The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Good universities in clearing?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by morgan8002
I didn't say it was a bad uni in general. I know it's good for engineering and marine biology. It's just not excellent for maths and physics.


Ah fair enough so.
Original post by молодой гений
What subject / with what final grades?

BA German and Spanish, entry requirements are ABB and I got in with BBC
Original post by solarplexus
I got 3A* last year and was in clearing (rejected from medicine and declined offer from 5th choice UCL),

every single clearing course was crap.

the half decent ones like law at bristol were taken up within the 1st hour.

i made a decision to take a gap year because the clearing courses were crap. (and wanted a gap year anyway)

Law at bristol 'half decent'. Lol. :lol:

I reckon you got rejected from all your choices because they sensed your arrogance. Just a heads up if you're reapplying :wink:
Kings was on clearing for Pharmacy last year. Queen Mary was on clearing for most of their courses last year. I don't know about universities outside London but I'm guessing as long as its not Oxbridge, Imperial, LSE, UCL and St Andrews, then there is a chance of the university going on clearing.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by SebCross
That isn't necessarily true. Oxbridge is in a class unto itself because (usually) only the very very best are even encouraged to apply by their schools/colleges, but even they will seek to take a holistic look at applications they receive. AS results, naturally, will be of very substantial importance, as will the references from your teachers and your Personal Statement. You ought to focus on getting every aspect of your application as strong as it can possibly be.

I would agree with other people, though: without the grades to back up your aspirations, applying to top 5 / top 10 uni's might not be the best thing for you...

What are you talking about? I didn't get an Oxbridge offer.
My AS results are ok, AAAAB. I have an A* in A-level maths. My reference and personal statement were strong. My A-level and STEP results will probably be good. My GCSE results will be very poor again.
I have heard from this thread and others that GCSEs are much more important than the other parts of an application.
Original post by InadequateJusticex
Law at bristol 'half decent'. Lol. :lol:

I reckon you got rejected from all your choices because they sensed your arrogance. Just a heads up if you're reapplying :wink:

Yes 'Half decent' just trying to be polite.

I got an offer from UCL last year for biochemical engineering, I declined it.

And no it was my UKCAT and interview scores.
Reply 86
Avatar for crisns
crisns
surveymonkey.com/s/5NPGQF6
Original post by morgan8002
What are you talking about? I didn't get an Oxbridge offer.
My AS results are ok, AAAAB. I have an A* in A-level maths. My reference and personal statement were strong. My A-level and STEP results will probably be good. My GCSE results will be very poor again.
I have heard from this thread and others that GCSEs are much more important than the other parts of an application.


Well I may well be wrong, in that case. When I have applied to university in the past, it was stressed to us by admissions officers that GCSEs formed only a component part, and a fairly minor one at that.
Original post by morgan8002
What are you talking about? I didn't get an Oxbridge offer.
My AS results are ok, AAAAB. I have an A* in A-level maths. My reference and personal statement were strong. My A-level and STEP results will probably be good. My GCSE results will be very poor again.
I have heard from this thread and others that GCSEs are much more important than the other parts of an application.


Not really sure what you're on about - your AS results are quite a bit more than just 'okay', particularly in this day and age with no limit on how many students uni's can recruit (i.e. it's somewhat easier to get in because even the very best uni's, save Oxbridge, are expanding). Why would you lack confidence in your AS-level grades?
Original post by morgan8002
What are you talking about? I didn't get an Oxbridge offer.
My AS results are ok, AAAAB. I have an A* in A-level maths. My reference and personal statement were strong. My A-level and STEP results will probably be good. My GCSE results will be very poor again.
I have heard from this thread and others that GCSEs are much more important than the other parts of an application.



