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Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
Durham
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Near miss

Hello everyone,

This post is especially directed to current Durham students. :rolleyes: I was wondering whether anyone has been accepted to Durham even though they did not quite get the grades required. If so, what did you do between the day you got your results and the day you heard you were accepted?

K ~ :smile:
Reply 1
I was offered AA in maths and chemistry and got BA. However I only had about 20 mins of worry when track went up, and my place had been confirmed anyway. But it was probably due to being only 2 UMS of the A in maths and getting an A in philosophy.
Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
Durham
Visit website
Reply 2
thanks a lot!
Reply 3
Katelyn
Hello everyone,

This post is especially directed to current Durham students. :rolleyes: I was wondering whether anyone has been accepted to Durham even though they did not quite get the grades required. If so, what did you do between the day you got your results and the day you heard you were accepted?

K ~ :smile:


You should find out on the day results are released whether they will accept you. Universities get result up to a week before you do. So they've already made up their mind by results day. I was an exception.

I missed my offer by one grade although this was quite a few years ago - I'll explain the relevance of this later. My offer was ABB but I missed out on the A in Theology by 2 UMS marks and the A in Literature by 3.

I underperformed in my A-level exams (not coursework) due to significant mitigating circumstances (illness).

I rang on results day to be told I that they weren't going to accept me. I explained that I had mitigating circumstances (having just been diagnosed with epilepsy a week or so before). At first I was told, in a rude and unsympathetic manner, that "as Durham is such an oversubscribed and popular university they don't take mitigating circumstances into account". I didn't accept this and demanded to speak to the admissions tutor only to be told he wasn't in the room. I suspected this was a lie so kept insisting. Eventually the admissions tutor was consulted and they agreed that, if I provide them with medical evidence, they will reconsider.

I provided them with a GP's letter and, around three weeks later, was told that they will accept me.

I was only successful because of illness (and providing them with medical evidence). Had I been a "normal" student I wouldn't have been accepted.

The year I applied was probably a record year for applications (or certain near enough a record). But the numbers applying then were even less than those applying in recent years which, with the exception of one year, has increased year on year.

Universities are now becoming increasingly oversubscribed. This coming application cycle is said to be particularly bad with a particularly high number of applicants not getting offers from any universities.

So I had mitigitating circumstances and they in the year I applied, there weren't the same numbers applying as there are now.

I don't mean to upset. I just don't want to give false hope.

There is always the chance that if you miss your offer then you will be allowed in. It's less likely to happen in Durham than other universities but it still happens every year with at least some courses.

Your likelihood of still being allowed in is obviously largely determined by your course and how oversubcribed it is. I applied for Philosophy which is still reasonably competitive. Prudy applied for law which is obviously very competitive. Courses at Queens Campus as well as some social sciences like Criminology and possibly Anthropology and Archaeology will be more likely to accept you than programmes like Natural Sciences, Combined Honours, Law and History.

My advice for anyone who does miss their offer, and discovers on track that they aren't succesful, is still to phone the university. It can't hurt. But if track tells you that you've been been unsuccesful then it's very, very unlikely the university will change its mind. If you have mitigating circumstances than ideally you would have informed them earlier. If you haven't then inform them on results day. Even if you don't have mitigating circumstances try and convince them of your dedication and passion for the course and university. It's unlikely this will work as there are plenty of people who are just as passionate and met their offers. But it's worth a try. If you've missed the offer by a handful of UMS marks then it's worth mentioning this.

Be aware that, if you do phone, the member of staff on the other end mightn't be sympathetic or helpful. Some will be and some won't be. Some are just more naturally sympathetic than others. But you also need to realise that there'll be hundreds to thousands of students phoning and it can be quite tiring dealing with so many phonecalls and patience can run thin.

So try and make your point heard in a calm, assertive but polite manner especially if you have mit circs. Don't be put off my any attitude you get. But if they say no, which is unlikely, then there's nothing that can be done.
Reply 4
Thanks for the very detailed reply, I appreciate it!
Reply 5
There's one factor that could have an impact on Durham's decision-making for near-miss candidates this year. The government now levies huge fines for Universities exceeding the number of students they're contracted to enrol - e.g. de Montfort Uni was fined £3.4 million last year. As a result, all unis are dead scared of taking on too many students, which makes it less likely they'll take near misses. One less obvious consequence of this is that the need to land on a pinhead means it becomes critical what's happening with those applicants where Durham is the insurance choice and the applicants are near misses elsewhere. Universities get the A-level results on Sunday the 15th August with the aim that all near miss decisions are made by Thursday 19th, when applicants discover what they got. The need for the Uni to know what's happening elsewhere means that not all decisions were made by the Thursday last year and that is likely to be the case again this year. Thus, there is a chance that you could miss the grades and not have a decision when you look on track or ring up on the Thursday. If that's the case, you'll have the option of getting yourself released immediately to your insurance choice if that's what you'd prefer - just ring and ask - or you can wait to see what the final decision is. Here's hoping this all turns out to be academic and you get the grades anyway. Good luck.
Reply 6
Thanks, that's what I gathered. To be honest, I already know that I am a near miss student. I live in France and I did the French Baccalaureate (with an International option) and I needed 14/20 to go to Durham. I got 13.8/20. The university counselor and I phoned various people at Durham to explain that I honestly never got an average that low and that I had mitigating circumstances. Also, the head of the Anglophone section of my school sent a very good recommendation letter to a few people. Some of the responses I got seemed rather positive but I know that the chances of getting in are very slim and that I have to wait until the British results are released. That's why I started this thread - to see if anyone did get in even though they were a near miss and what they did (if anything) to get in.
i got an offer for mathematics (4 years) which was A*A in any order for maths and further maths, then an A in either chemistry or physics. I got A*ABB with the B's in chemistry and physics. Physics was 479, 1 off an A, and chemistry was 474, and today they've told me I have a place :smile:
What did you near miss people do about your colleges? Anyone had theirs changed or did you get your first choice?

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