Re-apply and take a gap year or stick with current offer?

Hi,

So I have applied for history and I ended up receiving an offer from UCL on their East European History course which requires ABB. Not their main course which wants AAA-A*AA and is British history. I had originally applied for their main course but was rejected and offered this one instead.

I accepted as it was the best university I had received an offer for and the chance of studying maybe 1 or 2 modules of British history a year was enough to sway me.

Ok, so today I received my results. I ended up achieving A*AA. A* in law with 100% in my last exam, A in history with 98% in my last exam and an A in English literature.

For some reason my school has been marked down on both English and history coursework, meaning that everyone has been given a grade lower than they were originally told. Very annoying, as this would have meant I would have had an A* in history.

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Anyway, my question is should I re-apply next year for the British history course that I am passionate about? Would A*AA (or maybe A*A* if the school can somehow appeal?!) be viewed as very desirable?

I think what let me down this year is a mixture of a poor reference (I was predicted a 'capacity' for an A* and the universities weren't aware of my AS results which were all above 90%), my poor GCSEs (average from a failing comprehensive - 3 A*s, A, the rest Bs and 1 C) and the competition for places.

I wrote a letter to King's College London history admissions explaining why my GCSEs were bad, a copy of my AS results, etc. In their words my school had 'done me a disservice' by not explaining these and that they take AS marks very seriously (i.e. they don't want predictions), as well as reasons why GCSEs do not reflect the applicants ability.

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Do you think I should reject the UCL course in East European history, a course that doesn't particularly enthuse me as much as British history? And also is 'second best', at least, I would feel second best to other students there. Having worked so hard for As.

Do you think my chances with these results and a good reference (now my school has it in writing that they should do things differently), explanation of my GCSEs, a decent personal statement, are ok?

I plan to go travelling in September anyway to historical places and write a history blog. But work the rest of the gap year because I will need the money.

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Sorry for the length of this! Many thanks to anyone who replies.

Just because I am worried about sounding pretentious or ungrateful - I have been at comprehensives throughout my school life, neither of my parents have been to university and I'm not exactly trying for Oxbridge. I just want the best start in life and I want to be doing a degree that I enjoy. I think my mum calls it the 'hunger' but I am a very determined person and I want to be successful in later life which is why I have pushed my self, self taught myself and worked considerably hard throughout the past 2 years. My passion has always been British history, there is nothing like reading about the history of the country you live in and learning about your ancestry. I don't think reading about East Europe would inspire the same kick in me.

I have tried phoning UCL, they said they are too full and that usually there would be 1 or 2 places for people to transfer from V101 to V100, but not this year. King's was just someone saying "there is no places for adjustment or clearing" and not really any conversation at all.

I aware that the competition is going to be even harder next year. But I am willing to take the chance. Would actually having the grades (especially an A*) look good?

Thank you! :smile:

Reply 1

BryonieIV

I just realised how massive this is.

So here is a summary, if that helps:

•

Received A*AA

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Offer of East European history at UCL

•

Want to be studying British history instead

•

Any chance my grades, a good personal statement, reference, etc. will help next year?

Reply 2

kratos90

Hmm tough one. Personally, I would make a choice based on the course before the university.

Reply 3

TheCrackFox

Could you not accept the offer and transfer to British History the 2nd year? That way, you haven't rejected a valuable offer and you don't waste time taking a gap year.

Reply 4

Stressworthy

Given how much you've written there, it definitely sounds you're much more passionate about the other course, otherwise you wouldn't be debating it so much. Don't settle for anything less, I would say, because you could end up regretting it and not enjoying your time at university. You've got excellent results so congratulations on those, and maybe start planning a productive year out. Then reapply for courses you're passionate about at universities you genuinely really like to avoid being disappointed again.

Reply 5

SiaSiaSia

You don't want to go into a course you're not 90% sure about.
I'd personally take a gap year and reapply.

Reply 6

BryonieIV

TheCrackFox

Could you not accept the offer and transfer to British History the 2nd year? That way, you haven't rejected a valuable offer and you don't waste time taking a gap year.

Very unlikely.

I just got a call from the admissions tutor for history at UCL (the main course/British history). She basically said that they are really oversubscribed and that they've exceeded their limit. So even in September when a few people drop out, it's still going to be too full for me to transfer.

She also told me about how employers will only see 'History BA from UCL'. They won't know it's an East European leaning and neither will anyone in the outside world, so I shouldn't feel second best. The reason that the grade entries are different is because the East European course is not as popular. But that they still get people who achieve my sort of grades.

She also talked about how SSEES is world renowned in their field which they are, they are experts.

I don't know, in my gut I'm thinking "no one will know. It's UCL a prestigious university and everyone will think I must be highly intelligent to get on this course. I'll look good on paper." But then in my heart, I'm thinking there's still not enough British (and in fact, anywhere else in the world) history in this course for me.

It's whether I want to risk it to take my chances next year. When every one says it's going to be harder to get in!

Reply 7

lazytomato

it's the course, not the uni. Don't go on and do something you'll regret later on in your life

Reply 8

Zoltan250

In the long run, choose the course that appears most desirable to you. If you have successfully enrolled into UCL, that's great, but do not choose the course that will frustrate you within the uni. It would be regrettable if you worked so hard for your firm, but studied your course and found it annoying, to the point that you might not reach your potential at uni.

If you are so passionate about British History, but find that there are no vacancies, maybe it is best to re-apply next year to do British History at UCL, as you'll feel more comfortable with a course you'll enjoy, with a rewarding degree at the end. Maybe you can do a gap year this year and earn more for accomodation and other necessities, to lower the inevitable student debt.