Grades and University Application

Hi all,

My younger sister received her A-Level results this summer and is taking a gap year this year, which means that she is applying to university this winter knowing her grades.

She came out of her A-Levels with an A* in English Literature, an A* in RS, a C in History, a B in English Language AS and a B in Critical Thinking. She also has 8 A*s at GCSE, 2As and a B.

As I currently understand, she's planning to apply to universities with asking grades of AAA to AAB for various comparative literature courses. I know that she is definitely applying to St. Andrews for Persian and English Literature, which has a typical entry requirement of AAA.

My concern is that her grades might not be strong enough for an AAA course. Would a A*A*C student stand a chance when applying for a course like this (her C worries me, especially)? Or should she be "aiming lower"?

Obviously, I know that what makes a strong candidate is pretty subjective, but any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated as my own application to university was pretty straightforward as I literally had the asking grades of my uni (Warwick). I would really just like to see someone else's perspective on her as a candidate.

Thanks!