How can you write your Personal Statement and say that it is 'strong'?
Yet, you say you are going to fail English?
Wasn't Warwick in clearing for Engineering last year for BBB? If you miss your grades, consider that perhaps, as it combines Maths and Physics, your original course.
Original post by SebCross
Not really sure what you're on about - your AS results are quite a bit more than just 'okay', particularly in this day and age with no limit on how many students uni's can recruit (i.e. it's somewhat easier to get in because even the very best uni's, save Oxbridge, are expanding). Why would you lack confidence in your AS-level grades?

They are good enough generally, but I should have done better in chemistry. Since you were talking about Oxbridge, my UMS was fairly low.

It doesn't really affect my application though. As I said, it's the GCSE English that seems to be the most important factor in getting a place.
Original post by Exceptional
Wasn't Warwick in clearing for Engineering last year for BBB? If you miss your grades, consider that perhaps, as it combines Maths and Physics, your original course.


It isn't his A levels that he is worried about as such. He thinks he is going to fail his GCSE English because Warwick and Bath have stated that he has to get a C in GCSE English.
Original post by JamjamjamT
It isn't his A levels that he is worried about as such. He thinks he is going to fail his GCSE English because Warwick and Bath have stated that he has to get a C in GCSE English.


No university will take him without that, so the thread is pointless.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by morgan8002
They are good enough generally, but I should have done better in chemistry. Since you were talking about Oxbridge, my UMS was fairly low.

It doesn't really affect my application though. As I said, it's the GCSE English that seems to be the most important factor in getting a place.


Not to worry - why ask about Clearing though when you should (rightly) be confident about being made offers by excellent uni's in the normal way?
Original post by Exceptional
No university will take him without that, so the thread is pointless.


Posted from TSR Mobile


Other posters have said the exact same thing but he was just wondering if there was any way around that.
Original post by JamjamjamT
How can you write your Personal Statement and say that it is 'strong'?
Yet, you say you are going to fail English?

I had well over a month to prepare my personal statement and also had a lot of guidance from tutors and parents. It took at least 12 hours to get a first draft. Overall I must have spent at least a few days total time on it. In an exam, I'd have an hour to write a piece with no help.
I'm also much better at writing factual pieces that have a clear purpose.

Personal statements are more about what you put down, making sure there's no grammatical mistakes and finding a good structure. It doesn't take a huge amount of imagination.

There's a choice between factual and fictional pieces in the exam, but usually the topic for the factual one is too straightforward or meaningless to give a good argument.
The fictional ones I never seem to be able to write anything for.
If it all comes down to the %&%%*& GCSE English Language, then just a matter of getting the required grade by any legitimate means necessary.

Have you considered going to a crammer to deliver you that one result? They can be very good at preparation for specific exams.
Original post by dingdongbat
If it all comes down to the %&%%*& GCSE English Language, then just a matter of getting the required grade by any legitimate means necessary.

Have you considered going to a crammer to deliver you that one result? They can be very good at preparation for specific exams.

I hadn't heard of them until now.

I'm still not sure what I'd do next year if I don't get in. I'm considering staying at college and fast-tracking another handful of A-levels to see if that helps. Obviously the English would have to take precedence.
I could also go to a bad university for a year and then transfer from there.
I could follow your suggestion.
Also, you do realise that Cambridge and Oxford have no specific GCSE requirements for most subjects? There is an English proficiency requirement for foreign students met by the usual range of qualifications like IELTS. Just be bloody brilliant and the rest will fall in place :-)

Imperial College specifies a satisfactory English requirement that can be met by a variety of means. I am fairly confident you don't want to do it with GCSE English Language (min B) :-) But I note they will accept IELTS (usually taken by foreign students), CPE and others. Can you wing the IELTS? There are language school crammers that prepare foreign students for those. Brighton and Cambridge are overrun with that kind of establishment.

Is your first language not English (or can it be construed to be so)? Then UCL accept IELTS, CPE, etc.

It's taken me 10 minutes to find the above. I think you might want to research whether you could use alternate English proficiency qualifications more thoroughly.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you