SQA results | Can I still apply to Uni without minimum requirements?

With your grade in Higher Modern Studies currently sitting at a D, it seems unlikely you'd be allowed to take Advanced Higher Modern Studies.
I'd also recommend that if you're considering studying business at university that you retake Higher Business to secure a higher grade.
However, I think first things first, follow the advice of isa-is-asleep about contacting the My World of Work and SDS helplines. Also, make sure you book an appointment with whoever does the coursing/re-coursing at your school as they'll be able to guide you the best.

Hi everyone, I got my S5 results back and I’m really overwhelmed right now. I wanted to study Law or Business at Glasgow or Strathclyde, Cale, but my results have thrown me off.
I got:
Business – D (1 mark off a C)
English – B (3 marks off a A)
Modern Studies – D (4 marks off a C)
Music – B (3 marks off a A)
Maths – C (Not appealable)
So currently I’m sitting at BBCDD.
is it safe to appeal?
I know these aren’t near the standard or minimum entry requirements (especially for Glasgow), but I really did work hard this year, and I’ve been panicking all week thinking my future is ruined. I feel like I’ve embarrassed myself and let my parents down.
For S6, I’m planning to take:
• Advanced Higher English
• Advanced Higher Modern Studies
• Higher RMPS
• Higher Spanish
I’m hoping to aim for:
• AH English – B
• AH Modern – B
• Higher RMPS – A
• Higher Spanish – A
I know this is ambitious and may seem really difficult to achieve, but I’m determined to improve and I’d explain that in my personal statement how I learned from my S5 mistakes and turned things around. I’ve already started arranging to speak to teachers about predicted grades and I think maybe should re-sit any subjects.
I’ve also been told that resitting everything might make it seem like I’m not progressing, so I’m being careful about that, maybe just resit Higher Modern Studies depending on what my teacher advises.
I’d really appreciate any honest advice:
• Should I still apply this year? Even if Glasgow’s way out of the league, is it worth applying anyway?
• Would Strathclyde or other unis consider me if I get strong predicted grades?
• Would doing a college route or HNC be smarter for now?
• Has anyone else bounced back from results like these?
Please be realistic with me I know these grades aren’t strong, but I’m willing to improve and work hard in s6 and still want to go to uni as it’s a big dream and even though it’s not shown in my results, i’ve worked so hard and It frustrates me that these results are a show of how capable I am compared to my great test scores throughout the year. Thanks so much if you’ve read this far. Id appreciate any advice thank you!

Hi there! (:
First off just wanted to say, although the grades weren't what you were hoping for if you've studied and put the work in, thats all you can really do and you should be proud of yourself for that! <3
Once you've chatted to your teachers and sorted your timetalble for the upcoming year, id reccomend getting into contact with the admissions teams of the unis your thinking of applying to (admissions emails should be on the unis websites) - they will be able to confirm wheather or not they would be able to make an offer based on any personal circumstances you mention to them, current grades & S6 subjects
They might also have some ideas from previous students about any potential alternative pathways onto the course that they can make you aware of! - this can help with making the decision between the options! (:
Your future is not over because of some grades!! - you did your best and all you can do now is see what admissions suggest for options going forward! - also for S6 you can have a chat with your teachers about any other things that they could maybe do to help you achieve what your wanting!, such as extra study support😊
hope this helps, wishing u the best of luck!!
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Thank you so much for your reply! I will keep all those in mind and get in contact with unis and i’m going to be speaking to my teachers soon. Also is it bad that i’ve already booked the LNAT exam and sitting it in early September thinking id get good grades for glasgow uni? 😬 - I have been revising for that all summer.

no problemo! - sounds like you've got it planned out nicely 🤗
I think you may aswell sit the LNAT especially with you putting all the work in for it + already booked and also im guessing its non refundable (didn't sit the LNAT myself so not too clued in!) - once you've spoke with admissions you'll know the options available & worst comes to worst you now know kinda how the exam works for the next again year if u were to re-do + roughly where your sitting LNAT score wise!
Was also going to mention, when your talking with your teachers i'd see about popping in an apeal for business - may aswell with it being so close to a grade boundary, schools need to submit these at the latest by the 29th of August (:
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Thank you for being so kind with your words!! Yeah i think it’s nonrefundable, and i’ve already been revising for it so I might as well just do and see how it goes. My parents say it’s not the end of the world either and that it’s common for people not to get into their dream Uni, i worked hard it’s just disappointing to see that it wasn’t shown in my results. However i spoke to my teacher this morning and i’ve submitted an appeal for english, music and business and I go back to school next week to discuss subject choices, i’ve come to the conclusion I have to retake modern studies. That leaves me with
- Adv english
- H mode
-H Rmps
-H Spanish
If you have any other advice i’d love to still stay in contact and i’ll let you know how to appeals go thank you soo much )

