In an ambitious timescale set out in the document, pupils would sit their A-Levels two weeks earlier, receive their results by the end of the summer term in time to apply over the summer, and start university in October. The majority of the changes could be put in place as early as 2016.
It remains unclear how the Oxbridge admissions process would adapt to the proposed system. Hannah Cusworth, Vice President for Access and Academic Affairs at OUSU, said this week, “Obviously there are some Oxbridge-specific considerations, primarily questions about when interviews and admissions tests would take place in a much tighter time frame.” The interview process, which currently takes place in December, would not fit in easily with the reforms.
The consultation document finds that “Young applicants would make more informed and mature choices about higher education if they were able to make them later in the cycle.” It also seeks to end the inaccuracies caused by predicted grades: statistics compiled by UCAS show that fewer than 10% of applicants have three accurate predictions (though almost 90% are accurate to within a grade).
Other changes mooted by UCAS include abolishing Clearing and UCAS extra, and instead establishing three ‘phases’ of applications: Apply 1, 2 and 3. This might involve only applying to two universities at a time, and finding out the results of the application on a specified day, which Louise Murgatroyd, a fresher at Hertford college, said would prevent “months of agony and emails to university admissions departments.”
One of the focal points of the review is an attempt to redress the difference between candidates from private and state schools, and improve access – to close what UCAS calls the “undesirable divide” by simplifying the system so those who might not have the support they need will not be disadvantaged. Post-qualification applications could mean that those who do better than expected are encouraged by their results and apply to top universities such as Oxford.
However, it is not wholly clear that the new system would in fact improve access. Cusworth outlined one key concern, pointing out that “Pushing the deadline until the end of June could mean that students from low-income backgrounds might not know what financial support they will receive until days before they start university.”
Russell Group Director General Dr Wendy Piatt also expressed reservations, saying, “we are concerned that the UCAS proposals might restrict the ability of institutions to make a fair and thorough assessment of applicants and also limit the opportunities for applicants to make informed decisions about which university to apply to…Most importantly these changes would do nothing to tackle the fundamental problem of the attainment gap which restricts access to leading universities.”
Student opinion is divided on the new system. Becca Schofield, a finalist at Somerville, admitted, “I would have applied differently, yes: I’d have gone for the universities I wanted, not the ones I thought I could get into,” but was generally in favour of the status quo, saying, “I liked how I applied: it made sense, and it made me work towards a goal.” Rio Jones, a student at Hertford, agreed, claiming that a conditional offer “gives you something to aim for.”
Abbie Cavendish, a current student at Hull University, criticised the system of awarding places based on predicted grades, saying, “the system allowing you to pester teachers into changing your grades is entirely flawed. My predictions were changed, and I got accepted to three universities, none of which I got into come results day.”
Prina Shah, who received no offers for medicine prior to her 4A*s at A-Level and is now studying anthropology at Durham, was in support of the new system because it would prevent manipulation of predicted grades, but cautioned against universities becoming too “grade specific.”
UCAS is now inviting schools and universities to comment on the proposals. The Admissions Office told us, “the University is currently consulting widely across the collegiate University about a response which will be made to UCAS in time for the deadline of 20th January 2012.”
