Resit student for Russell Group Universities

Hi all,

I'm currently a student who is taking a gap year after completing year 13, as I was unable to take my exams and was awarded my centre assessed grades which were lower than expected. I am going to be applying for Law for 2021, however I am aware that some Russell group universities do not accept resit students. Due to the nature of how the grades were awarded, I am not sure if this rule is continuing onto applicants resitting in 2021. I would like to apply to UCL and Kings, so would anyone happen to know if they are accepting applications from resit students this year for Law?

Hi all,

I'm currently a student who is taking a gap year after completing year 13, as I was unable to take my exams and was awarded my centre assessed grades which were lower than expected. I am going to be applying for Law for 2021, however I am aware that some Russell group universities do not accept resit students. Due to the nature of how the grades were awarded, I am not sure if this rule is continuing onto applicants resitting in 2021. I would like to apply to UCL and Kings, so would anyone happen to know if they are accepting applications from resit students this year for Law?

wait im confused, if u were taking a gap yr then why r u calling urself a resit student

Do you only want to try to join a Russel group uni? I’m asking this because SOAS is good for the law degree and I think they would accept resit students. (Also, they have a foundation year which allows a person to study any subject inc. law (at SOAS) and you can transfer if you wish to, after that year. Quite a few people apply to kings via ucas but idk if they accept law transfers). I also remember a staff saying that SOAS was offered to be part of the Russel group but they declined.

But yeah, I’m just letting you know so that you have options

RG/non-RG could treat resits the same, there's no distinction between the two.

All uni's are aware how 2020 AL's were awared so will not be viewing subsequent 'resits' as a resit in the true sense of the word. Whether they will still be happy to consider you is up them them, so I would encourage you to contact your target choices ahead of applying to double check.

Hi there, I'm a resit student as well applying for Law this year. Of what I know, universities are being flexible as possible this year due to the pandemic and they understand how we didn't get the chance to write exams. I contacted a few RG's (Warwick, Birmingham, Cardiff) and they said retakes were fine and that I was under no disadvantage. In your case though you are applying to more competitive unis in UCL and King's, so I would definitely call/email them and ask if your application is treated differently, because sometimes unis can ask for one grade higher than the standard offer. So yeah they are the best people to contact.

Okay great, thank you. I have sent an email to UCL about this now, however I am struggling to contact Kings as they haven't provided a clear contact email on their website and they aren't answering calls either.

Bristol will happily accept resits for Law (one resit per each individual A level) - I think Nottingham used to be silly about this, but may have had a rethink. Can't speak for any of the other RGs.

I was under the impression that they were resitting as a private candidate during their 'gap' year.

Sometimes there is a webform on their site that submits an email directly or a livechat function.

You may struggle to reach anyone until the new year unfortunately.

Hi all,

I'm currently a student who is taking a gap year after completing year 13, as I was unable to take my exams and was awarded my centre assessed grades which were lower than expected. I am going to be applying for Law for 2021, however I am aware that some Russell group universities do not accept resit students. Due to the nature of how the grades were awarded, I am not sure if this rule is continuing onto applicants resitting in 2021. I would like to apply to UCL and Kings, so would anyone happen to know if they are accepting applications from resit students this year for Law?

I have just gone onto the Kings entry requirements page and under re-sits it says, "For applicants submitting an application to King’s College London in the 2021 admissions cycle, all our standard resit policies will pause for the 2021 cycle," so they should accept my application I think

Hiya,
I'm in the same position as you with resitting and applying to the same unis, King's consider people who are resitting and predicted the grades needed for the course. They may also consider you if you're predicted a grade or so off. As well as this there are also clearing spaces available at the end of the year for those who exceed their predicted grades.
For UCL they will only consider you if your predicted grades are what is needed or above. However, Law is a competitive course at all London Russell group unis. However, UCL does mention that resit students are seen to be less competitive and they may also demand higher grades from them accordingly.
May I ask how far off were your grades from what you need?

Heyy,
Okay thank you, I just wanted to make sure Kings did take retakes so I wasn't wasting one of my choices applying . But, for UCL I heard back from them and they said:

Many thanks for your email and interest in UCL Laws.

UCL Laws does not accept resits, however we will not view Autumn 2020 examinations as resits, therefore if you are sitting your exams this Autumn in replacement for your CAG this will not be viewed as a resit. If you decide to sit your examinations in Summer 2021 however, this will be classified as a resit.

So I guess I wont be able to apply there . Also, to answer your question I was one grade off.

That is harsh, not everyone knew they had to take the autumn exams or had the time to prepare, especially in your situation where you were just one grade off, you probably thought you met your offer.
But then I guess you get another year to prepare for one subject compared to Year 13s who have three subs and one less year which is why it's classed as a resit. Don't get disheartened though, there are so many other good universities out there where you can thrive in just as much if not more

That is harsh, not everyone knew they had to take the autumn exams or had the time to prepare, especially in your situation where you were just one grade off, you probably thought you met your offer.
But then I guess you get another year to prepare for one subject compared to Year 13s who have three subs and one less year which is why it's classed as a resit. Don't get disheartened though, there are so many other good universities out there where you can thrive in just as much if not more