Computer Science at St Andrews

Hi,
My son has applied to St Andrews to study Computer Science as RUK student as one of his 5 choices. After reading all the comments on Student Room & it's likely that he ll be rejected. He is predicted 3A* including Maths & Computing
What puzzles me although it's extremely competitive - min entry requirement for Computer Science is still 3 x A. If the demand is extremely high & I m wondering why they are not increasing their min grade requirement? They ll receive less applicants to start with - less students to reject?

Reply 1

hotpud

18

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi,
My son has applied to St Andrews to study Computer Science as RUK student as one of his 5 choices. After reading all the comments on Student Room & it's likely that he ll be rejected. He is predicted 3A* including Maths & Computing
What puzzles me although it's extremely competitive - min entry requirement for Computer Science is still 3 x A. If the demand is extremely high & I m wondering why they are not increasing their min grade requirement? They ll receive less applicants to start with - less students to reject?

It is all a bit of a marketing game. Universities like St Andrews, Oxford and Cambridge and the Russel Group want to project prestige. So the way they do that is to ask for really high entry scores. This does put some students off and of course others don't like the idea of competing in this way. But in reality fewer students get AAA or higher than there are places that require AAA or higher so in reality universities will often reduce their offering for some courses to get bums on seats. Remember, each student brings £30k+ to the bottom line. If universities pitched at A*A*A* very few people would apply, even fewer would achieve and they would have an empty course.

So I would suggest that your son hangs tight and goes for broke. If he has an offer for AAA and achieves that grade, then he will get in. If he just misses he still has a chance as the recent visa changes mean UK universities are less appealing to foreign students and universities are feeling the crunch. It is a student's market at the moment.

Reply 2

helpfuldad

8

Agree with above. You don't need A*A*A* to get in to St Andrews. Good personal statement is key.

Reply 3

username6118769

6

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi,
My son has applied to St Andrews to study Computer Science as RUK student as one of his 5 choices. After reading all the comments on Student Room & it's likely that he ll be rejected. He is predicted 3A* including Maths & Computing
What puzzles me although it's extremely competitive - min entry requirement for Computer Science is still 3 x A. If the demand is extremely high & I m wondering why they are not increasing their min grade requirement? They ll receive less applicants to start with - less students to reject?

Yes I agree with the other 2 I've got an offer with predicted A*AAA personal statement supperrr important good luck!!!

Computer Science at St Andrews

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