How do I still go to a top university?

Hi there,
As i have finished my A levels in 2023 I have of course been hard done by by the grade boundaries. If i was born 2 months earlier i would be walking away with A*AB, however i have ended up with ABC! A combined 10 marks off the next grade boundaries.
Don't get me wrong I know these are decent grades and I can still get into a very good uni! However I am finding it a tough pill to swallow to not be attending a top university.
I was just wondering what the best plan of action is? reapply next year? try clearing next year? a foundation year?
when i ask this i mean no offence to anyone going to these unis or that have obtained similar grades, this is just the situation i can't help but find myself in.
any and all responses welcome!
Thank you

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by tommybealby

Hi there,
As i have finished my A levels in 2023 I have of course been hard done by by the grade boundaries. If i was born 2 months earlier i would be walking away with A*AB, however i have ended up with ABC! A combined 10 marks off the next grade boundaries.
Don't get me wrong I know these are decent grades and I can still get into a very good uni! However I am finding it a tough pill to swallow to not be attending a top university.
I was just wondering what the best plan of action is? reapply next year? try clearing next year? a foundation year?
when i ask this i mean no offence to anyone going to these unis or that have obtained similar grades, this is just the situation i can't help but find myself in.
any and all responses welcome!
Thank you

Had you been born two months earlier you would have been in a different school year, presumably, and therefore would have been taking your A levels closer to the end of the pandemic than you did in reality. Whilst I obviously don't how the pandemic impacted you personally, for most in that school year it impacted them more than those in your school year. Hence why the grade boundaries were more generous last year - in an attempt to make allowances for that.

With regards to your question you haven't mention your target universities (i.e. those you would consider "a top university"), you haven't mentioned the course you would be looking to study, and you haven't mentioned your A level subjects. All of these could impact any advice you receive.

What is your current situation? I assume you missed the entry requirements of your firm, but it's not clear whether you were accepted by your insurance or not. If not, have you secured a place via Clearing yet, or are you still deciding what to do?

Also, does ABC meet the grade requirements for your preferred course at any of your target unis?

Reply 2

tommybealby

OP

2

hi there,
sorry for the lack of clarity! i have been accepted to my insurance for politics and international relations.
i am taking a year out anyway which will give me time to process and think about what i want to do but i would prefer at this point a course with politics and economics! i got an A in politics, a B in econ and a C in maths.
with regard to your first point i was very fortunate during the pandemic to still receive online teaching, therefore not having much affect on my school at all!
i did miss the requirements of my firm unfortunately, and currently no ABC doesn't match any preferred courses.
Thank you for your respinse!
(Original post by DataVenia)Had you been born two months earlier you would have been in a different school year, presumably, and therefore would have been taking your A levels closer to the end of the pandemic than you did in reality. Whilst I obviously don't how the pandemic impacted you personally, for most in that school year it impacted them more than those in your school year. Hence why the grade boundaries were more generous last year - in an attempt to make allowances for that.

With regards to your question you haven't mention your target universities (i.e. those you would consider "a top university"), you haven't mentioned the course you would be looking to study, and you haven't mentioned your A level subjects. All of these could impact any advice you receive.

What is your current situation? I assume you missed the entry requirements of your firm, but it's not clear whether you were accepted by your insurance or not. If not, have you secured a place via Clearing yet, or are you still deciding what to do?

Also, does ABC meet the grade requirements for your preferred course at any of your target unis?

Reply 3

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by tommybealby

hi there,
sorry for the lack of clarity! i have been accepted to my insurance for politics and international relations.
i am taking a year out anyway which will give me time to process and think about what i want to do but i would prefer at this point a course with politics and economics! i got an A in politics, a B in econ and a C in maths.
with regard to your first point i was very fortunate during the pandemic to still receive online teaching, therefore not having much affect on my school at all!
i did miss the requirements of my firm unfortunately, and currently no ABC doesn't match any preferred courses.
Thank you for your respinse!

OK, so congratulations for securing a place at your insurance choice. I've never really come up with a good strategy of how to advise people when picking their insurance choice. You clearly want to pick a uni you'd be happy to go to, but if you set the bar too low (to reduce the risk of missing your insurance grades too) you run the risk of missing the opportunity to study at somewhere which isn't quite as good as your firm, but is better that the insurance you ultimately picked. Always tricky.

The fact that you've deferred entry to your insurance choice, and are taking a gap year, gives you plenty of time to make the right choice about what action (if any) to take. There's no need to rush this any decision.

The C is Maths is going to make Politics and Economics an issue, hence your "ABC doesn't match any preferred courses" comment. Those grades aren't going to go up (unless you perhaps retate the Maths - is that on the cards?), and the grade requirements for Politics and Economics at your preferred unis aren't going to come down. So your "reapply next year" suggestion would only make sense if you were to apply to different unis next time. They might not be you preferred unis, but you might be able to get into a Politics and Economics course that way. Have you checked what grades would be required to access a Politics and Economics course at a university outside of your preferred unis?

Was Politics and Economics available via Clearing at any of your preferred unis this year? If so, do you know whether they were accepting ABC? I suspect not, else you'd have probably declined your insurance place and applied via Clearing for Politics and Economics at one of your preferred unis. Although the courses and uni which are in Clearing changes each year, if this course wasn't accessible to you via Clearing next year - you have to allow the fact that it might not be next year either.

The Foundation Year route might work, as entry requirements are often significantly lower. Do any of your preferred unis offer a "Politics and Economics with Foundation Year" course? Would such a course accept ABC?

(Sorry that most of the above is in the form of questions, but without knowing which your preferred unis actually are, it's difficult to say "You can do X" or "You can't do Y", so I'm having to answer in very general terms.)

How do I still go to a top university?

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