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Predicted bbbc

Is it possible to apply to universities asking for AAB or ABB? (most unis im looking at do not accept tarrif points).
Reply 1
Original post by anonymous.y
Is it possible to apply to universities asking for AAB or ABB? (most unis im looking at do not accept tarrif points).

two things - why taking 4 A levels with prediction BBBC - better to drop to 3 and focus on the BBB to try and lift them. universities will only offer on 3 grades since they can not favour 4 A levels since not all schools allow their students to do 4.

secondly most universities will look at application with one grade off the minimum requirements so ABB should be fine as long as you have one or two at BBB. if you are applying to AAB courses at highly competitive universities then AAB is definitely a reach and I would advise max of 1 application and bonus if you get an offer. You can check out what rough grades students have on entry to university through https://discoveruni.gov.uk/ but it is a little rough and ready. some university give out more offers than others but this is hard to find out.

think about would you rather be in the top 25% of students on your course than in the bottom 25% of students if you manage to get into an ABB uni with BBB would it be a struggle for you work wise - your personality will determine this.
It is not out of the realms of possibility that they will give you an aspirational offer, however, this would depend on your course (eg it is over/ under subscribed, is it a STEM/ humanity, was it in clearing last year.

Also, if you feel that you could get your grades higher, it may be an idea to look at dropping your C subject as most unis actually only look for 3.

At the end of the day, you don't really have much to lose by applying so you might as well. It is usually recommended that you do:
1/2 above
2/3 on
2/1 below
Reply 3
Original post by JUG UK
two things - why taking 4 A levels with prediction BBBC - better to drop to 3 and focus on the BBB to try and lift them. universities will only offer on 3 grades since they can not favour 4 A levels since not all schools allow their students to do 4.

secondly most universities will look at application with one grade off the minimum requirements so ABB should be fine as long as you have one or two at BBB. if you are applying to AAB courses at highly competitive universities then AAB is definitely a reach and I would advise max of 1 application and bonus if you get an offer. You can check out what rough grades students have on entry to university through https://discoveruni.gov.uk/ but it is a little rough and ready. some university give out more offers than others but this is hard to find out.

think about would you rather be in the top 25% of students on your course than in the bottom 25% of students if you manage to get into an ABB uni with BBB would it be a struggle for you work wise - your personality will determine this.

I'm keeping four as I think that I would be able to get much higher.My school is really strict with predictions. The admissions guy at my school said the C wont matter? I didnt do aswell as i couldve for my mocks as with lockdown and all i was slacking but i know i have the potential

also thanks for the reply!
Reply 4
Original post by grapefruitabc
It is not out of the realms of possibility that they will give you an aspirational offer, however, this would depend on your course (eg it is over/ under subscribed, is it a STEM/ humanity, was it in clearing last year.

Also, if you feel that you could get your grades higher, it may be an idea to look at dropping your C subject as most unis actually only look for 3.

At the end of the day, you don't really have much to lose by applying so you might as well. It is usually recommended that you do:
1/2 above
2/3 on
2/1 below

i want to do biomedical engineering which I dont think its as competitive as the other engineering courses. Southhampton offer abb for a foundation year and queen mary offer bbb for foundation year. bioengineering with foundation year in sheffield want bbb so i dont think its too bad. Also cardiff offer aab-abb. Do you think these unis are as competitive?
Reply 5
Original post by anonymous.y
I'm keeping four as I think that I would be able to get much higher.My school is really strict with predictions. The admissions guy at my school said the C wont matter? I didnt do aswell as i couldve for my mocks as with lockdown and all i was slacking but i know i have the potential

also thanks for the reply!


