Unis in adjustment last year

So in adjustment if i get ABB on results day and in adjustment the offers are BBB can i still apply to them or can i only apply to ABB+ courses? Also do they not lower the grades in adjustment?

You can only use adjustment if your both meet and exceed your firm offer conditions.
Universities don't usually publish adjustment vacancies or entry requirements because adjustment is so tiny.
Some universities publish clearing specific entry requirements, many don't.

You don't APPLY for places in adjustment. You contact universities who will TAKE your application away from your firm choice if they want to (and you indicated you were interested - a lot of applicants end up adjusted somewhere they don't want to go by mistake because they're unclear on the phone).

There's a reasonable chance adjustment wont take place in 2021 so this is all pretty much a pointless conversation about the technicalities of a system that hardly any applicants used and which might not even be an option this year.

Why would adjustment not happen this year

"Adjustment is also restricted to 5 calendar days after A level results day - which is why the discussions around the exact date of A level results this year mean there is a reasonable chance that adjustment will not run this year."

If A level results come out in July as proposed then it's likely that universities will not know what vacancies are available and even if they do there's discussions about grade appeals running from July-August and UCAS wouldn't want to run a system that excludes applicants who appeal their grades.

It's a lot of hassle for UCAS and universities for something that isn't widely used, understood or required now that applicants can release themselves into Clearing.

But what about those who got offers from uni’s that they don’t particularly want to go to. And rejecting all the offers is way too risky

To be fair those students should not have applied to choices that they don’t want to go to.

And if they don’t want to go there they are not risking anything by declining the offers.

To be fair those students should not have applied to choices that they don’t want to go to.

And if they don’t want to go there they are not risking anything by declining the offers.

People change their minds though ? And they would rather go somewhere then not go anywhere

But I’m one of them. When I first sent the application I thought I would be fine with going to any of them. But when I actually thought about which ones would reject me and which ones would accept me, I realised that the ones that would accept me I didn’t want to go there at all. And yes I had time to change my choices but my dad wanted to be involved in where I applied to as he didn’t want me to go far, if I had said I wanted to change my options it would have been a long process which would have caused many arguments. So I thought I can do well in classwork, mocks and whatever else I have to do that goes towards my final grades and then call uni’s on results day and see if they can accept me. But if I reject all my offers then what would happen if I don’t get higher than my predicted and can’t go through adjustment, then I can’t go anywhere

Accept a low offer as your Firm, exceed it, then shop around in Adjustment without any risk.

Adjustment isn't designed to help people who have changed their minds. It's for folks who have overperformed compared to their predictions/current offers and to give them a chance to 'trade up' without risking anything.

If someone changes their mind at a late stage, that's what the many thousands of courses in Clearing are for. Alternatively, lots of people take a gap year and reapply.

So there is adjustment?

Nobody really knows whether there will be adjustment or not. @PQ has as good knowledge of ucas procedure and stats as anyone anywhere and if her gut feeling is there wont be then I certainly wouldnt argue against her. Adjustment is fairly new brought in a few years ago and every year the numbers using it are very low. You need to meet all the entry conditions and exceed at least one. That includes meeting any GCSE requirements and basically getting say AAA for an offer you hold of AAB. The university has to have available spaces and will accept you and you will also have to sort out accommodation as you are at the bottom of the pile as people with firm and insurance offers will already have been accepted and probably most with clearing as well. Universities have days after results day to accept you through adjustment. It certainly isnt the rosy picture you think it is.

Yes so if you overperformed then you decide you want to go elsewhere you are changing your mind on the unis you have applied to ? So surely it helps people who have changed their minds as if you didn’t change your mind you wouldn’t be looking at adjustment because you’re happy with your choices?

So there is adjustment?

Not really you have to meet all and exceed at least one condition and that also incudes any GCSE requirement. It can only be used if you do both not just for changing your mind. The university also has to be prepared to accept you

No one knows for certain. As above, the change of dates this year may make Adjustment impractical but there have been no announcements yet.

FWIW it's perfectly possible to speak to your firm and ask for some reassurance that they will "Hold" your place if you release yourself into clearing. Not all universities can or will be able to offer some assurance but many will happily "guarantee" that you can come back if you place yourself in clearing and then don't get any offers you prefer.

Likewise some universities will consider a clearing application while you're still firm elsewhere. It's technically against the UCAS rules so the level of flexibility will vary. Especially if you're reapplying back to one of your original 5 choices then universities will have a lot more flexibility to consider a clearing application without having to "give up" a firm choice.

FWIW it's perfectly possible to speak to your firm and ask for some reassurance that they will "Hold" your place if you release yourself into clearing. Not all universities can or will be able to offer some assurance but many will happily "guarantee" that you can come back if you place yourself in clearing and then don't get any offers you prefer.

Likewise some universities will consider a clearing application while you're still firm elsewhere. It's technically against the UCAS rules so the level of flexibility will vary. Especially if you're reapplying back to one of your original 5 choices then universities will have a lot more flexibility to consider a clearing application without having to "give up" a firm choice.