Labour would make students apply for university after A-level results day

If predicted grades are "wrong" then take them off the application form. Very few universities make admissions decisions based on predicted grades (and those that do shouldn't be...because they're mostly rubbish and disadvantage certain groups).

What do most universities base their admissions decisions on? Just so it's clear to everyone in this thread.

I think unis might decide to show more realistic a-level entry requirements, I kn8ow a lot of unis who ask for AAA but then always give reduced offers such as ABB. These tend to be middle tier unis who try to attract students by putting artificially high requirements to make them look better I guess.

What do most universities base their admissions decisions on? Just so it's clear to everyone in this thread.

I suppose that's possible in theory, but my particular case was getting BBD for an AAB offer. That's fairly nonstandard, and I don't feel like those are the sort of entry requirements they'd put up.

Most universities/courses make offers to 90% + of applicants. Basically if an applicant has any GCSE required grades (maths/english/science etc) and is taking the right qualifications for the standard offer then they get an offer.
Some universities will reject a few more because they require a specific subject at A level or similar (so most engineering courses will have offer rates of ~80% because a bunch of people apply without the required maths/physics qualifications).
Some courses where they're very oversubscribed will then look at achieved grades (GCSE, AS where that's available), references and PS to filter further...or will invite people to interview/submit work/do an extra test and use that to filter. This is why the LNAT is so popular with universities offering law - they can base selection decisions on something solid and current instead of over relying on 2 year old grades.

Across the whole of the UK this year only 25% of applications were rejected (and that includes medicine, nursing, primary teaching and massively oversubscribed universities and courses like eu applications to scottish universities, oxford, cambridge, lse, imperial etc...and that's applicatIONS (so everyone gets 5) not applicANTS). Rejections are the exception - and they're not based on predicted grades

Thanks for this!

So for non-oversubscribed courses, do you think the system could change to stop students even applying to a university if they don't have the required GCSE grades and A Level subject entries i.e. the online form would prevent them from submitting their application? Then all other students would be guaranteed a conditional offer and wouldn't have to wait for the unis to reply?

I think I could see some problems with this but I'm interested in your thoughts.

Now *that* I can see some universities getting the hump about (even though anyone sensible would approve of any improvements to apply to stop wasted applications). University marketing departments love promoting the mystique about how *important* a PS/application in and how *lucky* applicants are to get an offer etc etc as a way to bump up prestige/conversion/appeal.

But yes some sort of automated pre filtering would be good at the application stage (but would need to come with a big caveat for people with non standard or non uk qualifications - you don't want to stop those applications they just need redirecting).

It would be good if universities entry requirements showed on Apply when an applicant added a choice...and better advice from references.

Yes I can see why universities wouldn't like it Also, are the PS/references always read even if they don't influence offers? E.g. if someone has the required grades but mentions that they are a fan of arson in their PS, would this student probably get rejected?

Yes I can see why universities wouldn't like it Also, are the PS/references always read even if they don't influence offers? E.g. if someone has the required grades but mentions that they are a fan of arson in their PS, would this student probably get rejected?

at open days I was always told universities don't even look at your personal statement (even at Cambridge). The only time i was told they look at them is either before your interview or if they're trying to choose between two students of similar ability on popular courses.
My gf said her personal statement was never mentioned in her 3 medicine interviews.
I remember spending a lot of of time on my PS and it mind a seemed like a waste. But you're still required to do it so try and put some effort in I guess.

There's a difference between looking at them and them being influential. They are normally looked at - and in some cases they're crucial for offer making decisions (LSE is the most obvious one here but there are others).

I'd always say it's a worthwhile exercise to do a good PS. For a start it is useful for applicants to properly articulate their enthusiasm for the course - if that's a struggle then it might hint that the course isn't the right choice to study full time for 3+ years. Secondly there's always a chance that one of the 5 choices might put more emphasis on the PS when deciding who gets the offer so no harm done. And thirdly PSs *do* get referred to this time of year if an applicant has missed their offer conditions and a university isn't sure about taking them with lower grades - a good PS can sometimes sway staff to believe that an applicant is motivated enough to put in extra work to do well on the degree even if their grades aren't at the standard normally accepted.

There's a difference between looking at them and them being influential. They are normally looked at - and in some cases they're crucial for offer making decisions (LSE is the most obvious one here but there are others).

I'd always say it's a worthwhile exercise to do a good PS. For a start it is useful for applicants to properly articulate their enthusiasm for the course - if that's a struggle then it might hint that the course isn't the right choice to study full time for 3 years. Secondly there's always a chance that one of the 5 choices might put more emphasis on the PS when deciding who gets the offer so no harm done. And thirdly PSs *do* get referred to this time of year if an applicant has missed their offer conditions and a university isn't sure about taking them with lower grades - a good PS can sometimes sway staff to believe that an applicant is motivated enough to put in extra work to do well on the degree even if their grades aren't at the standard normally accepted.