Predicted grades are important. This is because they let universities know the most likely grades you will get when you do your A-Level or Scottish Higher exams. Universities will then use these grades as one of the factors to determine whether you should be offered a place or not. Therefore, you need to make sure that you try your hardest, even when revising for tests that aren’t seen as very important exams. It can be difficult to get motivation to revise for exams, however getting good predicted grades very helpful when applying for higher education.
Predicted grades are put onto your UCAS application by your teachers. They can choose when to put these on your application, as long as they are selected before the UCAS application deadline. Most teachers generate predicted grades at the end of Year 12, after a set of mock exams. However, these can be changed and different schools predict grades at different times. Your predicted grades will then be submitted when you send off your UCAS application. This application is sent off in January for the majority of university courses. Oxbridge applications, along with medicine and veterinary courses are sent off earlier in October.
If you want to find out about predicted grades in more detail and how they fit into your UCAS application, check out the rest of this article.
Do your predicted grades have to go on your UCAS application?
The simple answer is yes! Your predicted grades are a key part of your application. Without your predicted grades, universities cannot be sure what grades you will get in your exams.
If they don’t know this, then they won’t be able to give you an offer. This is because they cannot be sure whether you will work hard for your chosen course and put enough effort in to get an impressive degree at the end of the course.
If you want to find out more about the importance and uses of predicted grades, check out this article from the University of Newcastle’s website.
If you are worried about your predicted grades going on your application because you may think they are quite low, look for courses with lower grade boundaries.
Not all courses require you to get all As and Bs. Some courses think that Cs are perfectly acceptable. Therefore, do your research and choose courses which match with your predicted grades in order to avoid disappointment.
Can UCAS predicted grades be changed?
Until your application is submitted, your UCAS grades can be changed at any time. This is because some students may struggle with exams in Year 12.
However, in Year 13, they may begin to get used to exams and make extensive improvements. This is why most teachers actually give students in Year 12 slightly higher predicted grades than they are working at, to take this into account.
If you are really unhappy with your predicted grades, you can talk to your teachers about it. It may be a good idea to ask for extra revision sessions and homework to help you get the grades you really want and deserve.
After your grades have been submitted to UCAS, they cannot be changed. Therefore, it is important you are happy with them before they are sent off!
Check out this guide from the UCAS website to discover how teachers actually determine predicted grades and how they can potentially be changed. If you want to discover how predicted grades are calculated, check out this article from Think Student.
Can your predicted grades stop you from getting into university?
If your predicted grades are too low, you may be worrying that you won’t get into any courses. However, you need to be aware that some courses will actually give you reduced offers.
If universities are impressed with the rest of your application, such as your personal statement and references, they may offer you lower grades than what the course usually requires. Further to this, students from socially deprived areas or comprehensive schools can also get reduced offers.
Check out this article from GoStudent to find out more about what you can do if your predicted grades are lower than the entry requirements for a particular course.
Therefore, make sure that you check every possible way you are able to get a reduced offer, instead of feeling helpless if your predicted grades don’t meet a particular course’s criteria. To find out more about how lenient universities are with predicted grades, check out this article from Think Student.
As you can see, predicted grades are important. Therefore, try and get the best ones you can and hopefully, you will get into your dream university!