I have taught sixth form for almost 20 years and unless you are going for UCAS tariff point universities 3 grades are better - in my school we actively stop students doing 4 unless they are A/A* students - look at your GCSEs if there are not lots of 8&9s then 3 might be better. It is not the number but the quality which are important - only maths/further maths breaks this general rule on 4 A levels. it is my experience that 4 A levels for most students dilutes the time you can spend on each and drags down overall grades. keep chatting with your teachers about why they predicted the grades - was it all on mocks or also other work you have submitted?
Original post by anonymous.y
I'm keeping four as I think that I would be able to get much higher.My school is really strict with predictions. The admissions guy at my school said the C wont matter? I didnt do aswell as i couldve for my mocks as with lockdown and all i was slacking but i know i have the potential

also thanks for the reply!

Taking 4 is pointless and could end up costing you your university place. It isnt even adviseable for A* students let alone someone with your grades. Concentrate on getting the best grades you can with 3 A levels. That is far more likely to get you into the better universities. Dont be a fool taking 4 and living to regret it
Reply 7
Original post by anonymous.y
i want to do biomedical engineering which I dont think its as competitive as the other engineering courses. Southhampton offer abb for a foundation year and queen mary offer bbb for foundation year. bioengineering with foundation year in sheffield want bbb so i dont think its too bad. Also cardiff offer aab-abb. Do you think these unis are as competitive?

Yes they are all top class academic institutions - check the conditions for the foundation years, who is allowed to apply for them. obviously London will be far more expensive to live there. All are good universities.
Reply 8
Original post by swanseajack1
Taking 4 is pointless and could end up costing you your university place. It isnt even adviseable for A* students let alone someone with your grades. Concentrate on getting the best grades you can with 3 A levels. That is far more likely to get you into the better universities. Dont be a fool taking 4 and living to regret it

so i have
maths b
chem b
french b
bio c

initially i was going to drop french as its least relevent but ended up getting a better prediction for that. and since biology is important for biomedical engineering, i wouldnt want to drop bio to keep the bbb
Original post by anonymous.y
i want to do biomedical engineering which I dont think its as competitive as the other engineering courses. Southhampton offer abb for a foundation year and queen mary offer bbb for foundation year. bioengineering with foundation year in sheffield want bbb so i dont think its too bad. Also cardiff offer aab-abb. Do you think these unis are as competitive?

It is less about the uni competitiveness of the uni but the course, A course is typically less competitive if it was in clearing. If you have close to the grades you may be ok.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by anonymous.y
so i have
maths b
chem b
french b
bio c

initially i was going to drop french as its least relevent but ended up getting a better prediction for that. and since biology is important for biomedical engineering and i wouldnt want to drop bio to keep the bbb

Then drop the French and put the extra time into Biology. Every year there are people who try to take 4 subjects dont get as good grades as they would otherwise and end up losing their university places. Taking 4 leads to you spreading your time too thinly when you should be concentrating on your best results in 3 subjects. That is way university admissions work and you need to look at it that way as well.
Reply 11
Original post by swanseajack1
Then drop the French and put the extra time into Biology. Every year there are people who try to take 4 subjects dont get as good grades as they would otherwise and end up losing their university places. Taking 4 leads to you spreading your time too thinly when you should be concentrating on your best results in 3 subjects. That is way university admissions work and you need to look at it that way as well.

Check your foundation courses - most will be general engineering rather than biomedical foundations I am guessing - also check which subjects are requirements for biomedical standard degree - Southampton does not require biology! engineering comes first and the biomedical is the specialism which is probably more in second or third year.
Original post by swanseajack1
Then drop the French and put the extra time into Biology. Every year there are people who try to take 4 subjects dont get as good grades as they would otherwise and end up losing their university places. Taking 4 leads to you spreading your time too thinly when you should be concentrating on your best results in 3 subjects. That is way university admissions work and you need to look at it that way as well.

to be honest i have never put any effort into french( revison) which is why i kept doing it as it wasnt impacting my other grades. but now if i drop it ill have BBC which is going to further limit my uni options as the least foundation courses offer are BBB. I might just do adjustment after getting my actual results

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