Should I change my 5th choice to a uni w/ lower requirements?

I am predicted ABB in Maths, Business and Computer Science respectively and I am planning to apply to these 5 unis:

King's College London (Electronic Engineering): AAA (aspirational, not too upset if I don't get it)
Uni of York (Electronic Engineering with Music Tech Systems): ABB
Newcastle Uni (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB/BCC (I am eligible for the PARTNERS scheme)
Loughborough University (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Queen Mary's London (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB

Should I be choosing a backup, also how does the Newcastle offer work, can I put the BCC offer as my insurance?

Reply 1

waffelton

Original post by Reshma 69

I am predicted ABB in Maths, Business and Computer Science respectively and I am planning to apply to these 5 unis:
King's College London (Electronic Engineering): AAA (aspirational, not too upset if I don't get it)
Uni of York (Electronic Engineering with Music Tech Systems): ABB
Newcastle Uni (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB/BCC (I am eligible for the PARTNERS scheme)
Loughborough University (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Queen Mary's London (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Should I be choosing a backup, also how does the Newcastle offer work, can I put the BCC offer as my insurance?

Yes, if you are certain you will get a lowered offer, Newcastle can work as your insurance. I’d try and look into acceptance rates in case you are not accepted by Newcastle. (Though you could apply through clearing if you don’t get the grades)

Reply 2

Reshma 69

Original post by waffelton

I used the eligibility checker on the Newcastle website and it did say “yes you are eligible” however I have heard you have to put it as your firm to actually get that reduced offer?

To my understanding, they will give you 2 offers, one of ABB and another of BCC provided you firm them but please do correct me if i’m wrong as I struggled to find clear proof of this directly from Newcastle so I’m not too sure about this. Thank you!

Reply 3

McGinger

Honestly - you will not get an offer from KCL so that choice is a total waste of time.
You might get an offer for an AAB course - Cardiff?
And I'd suggest that you have one BBB choice - CS is competitive and none of those ABB choices are a guaranteed offer - Plymouth?

Btw, applying for one 'with Music Tech' choice gives you an obvious problem. York states "For our Music Technology courses, you should be able to demonstrate a motivation towards making or recording music. You can tell us about your musical interests in your UCAS personal statement." and if you do that, it will look very odd to your other choices, and could mean they reject you. Have you asked York about sending them a separate PS?

And - if any of these choices have a 'with placement / year in industry' option, that would give your graduate CV an enormous boost, and provides invaluable context for your degree - highly recommended.

Reply 4

Reshma 69

Original post by McGinger

Honestly - you will not get an offer from KCL so that choice is a total waste of time.
You might get an offer for an AAB course - Cardiff?
And I'd suggest that you have one BBB choice - CS is competitive and none of those ABB choices are a guaranteed offer - Plymouth?
Btw, applying for one 'with Music Tech' choice gives you an obvious problem. York states "For our Music Technology courses, you should be able to demonstrate a motivation towards making or recording music. You can tell us about your musical interests in your UCAS personal statement." and if you do that, it will look very odd to your other choices, and could mean they reject you. Have you asked York about sending them a separate PS?
And - if any of these choices have a 'with placement / year in industry' option, that would give your graduate CV an enormous boost, and provides invaluable context for your degree - highly recommended.

Okay, about KCL i completely understand and I know I shouldn’t really be making considerations by this however on the UCAS website it says with the grades I entered (ABB) 64% of people were accepted therefore I am considering it however please correct me if I’m completely misinterpreting that information.

Also to my understanding Cardiff is ABB and I have been considering that over QMUL but I’m not too sure. I do think it is worth applying to a BBB course though.

Also did you mean engineering not CS? I’m applying to mostly electrical and electronic engineering (pls see above for the slight variations in courses)

For York, I will enquire if I can send them a separate ps however I have included music in my personal statement anyways as I have achieved quite high levels in it outside of school and I have related it back to engineering in my ps btw.

