Uni of Bath - Leniency

https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/applying-for-undergraduate-study-in-2021/

“given increased competition for many of our degrees and greater unpredictability in the final distribution of grades, we cannot promise we will have the capacity to be as flexible as we might like with students who miss their offers. Only if you meet the full conditions of your offer can we guarantee that you will be accepted.” this is despite the reduction of offers

I don’t know about biology but I applied for natural sciences and got an email basically saying there would be very little flexibility back around March. Even my contextual offer was dependent on completing an online course.

Hiya! I've applied for bath and received an offer of ABB (the A must be in biology as it's what I've applied for). However, I've been given a B as my provisional grade for biology. Do you think bath will have any leniency as they gave out fewer offers this year? Thanks!

Hi there,

This is a difficult question to answer, as it varies by year and by course. Bath may occasionally still accept you if you narrowly miss your grades, but this is typically only if you have narrowly (i.e. got ABB instead of AAB) missed your grades and if there are still spaces left on the course. However, as Bath is such a competitive university, there are not often many spaces left on the more popular courses such as MechEng and Natural Sciences.

That being said, the university did say on their COVID-19 FAQ that they would aim to try and be more lenient where possible, as they understand the impact COVID may have had on people's studies. Again though, Bath is a very popular university so it isn't ever guaranteed that they can still give you your place if you've missed your grades.

All in all, the university has said they want to be lenient where possible, but unfortunately this often won't be the case as it is so competitive. I would suggest contacting the admissions department to ask specifically about Biology, as they may be able to give you some more insight.

I hope this helps
Jessica, a final year NatSci student

Hiya Jessica, thank you so much for your reply! Do you know how many people are on the biology course or any science related course in general? Thanks again!

Hi there,

No problem, I'm glad I could help! I'm not sure how many students are on the science related courses - I know mathematics is ~700 in first year which is quite a lot, and biology and chemistry are probably about the same or a bit less. Natural Sciences has far fewer students (probably ~100-200 in first year) as it is a more niche course.

That being said, unfortunately Bath have now said that they won't be offering any vacancies via clearing or adjustment this year!

I hope this helped,
Jessica, a final year NatSci student

That is quite a lot, more than i expected! Do you reckon Bath not offering any clearing vacancies mean there’s less leniency with the grades this year then? It’s okay if you’re unsure, there’s a lot of uncertainty this year. Thanks again!

Hi there,

The reason why Bath, and several other universities, are unable to offer vacancies via clearing this year is because A-Level results are significantly better this year than in previous years. As a result, more people who were made offers are getting in than expected, so courses are filled beyond capacity. This means that there simply aren't spaces available to offer via clearing.

In terms of leniency, this is largely unrelated to clearing vacancies. The university website has an FAQ on COVID and coming to Bath where they've stated that as they understand that COVID has caused a disruption to people's studies and people may have mitigating circumstances as a result, they are aiming to be flexible where possible. However, this is no guarantee as obviously they cannot simply accept all the students who missed their grades and this would diminish the universities ability to provide a high standard of teaching (as there would simply be too many students to function optimally or teach well enough). Basically, they've said they're aiming to be flexible with grades because of the exceptional circumstances (i.e. COVID) this year, but that this isn't a guarantee.

I'm sorry that isn't more helpful! As I'm sure you can understand, the university cannot make any promises and say "it will be more lenient this year" - all they've said is that they are aiming to be as flexible as is possible and reasonable. If you have got an offer from Bath and are unsuccessful as you've missed your offer grades, then they will have considered whether or not it is possible to still accept you and will inform you of their decision tomorrow when you receive your results.

I hope this helps,
Jessica, a final year NatSci student

Unfortunately I didn't get in but thank you so much for your help!

Unfortunately I didn't get in but thank you so much for your help!