Edinburgh entry requirements seeming low??

hmm.. its not much of an insurance if you arent sure if there is a hidden agenda behind it all though! i could understand that if they interviewed all their candidates then the way they deal with applications would be more thorough and the grades wouldnt be everything but im not sure this is the case

i suppose i will have to just see if its worth thinking about after the open day.. although girton college is at the same time!

cheers

When first looking through prospectuses for a politics course, i had heard that Edinburgh was a good university (similar to bristol & warwick & ucl) reputation-wise. Yet when I look at the entry requirements for the politics or politics/w french it is BBB (whereas the other unis are around AAA-ABB)
I spoke to a woman at one of those ucas conventions and she said that the 'real' offers are likely to be a lot higher... although she didnt elaborate. and its possibly because edinburgh is oversubscribed, so there is more competition.. so, why does it say BBB, is it artificially higher.. and what should I be aiming for??
all advice welcome

The idea is to take some of the pressure of students in their final exams, which means the entrance requirements are very strict, if you don't meet the grades you don't get in.

Typically they are looking for AAA-ABB students for their courses and most are very popular, however they have the boundaries set low in attempts to find diamonds in the rough so to speak. People who may not do very well at A-Level may do brilliantly at University, or they may contribute something special to the University.

I agree with what you're saying.

Also isn't it to give people from disadvantaged backgrounds a better chance? If they go to poorer schools and don't get as good grades because of this? I think its also to persuade Scottish students to stay in Scotland

Because in Scotland, students do 'highers' which is the equivilent of "AS level", meaning that English students are at an advantage as we do A2.

Edinburgh dont hold grades in such high esteem as Bristol etc, they also have more students and so can afford to take 'less able' students on as well. They may just have realised that there is very little difference between someone with ABB and BBB in the grand scheme of things... (expects to be shot for saying this on TSR)

yup, thats what my teachers told me, sometimes the uni asks english students to skip the first year too like because its more like our A2 level

I agree with you, just wish more other people would see it this way, afterall there is noway that we can say we are all on an even level after Sixthform etc because of different teachers/resources (schools in general).

If they go to poorer schools and don't get as good grades because of this?

this is hardly accounted for in the selection process of other unis of a similar calibre though.. but does seem fairer
maybe its just a scottish thing though.. although st andrews want AAA for lot of their courses, although i wouldnt want to study in a place with only three streets..