Worth applying to AAB with A*BC as a mature (over 21) student?

which course and which university? That makes a lot of difference.

By the way - you don't need a degree to progress in accounting.

Reply 2

OP

I'm applying for accounting with finance on all my uni choices. As for universities I'm still choosing but I've put down brighton (BBB), Leicester (ABB), and Reading (ABB) so far. I don't know if these are realistic even though they seem to be. I'm considering unis like liverpool or southampton that are AAB but unsure if that'll be a waste of a choice

(Original post by ajj2000)which course and which university? That makes a lot of difference.

By the way - you don't need a degree to progress in accounting.

Reply 3

Just to check - when you say ‘put down’ do you mean entered on ucas or for your own shortlist for consideration?

Reply 4

Also to check - might you be eligible for contextual offers - for example did you receive free school meals?

Reply 5

OP

my own shortlist and no I don't think I'd qualify for contextual offers(Original post by ajj2000)Just to check - when you say ‘put down’ do you mean entered on ucas or for your own shortlist for consideration?

Original post by ajj2000

Just to check - when you say ‘put down’ do you mean entered on ucas or for your own shortlist for consideration?

Reply 6

Any geographic requirements/ preferences/ type of town you would wish to live in? Are you concerned about maximising ACCA exemptions?

Reply 7

OP

not really. I'm wondering if universities like liverpool/southampton that ask for AAB would offer an application like mine a spot or not. (Original post by ajj2000)Any geographic requirements/ preferences/ type of town you would wish to live in? Are you concerned about maximising ACCA exemptions?

Original post by ajj2000

Any geographic requirements/ preferences/ type of town you would wish to live in? Are you concerned about maximising ACCA exemptions?

Reply 8

ageshallnot

21

Original post by ksaroha

I'm quite unfamiliar with the UK's university system. I did pretty well in my GCSEs (all A*s/A and one lousy B in history). I got A*BC at A-level with the C in further maths. Since then, instead of going uni I've been moving from accounting internship to internship before finally landing a full time accounting assistant job. Turns out I need a uni degree to really progress and I feel like I'm a whole different beast now so I'm ready for it. I've noticed all the unis have entry requirements that display consistency (ex AAA, AAB, ABB, etc) but my grades seem like a rollercoaster compared to that. I've put a BBB, and two ABB universities as my choices so far. ABB seemed logical as it was the same number of UCAS points as A*BC. I'm unsure if I should stick to ABB universities for the remainder of my choices or consider one stretch university at AAB? Is it worth it if you have a lot of relevant actual job experience? I'm applying for an accounting with finance course across all my choices. Any advice is appreciated

I'd suggest submitting your application with perhaps 3 choices, including at least 1 risky and 1 safe option. You will hopefully receive some responses before the January equal consideration deadline and can then add your final choices knowing whether you can aim high or need to lower your sights a little.

Reply 9

swanseajack1

19

Original post by ksaroha

not really. I'm wondering if universities like liverpool/southampton that ask for AAB would offer an application like mine a spot or not. (Original post by ajj2000)Any geographic requirements/ preferences/ type of town you would wish to live in? Are you concerned about maximising ACCA exemptions?

A*BC doesnt meet AAB so technically you might be rejected. However universities tend not to be so strict for mature students so it is possible you might get offers. The only people who can answer this is the admission officers of the universities concerned. Technically you dont meet the entry requirements of any of your courses because of your C and most universities asking AAB or ABB dont tend to work on ucas points although most universities do tend to accept dropped grades. I would be tempted to apply to Liverpool or Southamton. Even if they reject you there are other choices and there is also extra and clearing you can use.

Reply 10

Original post by ksaroha

not really. I'm wondering if universities like liverpool/southampton that ask for AAB would offer an application like mine a spot or not. (Original post by ajj2000)Any geographic requirements/ preferences/ type of town you would wish to live in? Are you concerned about maximising ACCA exemptions?

Unfortunately its one of those which is someone tough to predict as there is no recent experience of value due to all the unusual grades during the covid years.

Had you applied pre covid to - say - Southampton, Liverpool, Cardiff, Newcastle and Reading I'd have put some money on you getting a couple of offers at least. Would you want to take the bet though? I lot comes down to how much you need an offer.

Were it me applying for A+F I wouldn't be particularly concerned about the name of the university. I've never noted it to be as influential in accounting careers as some others. I would chose to be much more brand name focussed were I applying for many other courses - physics or geography for example.

Given you have achieved grades some people in your position would look to one of the strategies below:

- chose one target university you are very happy with (say - Reading, UEA, Swansea) and apply quickly. Hopefully you have an offer after a couple of weeks. You can check last years threads to see which universities made offers quickly. Look specifically at accountancy courses and not courses like economics which are much more likely to hold grades as strict requirements.

Once you have an offer (hopefully within a month) add 4 aggressive options. Nothing lost that way.

- Chose one or two aggressive options (say - Liverpool, Newcastle, Cardiff) and see what happens. Decide on other options after a month. Even if you end up with no offers you just check out UCAS choices in January (there tend to be reasonable places such as Reading and Swansea available). The real risk is if the universities don't respond in a reasonable timescale as that leaves you hanging.

The main thing is not to apply for five at once, and to apply to one or two early to see what happens.

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 11

OP

thank you for all the advice. I ended up following it and submitting an application for brighton and reading tonight. Hopefully I'll get into reading which will let me bomb out AAB unis for the rest of my choices. I've read online that they take 4-6 weeks to reply with a decision but is that concrete? I tried searching student room forums but couldn't find anything on how long reading typically take. I wasn't thinking of applying to a few at the start and the rest later because I thought all unis wait until the Jan deadline's passed before looking at the application pool? Thank you again for the help

Reply 12