Post code lottery for University acceptance

I can't comment on that but is it for the same course? Different courses may have different entry requirements

Yes, there are contextual offers by certain universities based on location and school attended. My GD did her A levels at a secondary modern school a couple of years ago. She had a 3xB contextual offer from a Russell Group university but went to her first choice as she got 3xA*.

It doesn't sound very unlikely, if it's for the same course. The type of housing makes no difference to uni offers. However, if the friend went to a different school, which historically doesn't achieve high A level results or the friend comes from a family with problems, it's possible that the uni might have made a slightly lower offer - it's usually two grades (eg ABB rather than AAA).

There is a good explanation here.
www.unifrog.org/know-how/contextual-offers-getting-the-bigger-picture#:~:text=Contextual%20offers%20are%20those%20made,help%20you%20get%20into%20university.

Sorry. I meant "likely" not "unlikely".

The article above includes post code Growstuff.

Mamie

The article above includes post code Growstuff.

I know. All I wrote that was that the kind of housing wouldn't affect the offer.

The areas covered for contextual offers usually cover a number of postcodes.

I think the postcode part is actually about additional funding support as part of the offer...

I think it would not be that dramatic an offer difference. 3As v 3Bs. I think that is probably to different courses.
York, for example, wants AAA for English but BBB for Social and Public Policy.

I will ask my friend about the courses.

NotSpaghetti

I think the postcode part is actually about additional funding support as part of the offer...

I think it would not be that dramatic an offer difference. 3As v 3Bs. I think that is probably to different courses.
York, for example, wants AAA for English but BBB for Social and Public Policy.

Not true of the course my GD was applying for at Bristol. Universities do it differently.

Mamie I was speaking in reference to the article you linked to which I just skim-read. I saw no other mention of post-code.

The York details were for AnnSixty and are from their own website. I was (trying to) explain that different courses at the same university will have very different entry requirements. York is always oversubscribed for English so can easily ask 3As.

When my husband did admissions he didn't have anything like the type of leeway (a grade in all 3 subjects) that the OP refers to.

I remember, good grief, 50 years ago this month, being offerred BCC at the University I wanted to go to.
I was peeved (but accepting) that they wouldn't accept ACD, as the A was in the proposed degree subject.

UCCÀ found me a good second choice.

This was back in 2003, but my son was told by Bristol University that the course he was applying for normally required 3 As, but because of the school he went to they would accept an A and 2 Bs. (He got that, but decided not to go there anyway).

I think the important point about this is that it is about widening access and enabling students who may be at a disadvantage to access university courses.
My GD got a contextual offer because she went to a secondary school for A level in a grammar school area. (It was her choice not to go to grammar at 11+). As I said upthread she actually got 3x A* and went to her first choice of university, so did not take up the place at Bristol.
The categories include young carers, young people in the care system, and areas where the number going to university is below average.
Different universities use different systems, but it is not about particular courses. It is literally about contextualising the offer for students who meet the criteria.
I can't begin to imagine that anyone would think it is anything but a good idea.

You can use POLAR or ACORN to find out if a postcode will assist a student get a lower offer. tbh I don't have a problem with it, if it widens access to disadvantaged groups then it's a good thing.

As far as I know, universities incresingly like to tkae overseas students. As they can charge more for the same course to an overseas student.

Whether that is part of levelling up or down, or nothing to do with it at all, I have no idea.

I see the reasoning behind contextual offers as being supportive to individual applicants who suffer a perceived disadvantage (like going to a school that systematically underperforms at A level) but I worry that more able students lose out. It's a form of positive discrimination that may undermine the overall quality of university graduate output.

Grantanow

I see the reasoning behind contextual offers as being supportive to individual applicants who suffer a perceived disadvantage (like going to a school that systematically underperforms at A level) but I worry that more able students lose out. It's a form of positive discrimination that may undermine the overall quality of university graduate output.

No, it doesn't undermine the quality. Students with higher A level grades aren't necessarily more able.

fancythat

As far as I know, universities incresingly like to tkae overseas students. As they can charge more for the same course to an overseas student.

Whether that is part of levelling up or down, or nothing to do with it at all, I have no idea.

I don't think it has anything to do with levelling up. It's to do with universities wanting to increase their income.

Why would more able students lose out; they can still get their A*s? Why would pupils from particular backgrounds, schools, postcodes etc perform less well when they get to university?
If someone is a young carer might it just be that they have had less time to spend on school work?
We already have studies showing that state school students outperform those from independent school at university. I don't doubt that students who are disadvantaged and have to struggle harder to get there are likely to be pretty well motivated.
The real problem is the cost of university these days. I don't know if others have grandchildren at university, but I am utterly appalled by the cost of accommodation.

I know things may have changed, but offers made may also be based on how the university assess the candidate, by what they have written on their form, what exams they may already have passed.

DS was invited up to the university of his choice and had a long and exhaustive interview, and he was then told to just meet the neessary basic entry requirements. He had obviously proved himself so suitable for the course in the interview, they wanted him, no matter what. He is now a senior academic. He got good A levels, but not outstanding.

It is like selecting which job applicants to interview. Qulifications come into it but all kinds of other factors as well, including school reccommendation, students personal statement and so on.

If students with higher A level grades are not more able why do we use A level grades for university entry? If 8ts the case that there is no correlation between A level grades and final degree results why bother?