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International Student UCAS Predicted Grades

Hey everyone! I know I'm running late on this lol but I study under the French system and I've been talking to my teachers about writing me a reference. Is the predicted grades system only for UK applicants? I mean it wouldn't make much sense for it to apply to the French system, our qualifications work very differently but I just want to make sure.
Original post by AlainTerieur2
Hey everyone! I know I'm running late on this lol but I study under the French system and I've been talking to my teachers about writing me a reference. Is the predicted grades system only for UK applicants? I mean it wouldn't make much sense for it to apply to the French system, our qualifications work very differently but I just want to make sure.

It's very normal for international applicants to be unable to provide predicted grades. The universities will instead make offer decisions on the basis of the other information they can glean from your application.
Reply 2
Original post by DataVenia
It's very normal for international applicants to be unable to provide predicted grades. The universities will instead make offer decisions on the basis of the other information they can glean from your application.

Oh great thanks! Cambridge does ask you to submit a transcript of your grades but I haven't seen any other university ask for that, should I email them or something? It feels kind of weird to apply to a university without them having access to any of my academic records.
Original post by AlainTerieur2
Oh great thanks! Cambridge does ask you to submit a transcript of your grades but I haven't seen any other university ask for that, should I email them or something? It feels kind of weird to apply to a university without them having access to any of my academic records.

Well, I know precisely nothing about the French education system, but I would assume that you've done some formal examinations prior to the ones you're taking now. Is that not the case?

In the UK students typically take formal examinations at age 16 (which they will have the grades for) and again at age 18 (for which predicted grades will be required, given that they'll be applying to university prior to having taken those exams, typically at age 17).

If you have exam results from earlier in your education, you should enter those into UCAS. Or are you saying that you have no actual grades or qualifications at all?
Yes I have and I put them into UCAS, it's somewhat of a GCSE equivalent but we take it a year earlier (so at 14-15 year-old), and a French formal exam on year 12. If that is enough for universities to make a decision then that works, thanks.

It just felt weird to me because in our system all of the assessments we take throughout the year count as official grades and per trimester we are given a transcript with an average grade per subject (which is what is used by French university decisions). I just feel like those reflect more about my current academic self than the exams I took when I was 15 do lol.
Original post by AlainTerieur2
Yes I have and I put them into UCAS, it's somewhat of a GCSE equivalent but we take it a year earlier (so at 14-15 year-old), and a French formal exam on year 12. If that is enough for universities to make a decision then that works, thanks.

It just felt weird to me because in our system all of the assessments we take throughout the year count as official grades and per trimester we are given a transcript with an average grade per subject (which is what is used by French university decisions). I just feel like those reflect more about my current academic self than the exams I took when I was 15 do lol.

Understood. Then, although you won't have predicted grades for your final results, perhaps you could use the "other" option in the Education section of your UCAS application to enter each "average grade per subject" you mention above?

UCAS do say here, in their advice to international students, they you should "Make sure you add as much detail as possible including grades and results. Without enough information universities might struggle to make a decision."

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