Missed UCL offer with 3A*s, Advice needed
Received A level results yesterday, and got A*s in physics, economics and geography, although sadly an A in maths causing me to miss my offer for UCL stats econ and finance, my insurance offer is Finance at Durham and I had no avail securing any better options in clearing. A remark isn’t really an option either as I’m 13 marks shy of the A*.
The offer for Durham was AAB so it feels slightly odd to go there when I exceed the requirements significantly. It’s also slightly lighter on maths content than I would have ideally wanted in a course.
I have been wondering whether a gap year in which I gained some work experience, potentially sat further maths and apply for the likes of LSE and Oxford would ultimately benefit me more than going straight into Durham. As a side note, how plausible is it to gain work at small firms via cold outreach and how beneficial is it for a CV.
I don’t exactly know what career I want to go into the future but my current priority is to keep as many doors open as possible and make myself as competitive candidate as possible.
I would hugely appreciate any advice or anecdotes from personal experiences, thank you.
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A) Surprised UCL weren’t willing to flex their offer at all for you.
B) I would say to gap year and reapply almost certainly.
It is very unfortunate but university is everything in the UK. No networking your way in here.
Those in IB at least know the name of Durham, and some are recruited from there, but your life will be so, so much easier at a semi/target.
Also, feels quite strange and cruel to be so vastly overqualified for a degree yes.
C) That said, the most important reality I see people fail to realise - UNIVERSITY BEFORE COURSE. Every single time. Seriously.
You probably have a higher chance of getting into IB with an anthropology degree from Oxbridge than a masters in statistical finance from Essex.
That’s an extreme example and this is still finance so do try and get a solidly relevant course, you’re still competing against the other target students, but still.
I have heard many stories of students changing degree once accepted if that helps.
Just reread your post. Pretty much all of my points still stand but if anything the anthropology example becomes even more valid.
If you were to take consulting for example I’ve seen MBB take low-experience, BA Music candidates over non-targets who are genuinely capable and GRIND for it. I feel bad seeing it every time.
You’ll find the same with most/all ‘high competition’ careers, including the boom in startup recruiting now too (arguably even stronger effect).
Quickfire:
* Yes you can get work experience during your gap year. Getting into the best university you can is more important, act accordingly, but if you can do both then great.
* You are underestimating the importance of deciding what you want to do, at least roughly, ASAP. Whether you want to be a quant a consultant or whatever you really need to hit the ground running in Y1. You can always change your mind later (hopefully not of course), but otherwise you’ll spread too thin and get nothing. Better to be a consultancy prospect with a backstory/experience from being a finance tryhard than someone with no clear journey at all
* Maximum optionality, generalist approach has pros and cons. Not bad entirely, but some fields (IB especially ofc) require you to specialise quite early. Consulting allows for more generalist skillsets and requires less pigeonholing yourself. Startups too. Both are good options, just don’t forget that not specialising is a double edged sword - some professions expect you to specialise for them so every day you ‘keep your doors open’ is another inch further you’re actually CLOSING those doors.
Thank you for the response,
Regarding the gap year, most top unis seem quite strict against resits or taking subjects in different seasons so I think I’d pretty much be applying with my achieved grades and if I studied FM in the year it would mostly be for preparation rather than an application boost.
That means I’d probably be applying for Oxford Econ and Management and LSE Accounting and Finance assuming I can cover both in the personal statement. Both of those courses are ultra competitive so there’s a good chance I could end up with Warwick Econ at the end of the year. Is that still worth the compromise of ‘losing’ a year?
Regarding deciding what to do, I’m currently thinking to basically aim to get into IB. Although it’s hard to confidently narrow down without any experience in any field.
Yes you are correct on universities (and companies) being strict on when you achieved your A-levels.
The more positive news is that universities are somewhat favourable of applications with confirmed rather than predicted grades.
On balance, if you were to take a gap year, I would reach out to the admissions departments (and if Oxbridge then colleges) as well as current students/graduates for their bespoke guidance on this.
You can also get a feel for how work experience may assist your application. It will be less significant than business school, but it may shine through the PS and prove very helpful with internship applications.
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To get ahead of it now: no-one but you can answer whether the gap year is worth it. It’s very specific to your circumstances, risk tolerance, etc.
If I were in your position I would construct the two sides. What are the chances of breaking in from a semi, from a target. What is the marginal benefit of applying from a semi, from a target. What are the time and opportunity costs.
Personally, and this is only one opinion, it’s frankly a tough call. One the one hand, certainly for IB, MBB/T2 consulting, and any tech/startup companies you’d be interested in, there are basically 6 universities they recruit from.
Ox/Cam/LSE >> UCL/WW/Imperial >> KCL/Bristol >>>>>>> … (disclaimer this is a roughly standardised ranking not IB-specific)
Some doors are literally shut if your uni isn’t good enough, for IB the cut-off above is WW pretty much. You might have to do a masters to make up for a non-target UG anyway, which isn’t as respected as your UG uni and loses even more time.
However, losing a year is going to be really painful down the line. I took a gap year and then another year out for personal reasons, and ended up really regretting being 1-2 years behind all my peers. It only really bites after it’s too late in my experience.
That is all to say - A year is really valuable, but rushing into the wrong uni can cost you a year and *permanently* shut some doors if you’re not careful.
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I’m doing my best to give you some actionable guidance without misleading you. If my only options were Durham now or Warwick in a year, and I was dead set on IB, I’d wait. If there was a material chance of Oxford/LSE, I’d wait.
If I wasn’t keen on IB and just wanted to go to uni ASAP then… maybe Durham? But only for certain subjects especially history/geography/arts-ish subjects.
Get more opinions than mine alone
UCL is great target. You'd be fine. Also try the Canary Wharfian website for some more EU/UK focussed advice here, as WSO is mostly US
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