History Clearing

Can anyone remember if there were any history places in clearing last year and where?

As above - what tends to end up in Clearing is either any course asking for BBB or below, OR joint subject degrees - History and Film Studies etc.

Usually a much better option than Clearing is to take a year out and apply to appropriate Unis with known grades - that way you get a complete choice of courses not just what turns up in Clearing.

Last year there were quite a few of what I would describe as 'good' universities in clearing for straight History (V100): Birmingham, UEA, Essex, Hull, Keele, Kent, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Reading, Sheffield, Sussex and York.

However, I think that several of these were looking only for 'ABB and above' students in a bid to expand their numbers - Sheffield did this, I am sure.

This year? Who knows?

Would you say this means these universities are lenient if you narrowly miss your offer? all of my offers are from the above :P

Would you say this means these universities are lenient if you narrowly miss your offer? all of my offers are from the above :P

There's no relationship between what happened last year and what will happen this year.

Chances are that they'll only be lenient if they're short of candidates AND you get ABB or HEFCE equivalent, as then you won't count towards the student numbers cap.

Of course, if you get anything less than your offer, they are 100% within their rights to reject you, so it really is better just to get the grades.

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Much as we would like to, nobody, not even the universities can tell you this. It all depends on how many people miss their offers on the day and the lifting of the lid on the number of ABB+ students universities can take without penalty has been a bit of a game changer. There's nothing for it but to do your best for your exams and see what happens on results day. Sorry, but no one can tell you anything different.

History is a high-demand course and any Uni asking ABB or above will not be short of Results Day applicants offering the asked-for grades through Adjustment etc. 'Lenient' places are therefore unlikely.

If you want this badly enough, all you can do is work your butt off for the best grades possible - and have a realistic Insurance choice. Ultimately its up to you and how hard you want to work.

I fully intend to work as hard as I possibly can, but I only asked in the first place because the university I planned/ plan to firm increased its entry requirements only after I had applied, which definitely threw me a bit.

I'm sure it did. It's very unfair of them to do this, I think, when we are constantly telling students to spread their bets and apply tactically, plus it's a waste of the universities' own time to get applications in from candidates who aren't going to reach the grades they want. Unfortunately, that's the game some of them play, and we can't predict what their next move will be. Nor can they, in this case. Good luck.

Yeah, other universities that my friends have applied to also raised their entry requirements mid- application process. I'll just have to work extra hard and hope the grade boundaries are low in the summer!

It's still a bit of an unpredictable area, because the lifting of the cap on ABB+ students made things very different to how they had been before. There seems to have been plenty of places of some sort around for the ABB+ candidate last year (not saying straight history, though - that's one of the most applied for courses around, but joint courses were achievable) but the position of the BBB or below applicant was much less rosy, because universities could hoover up ABB+ people without penalty.

I'm doing history as a joint honour, but of course we can't predict anything like everyone on this thread has pointed out. Do you reckon the fact that my sixth form is in special measures will be considered?

Would you say this means these universities are lenient if you narrowly miss your offer? all of my offers are from the above :P

Only three or four years ago, university admissions were pretty predictable. Everyone knew that applications would be up, there would be slightly higher A level results than the year before and that the number of home/EU students that each university could take was fixed.

Now it is like one of those TV "sports" where they keep changing the rules to keep the audience interested.

This year there are no January A level resits. Everyone is expecting grades to go down. Although the ABB+ cap existed last year you couldn't satisfy it with mixed qualifications (eg BTEC+ an A level). This year you can. That should produce a lot more ABB+ students who are hunting for vocational rather than academic degrees.

Various universities are expanding places which may leave others short.

Applicants also have to be more creative in their course searching

So do universities. On another thread, Nottingham offered its history of art and sociology courses to a candidate it was rejecting for its LLB.