And yes I forgot to mention in the original post but I am applying to do placements/industry etc. for all the ones offering it.

Thank you for your advice I really appreciate it.

Reply 5

McGinger

(ABB) 64% of people were accepted therefore I am considering it however please correct me if I’m completely misinterpreting that information.

These stats are totally misleading as they are an average, and include those with lower grade contextual offers, widening participation schemes, mature students, those with mitigating circumstances etc etc - AND this was what they accepted in August, NOT the predicted grades they made offers on.

Reply 6

Reshma 69

Original post by McGinger

(ABB) 64% of people were accepted therefore I am considering it however please correct me if I’m completely misinterpreting that information.
These stats are totally misleading as they are an average, and include those with lower grade contextual offers, widening participation schemes, mature students, those with mitigating circumstances etc etc - AND this was what they accepted in August, NOT the predicted grades they made offers on.

Okay, that makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying however on the ucas website though, that “checker” says it doesn’t include any contextual information in its stats.

“Providers can make contextual offers to students who have faced any circumstances or challenges that may have impacted education or qualifications. These types of offers are not flagged into the tool.”

Reply 7

Newcastle University

Official Rep

Original post by Reshma 69

I am predicted ABB in Maths, Business and Computer Science respectively and I am planning to apply to these 5 unis:
King's College London (Electronic Engineering): AAA (aspirational, not too upset if I don't get it)
Uni of York (Electronic Engineering with Music Tech Systems): ABB
Newcastle Uni (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB/BCC (I am eligible for the PARTNERS scheme)
Loughborough University (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Queen Mary's London (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Should I be choosing a backup, also how does the Newcastle offer work, can I put the BCC offer as my insurance?

Hi @Reshma 69

It's great to see that you're considering Newcastle, and our Electrical and Electronic Engineering BEng Honours (H607) programme!

As you're aware, the 'standard' entry requirements are ABB at A Level, including Mathematics or Further Mathematics. However, this programme has automatic eligibility to our PARTNERS Programme, meaning you can receive an offer three grades lower than the standard, if you apply through PARTNERS. This would reduce the entry requirements to BCC at A Level, including Mathematics or Further Mathematics.

To take advantage of this offer, you must meet the Essential Criteria of the PARTNERS Programme, and attend the PARTNERS Academic Summer School. You must also make Newcastle your Firm choice. If you apply through PARTNERS and then select Newcastle as your Insurance choice, the PARTNERS offer falls away, and your offer conditions would revert to the 'standard' for the programme you have applied to (e.g. ABB at A Level).

I hope this helps!
Scott 🙂

Reply 8

University of York

Official Rep

Original post by Reshma 69

I am predicted ABB in Maths, Business and Computer Science respectively and I am planning to apply to these 5 unis:
King's College London (Electronic Engineering): AAA (aspirational, not too upset if I don't get it)
Uni of York (Electronic Engineering with Music Tech Systems): ABB
Newcastle Uni (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB/BCC (I am eligible for the PARTNERS scheme)
Loughborough University (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Queen Mary's London (Electrical and Electronic Engineering): ABB
Should I be choosing a backup, also how does the Newcastle offer work, can I put the BCC offer as my insurance?

Hi there,

It's great to hear that you're considering studying at York!

As you probably already know, the typical conditional offer for our Electronic Engineering with Music Technology Systems BSc course is ABB (including Maths) which it sounds like you are on track to achieve — well done! 🎉

The other thing to be aware of at York is that you may be eligible for an alternative offer if you meet one or more of the following criteria:

•

Widening participation - if you successfully complete one of the following programmes, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to two A level grades (or equivalent) below our typical offer: Black Access Programme, Next Step York, Realising Opportunities.

•

If you're doing an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and achieve C or higher, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer.

Additionally, our Contextual offer for our Electronic Engineering with Music Technology Systems BSc course is BBB including Mathematics. You might be eligible for this!

I hope this helps, best of luck with your applications if you're yet to make them! - Hannah 😀