni without loads of A*s and B's in English, I have spoken to some Uni admissions and been reassured that the AS and A2 predictions are what will matter.
However, I can't help worrying (albeit from hearsay) that there is a certain aspect of 'Computer Says No', before the application even reaches the admissions staff.

[creamteas]

As an admission tutor, I will say a lot of the discussion on TSR and MN is crap. I have seen what are ported to be my decisions, and they quite often don't match the way I treat applications (given the reported 'facts').

So contact the universities if you are unsure, don't rely on hearsay.

[nemno]

MsAverage Yes I'm sorry it is not clear. It is not an official requirement to have a certain number of As at GCSE but it is always discussed on sites like The Student Room how many A s you need to be in with a chance and it is 'accepted wisdom' that it is a wasted application if you don't have them. Discussions like this one, where open day information is shared

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1011937

Because it is not an official requirement I could imagine that exceptions can apply. I accept that I lack evidence, just years of anecdotal stories online and from LSE students. My advice to get a remark to get as many A*s as possible though still stands for obvious reasons.