The Student Room Group
I would say ABB... If you feel you're capable of getting AAA, then you probably wouldn't want to go to a university that asks for BBB or less for a course like English...
Reply 2
Whatever you want surely? :s-smilie:
Reply 3
It doesn't matter. It depends on whether you feel you will be able to achieve your firm or which university you wouldn't mind going to if you don't meet your firm.
Reply 4
ABB. In my opinion, you should have 2 which you think you won't get, 2 you think you will, and 1 which is a definite. With AAA, you're pretty much guaranteed a place at 95% of unis! The other 5% are stuck up :wink:
Reply 5
Depends how certain you feel that you'll get the grades. And on the unis.

If you're set up to get AAA, think you can get it, but don't find any AAB or ABB unis you're too interested in, but find a BBB uni you love, don't pick one of the AAB or ABB unis because it could be slightly better.
Reply 6
With AAA, you're pretty much guaranteed a place at 95% of unis! The other 5% are stuck up


English Lit is one of the most competitive courses even with AAA. It's nothing to do with being "stuck up", it's just about supply and demand. That shouldn't stop you applying to leading unis for English though.

Outside of Oxbridge, UCL and Warwick, most top unis do not interview for English. Therefore, other factors are used to help them differentiate between well qualified candidates: PS, reference, GCSE grades, A level subjects.

If you can give us a little more information about your subjects and GCSEs, we might be able to give you better advice. It also depends on the specific unis you are thinking of applying to e.g although Edinburgh offer BBB for English, many AAA candidates don't get offers.

If you are a strong candidate in all aspects, I don't think you need apply to ABB unis. Leeds & Cardiff, for example, have excellent English departments, make AAB offers and should be safely within your reach. I would be inclined to apply mainly to tough ones like Oxbridge/UCL/York/Nottingham and at most a couple that are a little easier.
Reply 7
peachmelba

Outside of Oxbridge, UCL and Warwick, most top unis do not interview for English.


Which makes me wonder how Durham manage, now they've dropped the interview requirement (except for certain cases, of course). I don't envy the work of an admission tutor.

peachmelba
Oxbridge/UCL/York/Nottingham and at most a couple that are a little easier.


That would be quite sensible.

I just produced this list before (although I don't know why I forgot to include a larger number of ABB unis - I was distracted by the football)

Durham - AAA
Oxford - AAA
Cambridge - AAA
UCL - AAAe
Newcastle - AAA
Bristol - AAA

Reading 340 - 360 points

Glasgow AAB
Manchester AAA - AAB
York AAA - AAB
Liverpool AAB
Warwick AABb
Newcastle AAB (for combined language and literature)
Cardiff - AAB
Sussex AAA - AAB
Royal Holloway - AAB

Exeter (Cornwall) - AAB - BBB
Surrey -300 - 320 points

Edinburgh - BBB
Goldsmiths - BBB
Brighton - BBB
Northumbria - 300 points
Essex - 300 points

Portsmouth - 240 - 300
Aberystwyth - 280 points

Aberdeen - CCC

So personally speaking then the lowest I'd chose would be a BBB. However, both of these BBB unis are Edinburgh and Exeter Cornwall (where higher predicted grades may be expected anyway). My choices would probably be Durham, UCL, Glasgow, Exeter Cornwall and Edinburgh. AAA, AAA, AAB and then...whatever you class Exeter and Edinburgh as :p: So maybe I'm a bit more conservative than peachmelba but those are the unis I'd be interested in anyway. Plus, like I said, Edinburgh and Exeter Cornwall aren't exactly "BBB" unis.
Reply 8
peachmelba
English Lit is one of the most competitive courses even with AAA. It's nothing to do with being "stuck up", it's just about supply and demand. That shouldn't stop you applying to leading unis for English though.

Outside of Oxbridge, UCL and Warwick, most top unis do not interview for English. Therefore, other factors are used to help them differentiate between well qualified candidates: PS, reference, GCSE grades, A level subjects.

If you can give us a little more information about your subjects and GCSEs, we might be able to give you better advice. It also depends on the specific unis you are thinking of applying to e.g although Edinburgh offer BBB for English, many AAA candidates don't get offers.

If you are a strong candidate in all aspects, I don't think you need apply to ABB unis. Leeds & Cardiff, for example, have excellent English departments, make AAB offers and should be safely within your reach. I would be inclined to apply mainly to tough ones like Oxbridge/UCL/York/Nottingham and at most a couple that are a little easier.


Thanks for the replies everyone. I got 8A* and 2A's at GCSE and all A's at AS Level. I am currently taking English Literature, Maths and Biology. I am pretty sure that I am applying to Oxford, Durham, Warwick and Sheffield - it is just the 5th option I am unsure about and whether I need to include universities with lower offers than AAA/AAB. I am considering Bristol as a 5th choice but that's another AAA offer. It's just hard to decide whether I should include a university with a ABB offer as I haven't found any I'd actually really want to go to. My school weren't very helpful either as one teacher said pick your lowest as AAB and the other said they'd go a lot lower. Thanks River85 for the list - very helpful!
Reply 9
River85
Which makes me wonder how Durham manage, now they've dropped the interview requirement (except for certain cases, of course).


