Ask an Admissions Tutor X: 20 September - 21 October

I've already sent off my SAQ, should I email the college?

I've done both but it's also on my SAQ which has been sent off! Hope that's okay :-) thanks for all you've done for us!

With the Fee Assessment Questionaire, how will household bills prove that we've lived here? It has my parents name on, not mine, no mention of me.

My parents don't keep council tax or utility bills for any length of time. Are HMRC correspondence/statements acceptable?

I understand that the entrance exams are not being used to shortlist applicants for interview.

However, what effect do you think the exams will have on the percentage of those you interview? Do you think it will decrease?

No, I'm afraid not. For a science subject you need to have 3 A*s in maths/science subjects to be eligible for compulsory pooling. Of course that doesn't mean that if you aren't successful at your original college that you won't be pooled, many candidates are.

If it exists (the rules only seem available for subjects that aren't Maths or Medicine), what are the criteria for a Medicine applicant in Year 13 to be eligible for compulsory pooling? Beyond Medicine, without a set of four AS UMS scores or achieved A Levels for each applicant will auto-pooling carry on?

Hi, sorry to repeat, but anxious for some SAQ help. For application with IB qualifications does the Extended Essay need to be included under qualifications please (5.5)? Just read a conversation on this thread about EPQ and I'm thinking it might be similar? Thanks!

On the SAQ should I include my C3 coursework as a separate module to my C3 exam?

What is compulsory pooling?! I've heard it mentioned but I'm confused as to when it takes place/how it affects your chance of an offer!

I don't think so.

Students who have achieved a certain level in public exams (93% UMS best three or best three Sciences average for Y13 applicants, 3 A*s for post A Level being the most common) are eligible for compulsory pooling. This means that if their original college does not make them an offer then they must place he applicant's file in the winter pool for other colleges to see and decide if they wish to make an offer. It's there to ensure that strong paper applicants are not dismissed for further consideration because of a poor set of interviews.

They aren't separate from other applicants placed in the pool, which is why I dislike the phrase 'auto-pool' as it makes it sound as if there is an auto-pool and a normal pool, which there isn't.

Is this the case even if they have separate unit codes? The coursework is 4753/02 and the exam is 4753/01. Should I just enter it as 4753?

Thanks so much - this is really useful to know! If a candidate has only two UMS scores to report due to the other AS levels being reformed, does this mean they aren't eligible for compulsory pooling? If the teachers have reported strong raw mark scores in their reference, will these be considered as well? Thanks again