It’s one of Britain’s leading independent girls’ schools, with an enviable
academic record, rich extra-curricular timetable and alumni list straight
from the pages of Who’s Who. And every year, the vast majority of
18-year-olds who leave Headington School in Oxford walk straight into some
of Britain’s best universities, including Oxbridge (around one in 10).
But for all the school’s strengths, not every one of its pupils achieves
instant success. In recent years, a number of Headington School girls making
applications to medical school – the vast majority of whom were
straight-A candidates – were left without any university place at all.
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Last summer, Shayo Oshodi was rejected from four Russell Group universities
despite being armed with a string of predicted A* grades at A-level and an
impeccable history of work experience that included placements at hospitals,
pharmacies and nursing homes.
“I found it incredibly frustrating. I had good predicted grades, lots of work
experience and a solid personal statement, but I got just a single
interview,” says the 18-year-old.
“I wasn’t the only one; others, too, were left thinking, ‘What have we done
wrong?’ We were told that it was down to the high volume of strong
applications, but that’s still difficult for people to take when they have
been studying for years with a view to doing medicine.”
Caroline Jordan, the school’s headmistress, points out that many of her girls take
a year out and get into medical school 12 months later. Indeed, after
reapplying, Oshodi will be going to Newcastle this autumn.
But, she adds, the sheer scale of rejection being felt by would-be medics
across the country poses worrying questions about the ability of the higher
education system to meet the aspirations of bright students.
The picture at Headington is a surprisingly familiar one. New figures show
that around 4,800 students with straight As at A-level failed to get into
British universities last year.
Of those, just over a third of unplaced teenagers with AAA grades (around
1,800) were aiming for degrees in medicine. And girls were more likely to be
left without a place than boys, amid a surge in the number of young women
making applications in recent years.
The figures bring into sharp focus the extent to which all students, even the
brightest, are being forced to take a highly strategic approach to the
application process.
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So where are the real pressure points and what can sixth-formers do to
minimise their chances of missing out?
The number of students competing for degree courses in the UK inevitably
dropped when the Government gave universities the power to levy tuition fees
of up to £9,000 a year for the first time in 2012.
However, figures show that demand is on the rise once more. By mid May this
year some 634,600 people had applied through the Universities and Colleges
Admissions Service (Ucas) – up by 20,000 in 12 months and the second
highest total on record.
Experts suggest that the rise in tuition-fee levels has simply shifted
students’ focus, with long-term job prospects and financial returns now
standing alongside “love of subject” as the main drivers of application
patterns.
Last summer, universities in Britain received more than 11 applications for
every place to study medicine, up from fewer than nine in 2008. It meant the
subject was officially the most in-demand discipline at degree level.
Dentistry was not far behind, with 9.7 applications per place, while nursing
and veterinary medicine both had 9.2 students chasing each place.
Outside the medical world, other subjects were also highly sought-after, with most
linked to the promise of a good job after graduating. Astronomy received 7.7
applications per place, teacher training 7.3 applications and economics 6.6.
Mechanical engineering, architecture and drama all notched up 6.2
applications per place, while law received 5.4.
The Government has sought to ease the pressure on popular courses by giving
universities more powers to expand. Previously, the number of students
winning places on every degree course was closely capped, but the Coalition
has now largely abolished the quota system to allow universities to recruit
unlimited numbers of students.
>> Willetts warns over surge in demand for
medicine degrees
Medicine and dentistry courses, however, remain subject to strict controls
because funding comes in part from the NHS, which forecasts how many
trainees the health system needs.
Former Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said that this
process has created a “gross excess of applicants over places” for these
disciplines in particular, meaning many straight-A students are missing out.
According to Willetts, this means students have to be far more strategic in
their course choices, and teachers have a responsibility to explain the
risks associated with medicine and ensure teenagers have a back-up plan.
He also criticised the trend of allowing students to drop physics — which is
not required for medical degrees — at the age of 16 in favour
of A-levels in biology, chemistry and maths. This often rules them out of
other degrees, such as engineering, bioengineering and climate change, later
on if they cannot find a medical place because physics is a core requirement
for these courses.
“Every summer there are several thousand very unhappy 18-year-olds,
predominately but not exclusively female, who think they will become medics
but who, sadly, do not get a place despite being very smart and
well-qualified,” said Willetts. “This is one of the most dysfunctional
features of the English school-leaving A-level system.”
The problem of unplaced students is, of course, not unique to medicine. Under
current rules, students can name five universities on Ucas application forms.
>> Why straight-As aren't good enough for
Oxbridge
However, Matthew Welbourn, professional development executive at Ucas, points
out that too many students put “all their eggs in one basket”, applying for
five similar courses at five similar universities, thus heightening their
chances of being left with nothing.
He urges sixth-formers not to focus too closely on their predicted grades
while ignoring the bigger picture.
“If you are looking at a course for which the entry requirement is three As, don’t
simply think, ‘If I am predicted three As then that is a course that’s
very achievable,’” he says.
For the most competitive courses, entry grades are “only the starting point”, he
adds, and students need to put as much effort into their personal statement, work
experience and preparation for entrance interviews or tests as they do into
achieving those precious exam passes.
Crucially, Welbourn agrees that students have to consider making strategic
applications based on their chances of getting a place. He suggests making
three “realistic” choices, where entry grades closely match the applicant’s
predicted performance in the sixth-form.
Students should then consider pitching one application at a course with more
demanding entry requirements — in case they do better than expected in their
A-levels — and perhaps aiming for one less sought-after course in the event
of “slightly poorer performance” in their exams.
“We would advise them to use the five applications they have as best
they can to give them maximum scope, based on what their current level of
achievement or predictions may be,” says Welbourn. “Being realistic
and aspirational is key, but having a plan B to fall back on is also of the
utmost importance.”