Ridiculous GCSE minimums and grammatical requirements of their English applicants is one way.
Reply 10
kat2pult
ABB. In my opinion, you should have 2 which you think you won't get, 2 you think you will, and 1 which is a definite. With AAA, you're pretty much guaranteed a place at 95% of unis! The other 5% are stuck up :wink:


I know that personal experiences doesn't mean much when it comes to uni apps, and I don't want to freak the OP out, but I got 4As and one B at AS, and three As at A2 and got four, big, fat rejections. there's nothing guaranteed when it comes to a course as competitive as English Lit.

don't just whack on an insurance choice if you don't really want to go there, it's what I did with manchester and it ended up being the only offer I got. I thought I was set for a place at one of the other unis I applied to because of my grades, lots of english-y extra currics. and what I was told was a half-decent personal statement. so, basically, make sure you're happy to go to everywhere you apply.

also, edinburgh is BBB but it's still a really great university for english lit, and super competitive.

if I was reapplying, I'd go for -

//high-reaching//
UCL
Edinburgh
//safer bets//
Glasgow
Sheffield
//'insurance'//
Goldsmiths
Why is it Exeter Cornwall?! Why not just Exeter?! Exeter offer AAA anyway, don't they!?
Reply 12
BJack
Ridiculous GCSE minimums and grammatical requirements of their English applicants is one way.


Although, now they have dropped the interview requirement, they will start looking at results in even greater detail (including GCSEs) there's no evidence that they have taken the history department's lead and are looking for A*s.

I know people in the english department with quite "modest" GCSEs (well, no A*s...) although these did start the course before the interview was dropped...

A Stranger in Moscow
Why is it Exeter Cornwall?! Why not just Exeter?! Exeter offer AAA anyway, don't they!?


Because the Cornwall campus have lower entry requirements (therefore aren't AAA like the main campus). I was using it as an example of a non-AAA (and slightly less competitive) course.
got 8A* and 2A's at GCSE and all A's at AS Level. I am currently taking English Literature, Maths and Biology. I am pretty sure that I am applying to Oxford, Durham, Warwick and Sheffield - i


Your results are very impressive though you might be in a slightly stronger position if you had a second complementary A level subject like history or a language.

I think your choices are sensible. Assuming a good PS & reference, you should get an interview at warwick. For Oxford, it will depend how you do in the ELAT but even then your gcse results will go in your favour & I'd be surprised if you didn't get an interview.

Durham is frankly a lottery - if you search the English forum, there does seem to be a view that they are applying an unofficial A* policy (which would help you.

Sheffield looks like a banker for an offer (with usual PS/reference caveats) and would be a good insurance for you. Course/department has a good reputation and it's a great student city. Have you visited yet? OhNo is right that there's no point to applying somewhere you wouldn't be happy to go.

Assuming you like Sheffield, I would apply to another tough choice like York/UCL/Nottingham. Since it is so competitive, decisions are inevitably somewhat subjective - I remember the Nottingham admissions tutor saying it could be just one line in your PS that appealed to them. On that basis, the same candidate can be accepted by York and rejected by UCL and vice versa. Apply to 4 top unis and you increase your chance of getting an offer. Even if all 4 reject you, you are still likely to hold an offer from Sheffield.

However, if you are naturally much more cautious, consider the likes of Leeds, Cardiff, Birmingham or Leicester. You can then be fairly confident of getting two offers.

In all cases, consider the details of the course structure and the city/uni environment. The decision should not just be based on reputation/likelihood of gettting an offer. It's where you are going to live & how you are going to be studying for the next 3 years. What's best for you might be wrong for the next person.
Reply 14
Hi everyone,

Do you know if I can send my application for Cambridge and then later on use my remaining 4 choices and apply for them? Because I need some more time to make the decision about the last four choices. On ucas though they say that you can only apply once a year. But then they also say that you can apply for one uni for the cost of and then just add more choices and pay 10£ extra....I'm confused :-S
Reply 15
peachmelba
Your results are very impressive though you might be in a slightly stronger position if you had a second complementary A level subject like history or a language.

I think your choices are sensible. Assuming a good PS & reference, you should get an interview at warwick. For Oxford, it will depend how you do in the ELAT but even then your gcse results will go in your favour & I'd be surprised if you didn't get an interview.

Durham is frankly a lottery - if you search the English forum, there does seem to be a view that they are applying an unofficial A* policy (which would help you.

Sheffield looks like a banker for an offer (with usual PS/reference caveats) and would be a good insurance for you. Course/department has a good reputation and it's a great student city. Have you visited yet? OhNo is right that there's no point to applying somewhere you wouldn't be happy to go.

Assuming you like Sheffield, I would apply to another tough choice like York/UCL/Nottingham. Since it is so competitive, decisions are inevitably somewhat subjective - I remember the Nottingham admissions tutor saying it could be just one line in your PS that appealed to them. On that basis, the same candidate can be accepted by York and rejected by UCL and vice versa. Apply to 4 top unis and you increase your chance of getting an offer. Even if all 4 reject you, you are still likely to hold an offer from Sheffield.

However, if you are naturally much more cautious, consider the likes of Leeds, Cardiff, Birmingham or Leicester. You can then be fairly confident of getting two offers.

In all cases, consider the details of the course structure and the city/uni environment. The decision should not just be based on reputation/likelihood of gettting an offer. It's where you are going to live & how you are going to be studying for the next 3 years. What's best for you might be wrong for the next person.


Thanks for the advise! I have been to see Sheffield and really liked it. Decisions, decisions ...
Do you know if I can send my application for Cambridge and then later on use my remaining 4 choices and apply for them?


That was certainly the case when i applied 3 years ago. You could wait to hear result of your Oxbridge application and still meet the Jan 15th deadline.

Having said that, I wouldn't leave it too late. Although some unis wait until applications are in before making offers (the "gathered field" approach), others do make early offers to very strong candidates. I know York do, for instance. So, applying later will mean you could be competing for a somewhat smaller number of places.

It's also good to get your UCAS stuff out of the way and concentrating on your A2s!

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