Adjustment into target unis NEED ADVICE

Have a gap year if adjustment doesn't work out.

One year in the grand scheme of things is tiny, give yourself the biggest chance and fully utilise your fantastic grades.

I don't know about your age etc. but a year out doesn't have to be a bad thing, and you don't have to get 'relevant' experience during it to impress.


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im only 18 but dont wanna waste a year... hell i rushed my A levels in 6 months and pulled it off, might aswell take another 3 if i did that xD even if i went semi-target that year couldve been spent on a masters at a target later on. the trade off just doesnt seem worth it to me. ill have to relentless with the unis

would it be worth losing sheff for nottingham/manchester/kings? assuming i dont manage with the G5

1. it's not a waste
2. a masters is not necessary in the slightest apart from for pure interest

3. yes

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im only 18 but dont wanna waste a year... hell i rushed my A levels in 6 months and pulled it off, might aswell take another 3 if i did that xD

would it be worth losing sheff for nottingham/manchester/kings? assuming i dont manage with the G5

My honest advice is that it really isn't wasting a year.

I'm not looking to go into IB, and instead will be doing a TC at a Magic Circle commercial law firm. Commercial law isn't quite as restrictive when it comes to your university choice, but from my experience (2 internships at MC firms, 10+ Open Days at City firms), the same universities appear repeatedly and I've honestly only ever met people from around 10 universities when at law firms, and the majority of those attend Oxbridge. Your odds will be significantly better if you get into a target university, and I imagine still better by some way if you attend a semi-target.

I go to a university not fantastically represented in commercial law, and yes I've got a TC so it isn't impossible, but I know so many at my university who struggle to get anywhere whilst my internships have been 75% Oxbridge. Make your life easier and be one of the majority who attend a target opposed to one of the minority who make it from somewhere like Sheffield.

Also, I took a year out between A-levels and university. I appreciate that you don't want to waste time, but for me it was the best and most useful year of my life. I worked in a bar full-time and travelled. Both experiences made me a more interesting, mature, driven individual and my experiences when working in a bar have always seemed to impress in interviews. There is no reason you can't do the same in your year off, and in the grand scheme a year is literally nothing. Imagine being a year older but landing your dream job, or a year younger and unemployed.

lol what luck do you think id have with LSE if i got a maths tutor this time, plus taught myself say geography and applied with 5 A*/As? plus some mediocre 'work' exp that obviously came through connections.

Surely taking a year out with not much to do besides additional a levels and menial work experience would seem ridiculous, or dismissed on account of them being done in 2 different sittings a year apart

also- masters necessary or not, it would allow me to then have the brand name of a target uni at the end of 4 years

thats alot to think about... i really feel as though ive been screwed out of an opportunity by not having any predicted grades, having to resort to the essential equivalent of clearing when i worked damn hard, entirely off my own back.

but that right there with my grades is my selling point, if instead it were seen i quit halfway through sixth form TWO (rather than one) years ago- then it seizes to be in any way impressive

You would have a decent shot, but I wouldn't just focus on LSE, you are virtually guaranteed to get a decent place at any of the targets/semi-targets with your current grades + doing maths during the year out.

Connections make things happen man, don't look down on using them to get work experience, that's how most of the business world runs. And why networking is emphasised so much.

Or you could travel, learn a new skill, work part/full time to see to get a taste of hard work in a non cushy setting, build up some character, read more, meet new people. Etc, the list is endless and the opportunities are all there - all that's stopping you is your imagination.

Why would you drop extra thousands on the 'target brand' for only a year when you can just do it right the first time and go through the finance career funnel? That seems like a waste of time to me.

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Don't let yourself feel like a victim. You have the opportunity to apply for any university you want now, with fantastic grades that you've achieved genuinely against the odds.

I don't understand your last point though... Why will anyone think it took you an extra year to get your A-levels because you have a year out? You will list your A-levels and the year you achieved your grades, and it will be clear you are on a gap year.

I reckon it also looks more impressive to have self taught A-levels and ended up at a target than Sheffield, but that isn't based on any real knowledge of IB's recruitment process.

not so much a victim, its more that i overlooked the importance of predicted grades and got cocky, thinking if i started my AS in august and sat them in october id have something to show for myself. 2 months proved too little for 4 new subjects and got BBCD, hence only one offer...

this was already a year out for me in a sense, i feel another would be too much is all

im a firm offer holder (AAB conditional) at Sheffield for an Economics BA. While ive practically fallen in love with the uni im constantly told on this forum it is neither target nor semi-target for IB, and would have to do alot to distinguish myself.

I really dont understand how people say this is is the case when on academic rankings on QS, Sheffield is on par/passes a few of the 'semi-targets'

I received my results A*AA and am going to try to get into a top/target uni through adjustment.

Has anyone ever been successfull at doing this? i am under the impression that although i meet the requirements for many/all the courses i am interested in- that my only chance is if others miss their grades who have applied for that course.

also, would i be better off doing a joint degree like politics/economics/history at a G5 or straight econ at a semi-target like manchester?

I can't make the decision for you, as it really is up to you. I've put forward my advice, but if you choose to ignore then I genuinely wish you good luck. Maybe try to find some statistics though about how many places in IB are filled by various targets/semi-targets, I'm sure they're available.

My last bit of advice is to think long-term. You're 18, another year is insignificant in terms of how long you will spend working post university.

As they say, "degrees are the new A level", to really stand out you're likely to have to do a Masters. If you like the look of Sheffield and the course is what you want, then go for it - you can always "trade up" for a second degree if all goes well.

anybody have any idea of the courses offered by ucl through adjustment

I think chemistry might do. Its usually obscure courses that ucl offers adjustment for. Are you having doubts about warwick?

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