[ATTICUS21]

Hi everyone, I'll be brief as I'm not certain this is in the correct forum.



I basically messed up my GCSE retake needed for my last and top choice university, I made some silly choices in Ucas and now I'm very stuck!

*When does this clearing start and am I entered into it if I hold no offers? Or how do I er, get into it?*

*Is there usually a decent selection of universities and are their entry requirements lowered usually or do you think I will struggle again as I have slightly iffy GCSE grades? (higher grades are pretty decent)*

Sorry if any of that seems completely obvious :/ I would love any feedback thank you guys x

[StacFace]

Assuming you've applied this year for more than one choice then if you hold no offers you will automatically go into Clearing on 5th July. You'll have to wait until results day to actually use it if you are waiting on any grades though.

Alternatively if you didn't use all 5 choices you can add in extra ones to make up to the 5, or if you did you can use UCAS Extra to add one extra choice and wait for an offer. If they reject you then you can add another etc until Extra closes on 4th July.

[Juno]

Some unis lower their requirements. Some don't. You won't really find out til on the day - although if you search you should find stories of what people have been accepted with.

However, as you're waiting on gcse results you won't be in Clearing til gcse results day, which is a week later than everyone else.

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by ATTICUS21)
Hi everyone, I'll be brief as I'm not certain this is in the correct forum.



I basically messed up my GCSE retake needed for my last and top choice university, I made some silly choices in Ucas and now I'm very stuck!

*When does this clearing start and am I entered into it if I hold no offers? Or how do I er, get into it?*

*Is there usually a decent selection of universities and are their entry requirements lowered usually or do you think I will struggle again as I have slightly iffy GCSE grades? (higher grades are pretty decent)*

Sorry if any of that seems completely obvious :/ I would love any feedback thank you guys x

As the other person stated you'll automatically go into clearing and it won't start still results day.
If you didn't get any offers first time, you can go into ucas extra.

There is always a decent selection of universities and even the occasional Russell group university, but certain courses are usually unavailable at some universities compared to others such as Law, Economics, etc......those places which are available at the decent universities are often immediately taken within in a few hours sometimes.

In clearing, they wouldn't ask you for your GCSE's, they will ask if you meet their a-level requirement from when I did it, if you do so, they'll patch you through to the admissions of that department and give your details, then you accept on the ucas website.

edit: Seems like they might ask for your GCSE grades

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by ATTICUS21)
*When does this clearing start and am I entered into it if I hold no offers? Or how do I er, get into it?*

It starts in mid-July, but you will probably find yourself delayed until GCSE results day because your firm won't know if they're accepting you until then, plus you need to know your results before you can start applying.

The exception is if you can find somewhere that doesn't care about the GCSE retake (what subject is it in?) - ie, they're fine with what you originally got, and you are guaranteed to at least still have that - and you'd rather go there than your firm, so you get them to release you.

You are automatically entered if you're holding no offers. You can choose to enter it by getting your current firm (and insurance, if you have one) to release you, therefore ending up holding no offers.

*Is there usually a decent selection of universities and are their entry requirements lowered usually or do you think I will struggle again as I have slightly iffy GCSE grades? (higher grades are pretty decent)*

There's usually a large selection. Decent is relative - if you have all A*'s at A-level, you might not feel there's a decent selection. Entry requirements usually don't go down that much, although it depends how competitive the university thinks their course is in Clearing. GCSE grades largely don't matter, as long as you have five A* to C, including maths and English.

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by Iqbal007)
In clearing, they wouldn't ask you for your GCSE's, they will ask if you meet their a-level requirement from when I did it, if you do so, they'll patch you through to the admissions of that department and give your details, then you accept on the ucas website.

I got asked about my GCSE grades.

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by TheSownRose)
I got asked about my GCSE grades.

I don't recall I did :/ maybe they knew cos I had an offer from them before going into clearing

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by StacFace)
Assuming you've applied this year for more than one choice then if you hold no offers you will automatically go into Clearing on 5th July. You'll have to wait until results day to actually use it if you are waiting on any grades though.

Alternatively if you didn't use all 5 choices you can add in extra ones to make up to the 5, or if you did you can use UCAS Extra to add one extra choice and wait for an offer. If they reject you then you can add another etc until Extra closes on 4th July.

You can still enter it if you only chose one, you just have to pay the extra £10. You can't use Extra to add in choices, you can only enter Extra if you have used all five and are holding no offers.

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by Iqbal007)
I don't recall I did :/ maybe they knew cos I had an offer from them before going into clearing

Ah, that's might be it.

I definitely did get asked, because I have a suspicion they probably helped me get the place (contradicting myself nicely there. )

[StacFace]

(Original post by TheSownRose)
You can still enter it if you only chose one, you just have to pay the extra £10. You can't use Extra to add in choices, you can only enter Extra if you have used all five and are holding no offers.

I know, that's why I said they could add extra choices to make up to the 5 if that was the case. Then I said they could use Extra. Though I did forget to mention that you have to pay the difference if you only applied for one.

[ATTICUS21]

I think I understand, thanks so much for the information.

The university is Aberdeen and it's Teaching, Primary Ed, I'm in such a dilemma now as I don't know whether to ask them to release me into clearing nearer the time or not as I'm still clinging onto the hope that they may accept me anyway through my appeal, which obviously is very slim. If I wait and see the places will be more limited.

On the GCSE subject the uni is Aberdeen, they require B in Maths, I have a C but don't most universities need a C in Science too? This is what worries me as i re-sat that too I don't know if I passed, such bad exam nerves. I do have enough GCSE's though in number. That would make things more complicated as *if* universities did need a Science pass I would have to wait till August anyway.

If any of you guys got any of that I'd love any advice, what would you do? Kat x

[ladysummers]

I rang the university which was my firm offer and asked then about if my results were so many marks off. They told me that they won't just throw me out completely, they'll look at me again.

Ask the university what they do about it. It made me feel a lot better, because even though I have tried my hardest to get what I need, there is that possibility.