grades in conditional offers - annoying!

i find it frustrating when someone is made a conditional offer from a university with high grades (eg AAA) but will in fact be accepted with AAB or lower or something. whats the point in that 'typical offer' in the first place? maybe some unis want to make themselves look good for certain courses or something but there should be some consistency. makes it hard for some people to choose and maybe they cant be bothered with it (i fall in this category). you have to rely on previous students etc to hear the facts. this isn't so much with top 10 unis, but a couple in the top 15 range and then probably even more lower down.

does it annoy you (aimed at those in this situation)?

Reply 1

generalebriety

16

Do you understand the system? :s-smilie:

If someone with an offer of AAA is accepted with AAB then the university didn't have enough AAA-grade students that year. The number of people this happens to is relatively few, and given that they'll have been predicted AAA anyway, it's probably not unreasonable to think they'll keep up with the university's standards of work. And if they don't, it's their problem. Why does it annoy you?

Reply 2

Areontas

16

I think it causes unnecessary stress for those who feel they can’t meet the grades, when in fact they’d be accepted. I’ve heard of people being accepted with ABB for AAA offers, but not usually at top unis. Having said that, it’s still important to work in order to try and get the best grades – maybe that’s the aim? After all, 2-3 months of hard work to push your grades up to an AAA/AAB (if at all possible) won’t harm anyone once they get on to degree level - plus it shows they can cope with the work.

Reply 3

FunkyIguana

It's a dangerous game to assume that students missing their offers by a grade or two will still be accepted onto the course, though. It varies (often considerably) from year to year, depending on the number of students who've specified that course as their firm/insurance; how many extra offers to places available the faculty has given out; and goodness knows how many other variable factors. Best thing to do is just get those offer grades :smile:

Reply 4

Pulkpull

10

It's made it a bit difficult to choose an insurance, as all but one of my offers are AAA, but I know for a fact that people get accepted with much less at some of them.

Reply 5

Pulkpull

10

generalebriety

Do you understand the system? :s-smilie:

If someone with an offer of AAA is accepted with AAB then the university didn't have enough AAA-grade students that year. The number of people this happens to is relatively few...

This isn't always the case. At an interview/open day for Physics at Manchester, the admissions tutor even told us that if we slipped a grade it was highly likely that we would still get in.

Reply 6

Anatheme

18

I was told the same too.
The thing that worries me the most is that I'm required to have 14/20 as an overall, and some subjects weight more than other (I think of Philosophy which weights 7 and other weight 4). So even if I have 18/20 in some subjects and have 8/20 in Philosophy, my overall will decrease (is that correct ? Excuse my mistakes, lol).
That s****...

Reply 7

readjono

5

Personally I think you get a better deal if you have taken exams already and just miss the grades.

Reply 8

Minerva

17

readjono

Personally I think you get a better deal if you have taken exams already and just miss the grades.

Huh?
If you are applying post A2, what happens then is that unis decide if the grades you have are good enough for them. If the standard offer is AAA and all you have is ABB with no resits planned, you are likely to be rejected unless you have extenuating circumstances. This scenario is not what the OP was talking about.

If you apply post A2 but are planning resits, then you may or may not get conditional offers based on the results of those resits, and if you miss the required grades your position is exactly the same as someone who hasn't resat (or could even be worse; if there are two candidates who have both missed their offers, but one is a resit candidate, I would have thought it quite possible that the resit candidate is the one who doesn't get in if either does).

Reply 9

readjono

5

kw2005

Huh?
If you are applying post A2, what happens then is that unis decide if the grades you have are good enough for them. If the standard offer is AAA and all you have is ABB with no resits planned, you are likely to be rejected unless you have extenuating circumstances. This scenario is not what the OP was talking about.

Well the OP was talking about conditional offers being unfair. I personally think doing the exams first puts you in a better position. They can interview you if you've missed out on the grades and look at other factors, as opposed to just going on predicted grades.

Reply 10

Vikid

I heard at Manchester uni that employers look at your a level grades and so they give you high grades for conditional offers so you dont slack and employers are more likely to employ you after uni. But they might still accept you if you miss a grade.

Reply 11

fusionskd

10

Some universitys make a high offers so that your most likely to put them as your firm. Ie they may ask for AAA, but if you do get AAB they'll accept you anyway because you've fallen into the trap...and once your firm accepts you, you'll have no choice but to go there...Where as you have a choice if you fall into your insurance. My physics teacher told me this, he knows someone who's an admissions tutor.

Reply 12

silk192

14

fusionskd

Some universitys make a high offers so that your most likely to put them as your firm. Ie they may ask for AAA, but if you do get AAB they'll accept you anyway because you've fallen into the trap...and once your firm accepts you, you'll have no choice but to go there...Where as you have a choice if you fall into your insurance. My physics teacher told me this, he knows someone who's an admissions tutor.

can u elaborate on this

my offer for my firm is AAB so does that mean if i get ABB they will still consider me?

Reply 13

fusionskd

10

silk192

can u elaborate on this

my offer for my firm is AAB so does that mean if i get ABB they will still consider me?

I can't really say because it depends on the university, the course..etc, But it is a possibility. What I'd do is on result day, i'd call them up early in the morning (the university) and ask for a place [they already know your grades anyway, before you] they'd then either say "you already have a place" bla bla or "we can offer you a place..." bla bla (which means I didnt get the grades) either way, I have nothing to lose really and more to gain, by calling them up on the day of results.

Reply 14

silk192

14

fusionskd

I can't really say because it depends on the university, the course..etc, But it is a possibility. What I'd do is on result day, i'd call them up early in the morning (the university) and ask for a place [they already know your grades anyway, before you] they'd then either say "you already have a place" bla bla or "we can offer you a place..." bla bla (which means I didnt get the grades) either way, I have nothing to lose really and more to gain, by calling them up on the day of results.

well i dont know if i really stand a chance of being accepted if i missed the grades. the course i applied for is psychology and its at the university of nottingham. a popular course at a prestigious uni. doubt i stand a chance.

Reply 15

fusionskd

10

silk192

well i dont know if i really stand a chance of being accepted if i missed the grades. the course i applied for is psychology and its at the university of nottingham. a popular course at a prestigious uni. doubt i stand a chance.

I wouldn't say miss the grade, to test it out lol....obviously you should try your very best to get the grades! But never say never :p:

Reply 16

silk192

14

fusionskd

I wouldn't say miss the grade, to test it out lol....obviously you should try your very best to get the grades! But never say never :p:

lol i dont think im that stupid to do that. but there is a 50:50 chance that i might miss the grade due to the grade boundaries in one of my subjects and the teacher not knowing what grade would be needed for an A.

Reply 17

fusionskd

10

silk192

lol i dont think im that stupid to do that. but there is a 50:50 chance that i might miss the grade due to the grade boundaries in one of my subjects and the teacher not knowing what grade would be needed for an A.

Well just do your best..and if worst comes to worse and you do miss your grade then call the uni up immediately and be persistant! and IF there is a space left, then the uni would lower its grade requirements at that time anyway........

grades in conditional offers - annoying!

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