Loughborough and imperial mech eng?

It's up to the uni so we can't really give any concrete advise tbh. They could easily swap the offer to be A*XX with an A* in Physics, or they could give you an offer for A*XX with an A* in maths in which case if you got the A* in maths you would be let in, equally they could not give you any offer on the basis that you're not predicted A* in Maths or they could offer you A*XX with A* in maths then reject you if you achieve an A* in Physics but not in maths.If you're talking about a subject other than physics then they almost certainly won't allow you to substitute an A* in that for an A* in maths.

If I had to guess, Loughborough would probably let you in with A* in physics rather than maths, they might even let you in with AAA. I doubt you would see a similar situation at imperial though.

But what would the realistic chances of an offer be from say imperial, if all they have to go on is the ucas application?

Are predicted grades the core factor used to choose between applicants or is there some entrance exam? surely predicted grades would be inaccurate since schools have different policies on what they'll predict their students

But what would the realistic chances of an offer be from say imperial, if all they have to go on is the ucas application?

Are predicted grades the core factor used to choose between applicants or is there some entrance exam? surely predicted grades would be inaccurate since schools have different policies on what they'll predict their students

Yes predicted grades plus a bit of personal statement will be what they go off of.

Maybe it's a bit unfair but why should Imperial care? The grades they ask for are 4,5,6 grades higher than what someone would really need to succeed in the course, and yet they still have tonnes of applicants to filter out, so they will take any reason to do so.

is it important to be predicted a* in maths for these courses if you have a*aaa but with the a* in another related subject? and if you go on to achieve an a* in maths anyway?

"why should imperial care" hahahaha

Really.

They have 50 other applicants with the same right to be there as you and 400 more which have a greater right to be there. Saying no to you doesn't affect them in the slightest.

The average number of A*s that a student has that is given an offer for engineering by Imperial is 3.2. You are just not close enough to that standard that someone could reasonably say they should give you a chance.

Lol early morning reality check here

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Really.

They have 50 other applicants with the same right to be there as you and 400 more which have a greater right to be there. Saying no to you doesn't affect them in the slightest.

The average number of A*s that a student has that is given an offer for engineering by Imperial is 3.2. You are just not close enough to that standard that someone could reasonably say they should give you a chance.

point being they might be saying no to a student who would do better, so they should care if they want the best students.

The only practical filter for "better" is grades. Although they can and do look at context (eg deprived area, poor school) as well.



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I think entrance tests would be more reliable as they eliminate different schools policies on predictions, which play a larger role since a levels have gone linear.

But the current system isn't too bad, just not perfect.

I think entrance tests would be more reliable as they eliminate different schools policies on predictions, which play a larger role since a levels have gone linear.

But the current system isn't too bad, just not perfect.

But then the entrance test will put off a bunch more of the potential applicants and you give an even greater advantage to those who can pass an exam.

If you said on the job or project experience then you would have had a point but you can't fight academia with more academia.

what is the "exam" you're referring to, I'm talking only with regards to predicted grades.

And an proper entrance test made by a university is more representative of an applicants suitability for a course than a prediction based on school curriculum.

Predicted grades are based on how well the teacher expects the student to do in the exam, in other words, it's based on exam performance as the predictions are usually made based on AS exams or mock exams.

Maybe they would be, but it's extremely unlikely. The content that would make sense to test for is far out of the realm of A level content so you would end up with applicants essentially doing another A level worth of topics, some of which will be irrelevant for other courses or their career, for a chance at Imperial. It's never going to happen and if it did you would end up with some private schools coaching their students on the exam.

My point is some schools predict students a grade higher than what they achieve in those exams, whilst some even predict a grade below- this is where the inaccuracy comes from.

And I mean tests like the ukcat that they use in medicine or any of the test oxbridge use. It just makes for a better admissions system so I'm sure they'd do it for every course if they could afford it.

My point is some schools predict students a grade higher than what they achieve in those exams, whilst some even predict a grade below- this is where the inaccuracy comes from.

And I mean tests like the ukcat that they use in medicine or any of the test oxbridge use. It just makes for a better admissions system so I'm sure they'd do it for every course if they could afford it.

Don't forget for medicine and Oxbridge the deadline is much earlier to allow for tests and interviews.
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