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Has anyone actually been caught out by accidentally purposely witholding bad grades?

For all that of what people say on here, I struggle to believe that universities particularly those that are over-subscribed have the time to go through and check every single qualification taken by every applicant.

Won't they only ask for the A Levels certificate - hence negating any other qualifications/unwanted AS.

Yes I have heard it is fraudulent, not sure how though. "When you meet someone do you dump all the bad stuff on them", also in a job interview you don't tell them any of your bad traits.

From what I have heard from people at my school and even from people matriculating at top-tier unis that they didn't declare some retakes as such and never got caught out.

So has it actually ever happened?

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Nah.
Original post by TolerantBeing
Nah.



So it is all just a myth then?
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
So it is all just a myth then?


I might have had a D in AS Chemistry and might have withheld it from my application.
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
For all that of what people say on here, I struggle to believe that universities particularly those that are over-subscribed have the time to go through and check every single qualification taken by every applicant.

Won't they only ask for the A Levels certificate - hence negating any other qualifications/unwanted AS.

Yes I have heard it is fraudulent, not sure how though. "When you meet someone do you dump all the bad stuff on them", also in a job interview you don't tell them any of your bad traits.

From what I have heard from people at my school and even from people matriculating at top-tier unis that they didn't declare some retakes as such and never got caught out.

So has it actually ever happened?


I'm really fed up with people asking this. If you don't declare your grades, that's fraud. If you can live with that and you're prepared to risk your entire university application for not declaring a grade which probably will have very little impact on your chances, fine, don't declare your grades. I think it's an incredibly stupid thing to do. There will be people who get away with it without getting in trouble, but are you willing to bet on being one of those people? The fact of the matter is that the consequences of being caught are very bad and you're gambling with your future.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
For all that of what people say on here, I struggle to believe that universities particularly those that are over-subscribed have the time to go through and check every single qualification taken by every applicant.

Won't they only ask for the A Levels certificate - hence negating any other qualifications/unwanted AS.

Yes I have heard it is fraudulent, not sure how though. "When you meet someone do you dump all the bad stuff on them", also in a job interview you don't tell them any of your bad traits.

From what I have heard from people at my school and even from people matriculating at top-tier unis that they didn't declare some retakes as such and never got caught out.

So has it actually ever happened?


You might be interested in this page which outlines how UCAS process your results http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/undergraduate/results/how-your-exam-results-get-your-unis-and-colleges

If your listed qualifications don't match up with your actual qualifications, this will be flagged to UCAS (probably on results day) and they can then make the universities aware.

It's treated as fraud and can be taken very seriously.

The only slight exception is a U grade. Because a U grade as AS level doesn't actually count as a qualification, it's debatable as to whether you have to declare it or not.

People do get caught out. It's also worth bearing in mind that people in real life tell lies.
Original post by Chlorophile
I'm really fed up with people asking this. If you don't declare your grades, that's fraud. If you can live with that and you're prepared to risk your entire university application for not declaring a grade which probably will have very little impact on your chances, fine, don't declare your grades. I think it's an incredibly stupid thing to do. The fact of the matter is that the consequences of being caught are very bad and you're gambling with your future.


Is not declaring retakes considered fraud?

Come on mayn, just asking..
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
Is not declaring retakes considered fraud?

Come on mayn, just asking..


Yes, it is. You can read the UCAS T&Cs if you want. When you submit your application, you sign an agreement that you are declaring all of your qualifications. You won't get prosecuted for it obviously but the universities are completely within their rights to cancel any offer they make if it turns out you didn't declare all of your grades.
Original post by Chlorophile
Yes, it is. You can read the UCAS T&Cs if you want. When you submit your application, you sign an agreement that you are declaring all of your qualifications. You won't get prosecuted for it obviously but the universities are completely within their rights to cancel any offer they make if it turns out you didn't declare all of your grades.


Thanks for your advice.
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
Is not declaring retakes considered fraud?

Come on mayn, just asking..


Yes it is, and could result in your offers being withdrawn, including, for example on results day. It could also cause delays on results day, which is never fun.

I do think not every mistake is caught. I know someone who left her BHS exams off her application, and this was never brought up to her. However, deliberate exclusion of an AS retake should be flagged to UCAS, as your exam results won't match perfectly with what they are expecting.

I don't think the risk is worth the reward.

If you severely underperformed at AS level, but pulled your grades up a lot at A2, the best thing to do is apply after getting your results on a gap year. At this stage, provided you haven't done an excessive number of retakes, you'll be quite an attractive candidate and should get some good (unconditional) offers.
Original post by SlowlorisIncognito
Yes it is, and could result in your offers being withdrawn, including, for example on results day. It could also cause delays on results day, which is never fun.

I do think not every mistake is caught. I know someone who left her BHS exams off her application, and this was never brought up to her. However, deliberate exclusion of an AS retake should be flagged to UCAS, as your exam results won't match perfectly with what they are expecting.

I don't think the risk is worth the reward.

If you severely underperformed at AS level, but pulled your grades up a lot at A2, the best thing to do is apply after getting your results on a gap year. At this stage, provided you haven't done an excessive number of retakes, you'll be quite an attractive candidate and should get some good (unconditional) offers.


I don't get it, won't all they want is your final A2 grades?

Thanks for your response though.
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
I don't get it, won't all they want is your final A2 grades?

