Reapplying for uni if my A levels result turned out better than my prediction grade?

I want to apply for computer science but my prediction grade isn’t close to the university courses entry requirement. I don’t have a particular uni in mind but most unis have A*AA requirement.

I’m taking physics, maths and further maths. I’m thinking of applying to electrical engineering course for now with what I’ve have. But incase, I get a better result, will I be able to apply to computer science through clearing ?

Yes you can. You could also take a gap year and apply with actual grades.
However, I think there are quite a few courses that accept grades lower than A*AA that are perfectly good for computer science. Have you looked at Surrey, Royal Holloway, Aberystwyth, Cardiff, for example?

How far off the requirements are you?

Given the problems with employability for computer science graduates why not look at universities with slightly lower requirements that offer a placement year? Those are more likely to get you into a good CS job than an A*AA course anyway!

I’m a private candidate for A levels and I got an A in physics and B in the rest. I think it’s cause I submitted all my assignments for physics but only a bare minimum for maths and further maths that I got a B. I did do fairly well in all but maybe they didn’t have enough material to properly assess my ability. Who knows. Thanks for your advise. I’ll try to find some lower entry requirement unis. Haven’t found any so far.

Are you eligible for any contextual criteria?

I’m a private candidate for A levels and I got an A in physics and B in the rest. I think it’s cause I submitted all my assignments for physics but only a bare minimum for maths and further maths that I got a B. I did do fairly well in all but maybe they didn’t have enough material to properly assess my ability. Who knows. Thanks for your advise. I’ll try to find some lower entry requirement unis. Haven’t found any so far.

Yes, I would say so. If you put in the work, I don't see why you can't obtain a spot at a good university through clearing. I mean, it will be very hard to get in touch with the universities as there will be LOADS of people trying to contact them but if you are lucky, I don't see why you can't.

Many of the top places do clearing for CS (barring Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh and maybe a few more) like Durham and Bath from what I've heard but you might want to confirm.

What you have to remember though is that this isn't a guarantee so if you are set on going to a top university, you may as well just reapply for next year but you will have to work hard at your application so that you have good super curricular activities on your personal statement. It took me some time to do some of the things I've done but it's paid off as I have an offer from Imperial so make sure you put enough time into your activities.

Also, remember, no one is forcing you to do a major you aren't interested in so if you aren't a huge fan of EE and want to go into CS, I'd consider reapplying.

(Just an aside that Bath did not clear for CS in 2023).

Oh! When I asked about clearing at top universities, I got told by our careers advisor that Bath and Durham tend to have a few places for CS.

Are you an international applicant? For UK student basically none of the stronger universities have been in clearing for CS for the last few years. Clearing is really not a good option in this case.

No I'm a home student. Some of the things our careers advisor says is extremely sketchy so has to be taken with a pinch of salt but I thought that this would be true as this is something which has been said by several members of staff. It appears I know nothing 😂! I've not really looked much into the Clearing process so I haven't really considered options.

they may have said it on the basis that the last few years have been different with only last year being a return to normal 😭

No I'm a home student. Some of the things our careers advisor says is extremely sketchy so has to be taken with a pinch of salt but I thought that this would be true as this is something which has been said by several members of staff. It appears I know nothing 😂! I've not really looked much into the Clearing process so I haven't really considered options.

There is absolutely no reason you should know anything!

Why not give some details here about your overall position so people can advise? Also look through past posts (but be careful about the covid years as weird things happened then).

I want to apply for computer science but my prediction grade isn’t close to the university courses entry requirement. I don’t have a particular uni in mind but most unis have A*AA requirement.

I’m taking physics, maths and further maths. I’m thinking of applying to electrical engineering course for now with what I’ve have. But incase, I get a better result, will I be able to apply to computer science through clearing ?

I don't think I have to consider Clearing options (yet) because I don't have any reservations with the places I've applied to and received offers from (Imperial, Manchester and Edinburgh and anticipating one from Durham but no news as of yet, all for CompSci). What's on my mind is whether I should reapply for entry next year?

I really really want to go to Cambridge but got rejected from Cambridge pre-interview after fumbling my TMUA admissions test. In the room my admissions test was taking place, there were seven other admissions tests and all of the end timings were presented in a tabular format at the front of the room. I was sat at the back of the room and I saw the wrong row for my end timing for the first paper, which is normally the one that brings my mark up. The paper timing is one hour 15 minutes but the timing I saw was for one and a half hours, meaning I thought I had 15 minutes than I actually had and at no point did I clock this during the test. I worked through the first few questions really quickly and seeing that I had loads of time left, I began to pace myself a bit more so that I wouldn't make any stupid mistakes. About 23 minutes before what I thought was the end timing (8 minutes before the actual end time), I finished the first paper in its entirety and had answers to every question that matched one of the multiple choice options with workings out and since I thought I had 20-ish minutes left, I thought I would take a break for like 5 minutes before starting to fill in my answer sheet. 5 minutes later (3 minutes before the end time), I slowly began to fill in my answer sheet. I was really confident that I had done well and then three minutes later, I got told to put my pencil down and I had the shock of my life. I then looked at the table of timings and saw that I looked at the wrong row. I only managed to fill in 9 out of the 20 lozenges on my answer sheet. The test was really easy as well (for me at least. Some people found it really hard at my school), which hurt even more because I thought I would have decent chances of securing an interview. I worked out that to have a decent chance of getting an interview, I would have to get at least 15 questions right on the second paper and I realised at this point that I am going to get rejected and all of that hard work was in vain because I've never got more than 13 on the second paper and that remained the case. I scored 4.5 in the TMUA, which some people got less than and still secured interviews and I know someone who got 5.0 at my school and still got an interview for CS, which hurt a lot at the time. 5 days before my Imperial interview, I received my Cambridge rejection and I was so distraught and dejected. It destroyed me and still hurts to this day.

Do you think it's worth me reapplying? I understand that there is a chance that I don't get in and I've just taken a year out for nothing but I just really want to go there. I want to give it my best and put up a decent admissions test score and application so they have to interview me. I'm really grateful for the offers I've received but I feel as though I've let myself down. Even if I received an interview and got rejected after, I still would have been happy that I at least got past the first phase but it wasn't meant to be. During the gap year, I will do as many things I can in free time to ensure that I put up a strong application in addition to serious admissions test prep. Any thoughts about my predicament would be much appreciated.

My A levels: Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science, Chemistry and EPQ (5 A* prediction)

My GCSEs: 9999999988 with the 8s in English Literature and RS (not great, I know but what's done is done).

Omg, don't even stress, honestly, your grades are amazing! Just having good grades opens up a lot of doors. I'm here with CDE predicted, and can't even apply for 95% the courses I wanted. Even clearing isn't certain for me.