bad predicted grades and applying for uni?!

9

okay so i really messed up my year 12 exams, mainly due to not revising as i was in a bad mental state. i'd really like to go to either uni of manchester or uni of liverpool to do biology. im not sure about my predicted for one of my subjects so i think ive either got bbc/bcc. theyre not necessarily bad grades but for liverpool i'd need abb and for manchester id need aaa. could i still apply to these uni's or would i have 0 chance of getting in due to my grades. im not sure if id rather take a gap year or just go to a uni with lower grade requirements. im pretty certain i want to go to liverpool/manchester so i dont really think id be happy going somewhere else. has anyone else been in the same shoes and managed to get into their first choice uni? also theres no way i can increase my grades as this year my school arent allowing retakes or anything like that so these predicted grades are final.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 1

McGinger

20

Talk to individual teachers and ask 'what do I need to do for you to raise my grades' - and they may agree to do this if you do some serious work over the summer and early next term. You have until January to submit your UCAS application so if you want this badly enough you still have time to turn it all around.

The alternative would be to now work your socks off, going into Year 13, not apply this coming year, really motivate yourself to get the grades you need next August, plan a gap year and apply next year for 2026 entry. An extra year is worth it if it gets you to the Uni you really want to go to.

Reply 2

astr0star123

15

that^^ and its also worth contacting the university and explaining your circumstances, i had not-so-great predicted scores but i had contacted & conveyed my extenuating circumstances to the university via mail! :smile:

Reply 3

evsurfer

OP

9

Original post

by astr0star123

that^^ and its also worth contacting the university and explaining your circumstances, i had not-so-great predicted scores but i had contacted & conveyed my extenuating circumstances to the university via mail! :smile:

okay thank you, when did you contact the university? should it be after i send an application in?

Reply 4

McGinger

20

If your school can verify what happened and how this impacted your studies, then they should explain this in the appropriate section of the UCAS reference, and you may also need to submit a specific form to each individual Uni you apply to. Just be aware that this will not excuse all weak grades, or guarantee you an offer, so my previous reply about putting the work in now still applies.
Example : Mitigating circumstances and the admissions process | King's College London

Reply 5

astr0star123

15

Original post

by evsurfer

okay thank you, when did you contact the university? should it be after i send an application in?

I had sent a mail before submitting in my application! Then after submitting my application I sent a follow up mail (I was super nervous). Few universities also had forms, that we can fill which they forwarded to me and just as a precaution I had my teacher mention my circumstance in the reference section too. (Ps she gave it a positive tone too :smile:

)

Reply 6

elliott183724

14

Original post

by evsurfer

okay so i really messed up my year 12 exams, mainly due to not revising as i was in a bad mental state. i'd really like to go to either uni of manchester or uni of liverpool to do biology. im not sure about my predicted for one of my subjects so i think ive either got bbc/bcc. theyre not necessarily bad grades but for liverpool i'd need abb and for manchester id need aaa. could i still apply to these uni's or would i have 0 chance of getting in due to my grades. im not sure if id rather take a gap year or just go to a uni with lower grade requirements. im pretty certain i want to go to liverpool/manchester so i dont really think id be happy going somewhere else. has anyone else been in the same shoes and managed to get into their first choice uni? also theres no way i can increase my grades as this year my school arent allowing retakes or anything like that so these predicted grades are final.

Discuss it with your teachers explain your situation and come to them with a plan of what you're going to do over summer to improve it'd be insane to me if they didn't change them for you as the majority of schools usually just give you the predicted grades you say you need unless they think its extremely unlikely you'll improve? If you got BBC you could still be predicted AAB/AAA because it's very normal for people to increase by 1 or 2 grades in year 13. In my school they literally asked us what grades we needed for our application and unless it was incredibly unlikely that someone would achieve them they just did it lots of people who got Ds in their AS levels still were able to get Bs or As predicted but that might have jst been my teachers..