Thanks for your response though.


Because some universities ask for unit grades, UCAS receives the results of every A2 and AS exam you've taken that summer. If they aren't expecting an extra AS result, then it won't match, and someone will notice you've taken an extra exam that wasn't listed on your UCAS. Also, some people might take an additional AS to meet a points offer or for one of the few unis which give out offers like AAAa.

It's possible that at this stage the university won't care- but that usually means they won't have cared anyway. Under the UCAS rules though, if they chose to, the uni can then withdraw your offer.

Also, if UCAS have reason to believe that there's something wrong with your application, then they can chose to investigate further.
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
For all that of what people say on here, I struggle to believe that universities particularly those that are over-subscribed have the time to go through and check every single qualification taken by every applicant.

Won't they only ask for the A Levels certificate - hence negating any other qualifications/unwanted AS.

Yes I have heard it is fraudulent, not sure how though. "When you meet someone do you dump all the bad stuff on them", also in a job interview you don't tell them any of your bad traits.

From what I have heard from people at my school and even from people matriculating at top-tier unis that they didn't declare some retakes as such and never got caught out.

So has it actually ever happened?


Well it's standard for Universities to require you to show all of your A and AS level certificates, so if you have lied about any of them then you will be caught out, and a lot also require you to show your GCSE certificates.

In other words you can lie about them but there's a significant risk of being caught and Universities tend to be very strict about that. I only know three people personally who lied about a grade. One lied about an AS grade that was relevant to his degree, one about an AS grade that wasn't and one about his History GCSE, and all three had their offers revoked on the same day that they were caught.
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
For all that of what people say on here, I struggle to believe that universities particularly those that are over-subscribed have the time to go through and check every single qualification taken by every applicant.

Won't they only ask for the A Levels certificate - hence negating any other qualifications/unwanted AS.

Yes I have heard it is fraudulent, not sure how though. "When you meet someone do you dump all the bad stuff on them", also in a job interview you don't tell them any of your bad traits.

From what I have heard from people at my school and even from people matriculating at top-tier unis that they didn't declare some retakes as such and never got caught out.

So has it actually ever happened?


I know of 2 people whose medicine applications have been affected at an early stage by their not declaring a GCSE result, suggesting that some universities check the accuracy of your GCSE results during the application process. One was rejected because of his lack of honesty as he had not declared a C at short course GCSE PE. The other was asked to explain why he had not declared an A at short course German GCSE.
No never as if they want to see my D in Physics, or my E in Geography (at the time and I have extensive list of bad grades). At UCL (undergrad) they just asked for certificates of English and Maths GCSE and A-Level certificates. At KCL (undergrad) they didn't ask for anything at all.
Original post by SlowlorisIncognito
Because some universities ask for unit grades, UCAS receives the results of every A2 and AS exam you've taken that summer. If they aren't expecting an extra AS result, then it won't match, and someone will notice you've taken an extra exam that wasn't listed on your UCAS. Also, some people might take an additional AS to meet a points offer or for one of the few unis which give out offers like AAAa.

It's possible that at this stage the university won't care- but that usually means they won't have cared anyway. Under the UCAS rules though, if they chose to, the uni can then withdraw your offer.

Also, if UCAS have reason to believe that there's something wrong with your application, then they can chose to investigate further.

Will the unit grades from previous exam sessions (year before) be sent too?
Original post by Chlorophile
I'm really fed up with people asking this. If you don't declare your grades, that's fraud. If you can live with that and you're prepared to risk your entire university application for not declaring a grade which probably will have very little impact on your chances, fine, don't declare your grades. I think it's an incredibly stupid thing to do. There will be people who get away with it without getting in trouble, but are you willing to bet on being one of those people? The fact of the matter is that the consequences of being caught are very bad and you're gambling with your future.


Well said. I find the whole thing dishonest.
Original post by Damien_Dalgaard
For all that of what people say on here, I struggle to believe that universities particularly those that are over-subscribed have the time to go through and check every single qualification taken by every applicant.

Won't they only ask for the A Levels certificate - hence negating any other qualifications/unwanted AS.

Yes I have heard it is fraudulent, not sure how though. "When you meet someone do you dump all the bad stuff on them", also in a job interview you don't tell them any of your bad traits.

From what I have heard from people at my school and even from people matriculating at top-tier unis that they didn't declare some retakes as such and never got caught out.

So has it actually ever happened?


I'm pretty sure there isn't a person that goes around calling all the schools about all applicants asking "hey did this guy actually get that?"

Instead, there's a system and you'd get flagged up if those particular qualifications can be checked by the system and they don't match. Then those people that get flagged might get checked by an actual person.

There's things they couldn't check. Like I'm 90% sure they didn't check my high-school exam results by calling my school up or something, because I was applying from abroad to study in UK and could only write equivalent since I had no GCSE's.

I don't remember if I sent photocopies of my diploma though, either way it looked legit (my application) and equivalents I wrote made sense, so I got through. I haven't lied though.
I withheld my U in general studies... But general studies was a compulsory subject for me during AS, I did it against my will... Don't see why I should declare it.
Original post by adorablegirl1202
Will the unit grades from previous exam sessions (year before) be sent too?


My understanding is that they won't be sent to the uni unless the uni asks for them, but UCAS has access to them. I don't know what the chances of UCAS noting a discrepancy in them is- but it is possible that they could.

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