no problem!!(:
yea exactly no harm in giving it a go and seeing how you do 😊 - once admissions from unis have gotten back to you about your options, i'd also have a look at attending uni open days, especially for the unis your maybe considering now that you weren't thinking of before! - These type of things will let you get an idea of the campus + you can speak to some current students about how they find studying there!
originally I wasnt going to have strathclyde as my top choice on UCAS but after attending open days i realised how much i loved the closeness of the campus to the city & everyone there was super friendly & then later in the year i'd attending an UCAS offer holders open day (same sorta thing as an open day but more specific to the subject your looking at studying!) and i just loved how enthusastic the chemistry department had been!!💜
also just gave me a better idea of my priorities when picking where to study!
thats fab that you've got your appeals in & sounds like some great options for S6, I did 1 adv + 3 highers too (snap! 😛 ) and found it okay for balancing, with it being 1 less subject, although with your adv it will obviously be a lot more work - I found it a bit easier to actually know where to start studying and where to split my time, also with you retaking mods, you'll have the notes and info from the year before to helpout + know the structure from the year before so hopefully will feel a bit less stressful (:
wishing u the best of luck with appeals!! - if theres anything else just let me know and we can have a yap! 🤗
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Hi Emily, Thank you for being so kind I feel a bit relived now!… So Update: I am doing the same subjects but retaking higher modern studies. I emailed admissions and strathclyde got back and they said it depends how many applications there will be this year and it’s based on that but it’s really competitive but i’m still encouraged to apply which doesn’t give me high hopes (which is what i expected unfortunately) I also went to Glasgow Uni open day and spoke to admissions one to one and they said the same thing but best case scenario i could get a conditional. I know there’s plenty of other pathways but i’m just so determined. After the open day I realised I’m not really interested in doing law and more going towards politics and international relations which is the same grade requirements. My LNAT is tomorrow which i’ve prepared a lot for so i’m hoping for the best but i’m not expecting much. Glasgow Uni said they look at grades first THEN lnat PS etc.. which oh well 🤷*♀️.

Hiya!,
Glad to hear your feeling a bit better about the whole thing (: - I had a little look into options and just thought would also link you this: Glasgow city college - Social Sciences/ Access To University Of Glasgow HNC
glasgow uni - HNC Articulation Programmes
I'm thinking Glasgow uni might have alredy mentioned this to you but glasgow city college offer a social science HNC with direct entry into year 2, this is an access course so you would need to meet one of the widening participation criteria, but if you do meet this defintly worth having a look into! 🤗 - with the colleges i think you apply directly through the college website so would mean you can still apply to the unis and just have this type of thing there as a backup which would still give you a route onto the course no matter what goes on this year!
pretty sure the glasgow city college offer a very similar course, without widening participation but not working directly with glasgow uni, which would still give you an option for HNC and then entry into year 1 at strath, subject to our entry requirements with HNC's - guessing you've likely had a look at this type of thing already but thought worth mentioning as is a great way to get access to more competivite places! 😊 - would maybe send glasgow an email asking about this one as unsure how they treat this entry requirement wise (:
means also you'd still be in glasgow and get to experience the city no matter this year and how UCAS goes! + gives you a bit of experience with the course to see how you find it😊
goodluck with your UCAT today!!!! - hope it goes well, just lmk if theres anything else! 💜
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Hiya!,
Glad to hear your feeling a bit better about the whole thing (: - I had a little look into options and just thought would also link you this: Glasgow city college - Social Sciences/ Access To University Of Glasgow HNC
glasgow uni - HNC Articulation Programmes
I'm thinking Glasgow uni might have alredy mentioned this to you but glasgow city college offer a social science HNC with direct entry into year 2, this is an access course so you would need to meet one of the widening participation criteria, but if you do meet this defintly worth having a look into! 🤗 - with the colleges i think you apply directly through the college website so would mean you can still apply to the unis and just have this type of thing there as a backup which would still give you a route onto the course no matter what goes on this year!
pretty sure the glasgow city college offer a very similar course, without widening participation but not working directly with glasgow uni, which would still give you an option for HNC and then entry into year 1 at strath, subject to our entry requirements with HNC's - guessing you've likely had a look at this type of thing already but thought worth mentioning as is a great way to get access to more competivite places! 😊 - would maybe send glasgow an email asking about this one as unsure how they treat this entry requirement wise (:
means also you'd still be in glasgow and get to experience the city no matter this year and how UCAS goes! + gives you a bit of experience with the course to see how you find it😊
goodluck with your UCAT today!!!! - hope it goes well, just lmk if theres anything else! 💜
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Hi Emily! My LNAT went better than I expected 🤞 just waiting on the result now. I’m not really sure about taking the college route, but I am applying to Aberdeen and Stirling since I know Glasgow is probably a big reach for me. Do universities consider the personal statement much, or do they mainly look at grades first and reject if they’re not high enough?
I’m currently doing a PRIME (The Forage) virtual learning course, a MOOC, and I’m trying to line up some insight days too, do things like this actually help my application? I’m especially interested in Scots Law and Politics, but I’m not sure how much weight the personal statement carries.
I know you don’t study law yourself, but if you know anyone who does (or if anyone else here can share their experience), that would be really helpful!

