Half of students get degree place with lower grades

By ITS Education Asia

An interesting article published on the BBC website highlights how nearly half of the people given a place at a UK university this year had A-level grades lower than the advertised entry requirements.

The admissions service, UCAS, says 49% of 18-year-olds in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, who sat at least three A-levels, were accepted with lower grades than those advertised. Universities generally advertise grade requirements on their websites.

The UCAS report also says this is a good time to apply for a degree place, as the UK 18-year-old population is expected to fall to its lowest point in recent years in 2020.

"Consequently, now may be the best time ever to apply to higher education - particularly since this population is expected to grow again from 2021, reaching 2010's height by 2024," the report says.

It also shows:

• a record 541,240 students were accepted onto undergraduate courses this year
• the number of places being offered through Clearing has continued to rise - in 2019, over 34,000 18-year-olds (14% of all placed applicants) secured a place this way, the highest number on record
• nearly three in four (73.6%) of the UK's 18-year-olds who were accepted onto a course, got a place at their first-choice university.

So this suggests that you should not be deterred from inquiring about the university place you want even if your grades do not meet the requirements stated on the universities website.