Do unis lower the grades in clearing?

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Reply 1

Akkuz

I don't think so. I've heard some uni's can actually increase it.

Reply 2

aimzdy

some decrease...to fill up gaps left on their courses

Reply 3

Juno

Sometimes, but not always

Reply 4

affinity89

Some do.

I was looking at American Studies at Nottingham and they wanted ABB. When I checked the clearing lists before getting my results, this had dropped to BBC. :smile:

Some will, yes

some will. the idea is to get places filled up, so some subjects (like modern languages for example) will lower their grades as they want people to choose their university for clearing, as there are literally thousands of places available all over the UK. some may not though.

Reply 7

pamelaa

SpiritedAway

Ah really I thought modern languages would be quite popular. My friend applied for it, so i'll let her know thanks. :p:

Reply 8

SpiritedAway

pamelaa

Ah really I thought modern languages would be quite popular. My friend applied for it, so i'll let her know thanks. :p:

no. fewer and fewer people are taking modern languages, which is why for a lot of places the entry requirements are so low -- and a lot of places have taken languages off the prospectus alltogether (Bradford for example) or only offer a language with a subject subject such as business.

Reply 9

ToryGirl

I think they lower the requirements if they have a lot of spaces left on the course :biggrin:

Which I find personally reassuring incase I miss mine :biggrin:

Reply 10

StarbucK

The entry grades and just to limit the numbers, its also an approx of your ability to cope with the course. They find lowering the entry bar just causes problems down the line. I would say your personal statement is less of a factor when they have spaces to fill.

Reply 11

#Limabean1

SpiritedAway

In Scotland anyway, pretty sure the number of people doing Higher and Advanced Higher French has actually gone up each year for the past few.

Dundee don't do French on its own, or even as a joint honours, but just with another subject, which is a bit of a kick in the baws.

Reply 12

SpiritedAway

TheJeebs

yeah, that's interesting. But also, isn't it true that with the scottish exam board for languages, even for higher you get to use a dictionary?

Reply 13

Minerva

hxmjam

You heard.

If you look in the Wiki you will find a lot of information about Clearing that is not based on rumour or myth. There is no single answer to the question; some unis are flexible with Clearing applicants and others are not at all. It depends on all sorts of things, not least of which is how difficult it is for them to fill their spaces, balanced with a requirement to ensure that all students taken on for their course will be able to cope with it. High drop rates (which is what happens when people aren't properly prepared) are not good for the university either. So, for example, although some science courses may have vacancies, there is no point in filling them with people who haven't been able to demonstrate a minimum level of achievement in key subjects - for instance, maths if you are applying for Physics.