Hi! my business appeal was successful! I’m still stressed out about applications and what’s the safe option?? Can someone pls help me and be realistic If i am able to get an offer? Thank tou

Hiya!!
sorry i'm pretty late seeing this, super well done with your LNAT! - bet your glad to have it out the way now!! (:
generally if your applying and bellow the standards requirements, they will see if your currently taking the subjects to then achieve this by the time you were to study there, depends on the uni if they look at this together with your ps or one after the other 😊 - unis should consider you and go on to look at your ps if your able to with the subjects your taking achieve the standard requirements of the course, they shouldnt just reject you if your taking the subjects required and may get the grades required this year!
thats great that your doing some extra things for the ps! - those type of things are great for showing your passion for the subject, showing your enganging outwith school and just generally great for chatting about on a ps and displaying any transferrable skills that could come in handy in a university enviroment (: - any type of extras like that make sure to mention & reflect a bit on the experience - when i was doing my ps, i'd mentioned my science related extra-cirriculars but also my part time job & i was also an autism ambassador for my school at the time 🤗- some of these obviously dont relate to my course lol - but are great things to mention so the admissions can get to know you a bit better and have transferrable skills that can apply to higher education (:
One of my flatmates last year studied law, dont know too much about the actual course or anything like that but she seemed to really enjoy it!! - she had a mix of lectures & tutorial/discussion type of classes, aswell as some law-work experience type of thing (dont really know the exact details but sounded really interesting for getting a feel for how it would be outwith uni!) 😊 - she had a loooot more reading to do than me, but equally seemed when she was doing that i was in the lab, shes now going into her 2nd year and ran into her the other day at the pub and we were chatting and sounded like shes still really enjoying the course! 😊
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Thank you so much for your advice!! That’s honestly so helpful. I totally get what you mean it’s such a struggle trying to fit everything into the personal statement and make it all sound reflective at the same time 😭. I’ve just started my first draft and have my first meeting with my UCAS advisor soon, so hopefully that’ll give me a bit more direction and insight
And yeah, so just to be clear , unis do consider predicted grades too, right? obviously you know I’m in S6 and retaking one subject while also doing two Highers and an Advanced Higher, so I’ll get predicted grades from my teachers for those. Obviously my S5 grades matter a lot, but it’s good to know they look at everything together like the PS, reference, and current subjects.
I’ve done a lot to prepare such as work experience and extra circulars just like you were talking about such as law firms and volunteering and clubs etc.. just so much to write!! it’s just really frustrating and annoying that the main thing they look at is s5 grades which makes me soo sad 😞 because i know myself im capable of improving this year as well and idk what how the application goes even considering a hopefully good ps and predicated grades!!
Alsoo that’s so cool about your friend also studying law!! I can imagine how much reading there is to do haha but it does seem very fun especially seeing what goes on during open days. I’m also interested in politics in business too so i’m trying to figure out what to do there lol🥲 anyways i will speak to my ucas advisor about that hopefully. But thank you so much again!! I’ll update you!!

its no problemo!!
Yea!! - the ps feels pretty stressful at the time especially with all your other subjects and whatever else your up to 😭 - just remeber though everyone writing them is in the same boat!, for majority of people it's their first time writing one too, or first time writing one with the new question structure. I hope your meeting went okay! - thats great that your school has people advising on the application process, will help to make sure your including anything relevent - also means theres someone there to just make sure your keeping up with it cause i know for me i was totally procrastinating writing it for agess! 😅
When your filling out ucas application, your teachers should pop the predicted grades on this and unis will be able to veiw this (: - I dont know exaclty how they treat it from uni to uni, but they will be able to see all the info provided, if your off a grade by a bit the uni will be aware if your currently taking the subject again and may achieve the grade requirements by the end of the year
yeaaa tons of rewritting and wording it nicely! - I know when I started with my application id made a list of everything i wanted to include to ensure i wasnt missing anything! - also just making sure if your eligible for anything, such as LEAPS that would give you lower requirements, that thats included on your application!! - theres a section on the application for this so worth just double-checking if you qualify for any widening acess that unis will be aware of this when making offers 😊
yeaa!! - definetly not my thing with all the essay writing 😅, think my lab reports are enough for me lol, open days are fab for that and getting a sense of the campus & general course structure so you know roughly what to expect! - im unsure how it is exactly for law, but if you have any optional electives it might be worth having a look into them to see if there's the option of politics!!, would give you that mix if there is (: - in my first year i'd done a biomolecular science module and found it to be great for some more variety before narrowing down what to specialise in for my course!
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Hey!! I received an offers for Aberdeen Law for BB, International Business for both strathclyde and cali for ABB!!