can’t figure out which unis to apply for

helloooo

i’m currently studying sociology, philosophy and politics, and i want to do criminology at uni.

im in year 13 but still haven’t received predicted grades bcs i flopped my mocks last summer - i think i might end up getting predicted ACD or BCD though. assuming i’m predicted BCD, that would be 96 ucas points. if i’m lucky enough for it to be ACD, that’s 104 points, which might be good enough for unis that require 112 points as i meet several criteria for contextual offers.

i already know i want to go to the university of greenwich, i absolutely love the look of the criminology & criminal psychology course, the campus is beautiful, i love the local area, and i already live in london. the requirements for the main 3 year degree are 112 points, but they also have an extended programme where you do the degree for 4 years and the requirements are only 64 points so i’ll probably apply for that course instead.

only issue is though, if get predicted BCD then what other unis in london could i apply for?? everywhere i’m finding wants 112 ucas points but my grades simply aren’t good enough for that. i’m kinda panicking bcs i have no clue what to do, i can’t just only apply to one uni in case i don’t get accepted. i need backup options but i literally can’t find any.

what am i supposed to do? 🥲

Reply 1

checka888

if you meet the requirements for a contextual offer, chances are you will get a contextual offer to the other unis you apply for - this could be as much as 2 grades below the original grades.
im surprised you haven't received your mock grades yet - you must get in contact with your school and ask for them immediately, as your application is due latest January !

if im gonna be honest, a fair amount of london unis typically require higher grades. in fact, most universities will probably not accept you with those predictions.

the good news is, that's okay ! like you mentioned yourself, you can apply to do a foundation year pretty much anywhere instead - really not that bad at all. Middlesex University also has a Criminology course for 96 UCAS points.

if you cant find anymore london ones, you might just have to consider extending your search to further out. use this student room link to help you find courses with your grades : https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/search/course?utf8=%E2%9C%93&c%5Bq%5D=criminology&c%5Bacademic_years%5D=2025&c%5Bgeography%5D%5B%5D=city_of_london&c%5Bgeography%5D%5B%5D=greater_london&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_0%5D=3&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_1%5D=4&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_2%5D=5&c%5Blower_points_bound%5D=84&c%5Bupper_points_bound%5D=108

whatever you do, make sure you fill out all 5 options - waste of money if you don't.
also, one last thing - would you consider taking a gap year to retake your a-levels/perhaps uni just isn't for you ?