Should university applications be delayed?

University applications could be delayed until after students get their A-level results, according to the Observer newspaper.

It is hoped the change would benefit less confident students who are not encouraged to aim high and underestimate their own abilities.

These students may end up getting better results than predicted - but it is then too late for them to apply to a better university.

Such a change would depend on a major re-design of the academic year to allow sufficient time between results day and students starting at university.

Should applications be made after exams? How would the system work? Were your predicted grades wrong - what did you do?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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I did the International Baccalaureate and had my results by the end of July. That's a much more realistic date for having time to think out one's plans for the next few years, and for fitting in all the red tape of the University application procedure. I don't think a forced gap year would work- after a year out of education, I know quite a few people who probably wouldn't have gone back. Applying for Universities after the marks are out is a great idea in theory, but hinges on having a (much) longer period between the results release and the start of the University year. Perhaps if the idea of replacing the A-levels with a Baccalaureate takes off...?
Joe, Loughborough, UK

Getting rid of this extra stress would be very welcome! Nicky, UK

As a student currently awaiting my A level results to see if I've achieved my university place, I have to say that getting rid of this extra stress would be very welcome! I can't see how the logistical difficulties could be overcome satisfactorily, though: time for interviews needs to be allowed as these are very important and take a fair few weeks!
Nicky, UK

We were discussing this point at work today and a colleague suggested that the simple answer is to move the University academic year to start in January allowing each would be student a six month gap. Sounds good to me.
Jim Croton, England

As someone who missed out on my chosen university by one grade (which my school later successfully appealed against) I think this idea is definitely worth considering. By the time my paper was remarked, I had already settled into my second-choice university and since abandoning my education for a year was not an option, I was stuck with it.
Laura, UK

I believe the proposed system would cause massive difficulties for an establishment such as Leeds University. (The most popular HE Establishment in the UK). I also believe the current system quite correctly takes into account the extra curricular activities of prospective students; something that I believe would be lost under this new concept. Putting such emphasis on results would not be a positive thing as it would handicap state school applicants as they traditionally get worse A-levels, yet better degree results.
Ed Officer Leeds Uni Union, UK

A lot of the anxiety and heart break that occurs at this time of year would be ended! Helen Scott, UK

Having just had to take a year out because i wasn't accepted onto my course, even though my predicted grades were good enough, i feel that the proposed system would be an improvement. i have retaken my exams, and have had a great year because i knew that my place, and my chances of getting in, were more secure this time. i feel that by changing the system a lot of the anxiety and heart break that occurs at this time of year would be ended!
Helen Scott, UK

In theory, it seems like a good idea - I remember when I was applying for university - it was horrible, and the general feeling was that you should go for the "safe place" as your first choice. If you were predicted 3 Bs, then apply for somewhere that wanted the equivalent of 2 Bs and a C just in case something went wrong, and then get your insurance place at somewhere that wanted even less, just in case it went REALLY wrong. Why should students be forced to hedge their bets because they didn't want to be left to clearing? It's not about getting more people into university, it's about making sure that more people get to the universities that best suit them - and that includes academic ability.
Jo Salmon, Wales, UK

Having a gap year is an excellent idea - the maturity and experience gained about the real world enhances, not detracts, from one's university life. As a mature student who has recently completed a degree, I was ashamed of the ignorance of real life of some of my fellow students, although they were academically far cleverer than I.
Jen, UK

This generation already has too much handed to them on a plate Mark, UK

I work in Uni admissions and this proposal is ridiculous. Teachers and advisers should be encouraging students to apply to institutions of which they are capable, that is part of the reason they are there! This is yet another left-wing 'everybody's equal' deception. This generation already has too much handed to them on a plate, they should learn as young as possible that sometimes life is disappointing, instead we're creating a generation of spineless wimps who expect it all to be done for them.
Mark, UK

All students should take a gap year before going on to university. One of the problems we have is that people don't really have a chance to work out what they really want to do in life and their careers. A gap year either working in the field they intend to train for or just finding out what the real world will be like would not be wasted. An additional advantage would be that students could go to university with some earned money as well. I work in an industry that uses thick sandwich courses for undergraduates where they spend 6 months of their two final years in industry. The difference in almost all "students" between the start of the first spell of industrial training and the finish of the second is marked as they pick up experience and confidence. In this case students would have a year to sort out their placements.
David, Qatar/UK

Sort out the problems we've got now before introducing new ones Kate, UK

The whole system is so inefficient it would be disastrous to wait until after results were given. A couple of months is not long enough for the inevitable paper trail of university applications. Remember many students also need to apply for student loans and accommodation which, believe me, is not the fastest process in the world. If students end up getting better grades than predicted, then it is the teachers fault for not recognising their potential in the first place. Sort out the problems we've got now before introducing new ones.
Kate, UK

Applying for a position without actually having the qualifications is really rather fraudulent and it is based simply on an historical system to keep very many highly paid academics and administrators in jobs throughout the summer! Students should apply when they are aware of their grades - this should not mean any delay; if necessary, exams could be held a couple of weeks earlier and IT could be used to speed the results system. France publishes Bac results on the internet - this would save so much time. UCAS and the system is an administrative dinosaur - we do not need them in the 21st Century, it is anachronistic and should disappear. Let the Institutions deal with applications themselves.
JCL, London

I applied to university over 30 years ago on the strength of some fair predictions of 'A' level results. I was rejected after interview by the university of my first choice and ended up with blind offers from only two other universities I did not particularly want to go to. My 'A' level results were 'AAAB'. I chose to put off going to university that year and, instead, applied to Oxford and got in and succeeded in getting a good degree. I for one prefer a system that rewards proved results rather than assumed potential.
Philip, Hong Kong

My girlfriend works as a teacher and commented that they already have to start teaching 'A2' classes at the end of the 1st year of A-levels. Bringing the exam dates forward to April would mean teachers would have less time to teach an already tightly packed syllabus. It seems to me that the people who come up with these ideas don't live in the real world!
K Garner, England

I think this sounds like an excellent idea. As for the worries about then fitting the application process into a couple of weeks, couldn't we just change the University year to start in January?
Mike, UK

I ended up scrambling for a place in Clearing, and couldn't get on a course I wanted to do Rachel D, UK

Applications to university should definitely be made after A level results are known. I was predicted to get high grades, but I suffered from exam nerves and did badly. I ended up scrambling for a place in Clearing, and couldn't get on a course I wanted to do. Admissions tutors were more interested in filling vacancies on unpopular courses than in my future career aims, and the whole thing was incredibly stressful. The time taken to mark the exams should be reduced so that results are available mid-July at the latest. Students would then have until mid September to apply.
Rachel D, UK

I think it's a great idea! I'm just coming to the end of my gap year, going on to Manchester University in September. I waited until my results were published to apply for Uni - because my predicted grades were not as high as I knew I could achieve. In the exams I did better than even I expected. I then had the confidence to apply to higher profile universities, which I would never even have considered going on the grades I was predicted. It also took an enormous weight off my shoulders on results day. In the end I got 6 unconditional offers which you can imagine was amazing! Of course to do this at the moment students have to have a "year out" in between but I feel this is also a good thing. I now have an understanding of work, new-found independence and a £5000 head start on my debts!
RT, UK

With results not coming in until mid-summer you would be asking the universities to make rush decisions and the majority of students to hurry their applications. Although the current system needs some reform this is a particularly silly idea. Applications are based on much more than results, and this step would reduce the time taken for interviews and other consideration.
David Ashton, USA (Welsh)

The system works fine for the majority of students John Hammersley, England

The system works fine for the majority of students, and I think changing it would be a bad idea. At the moment, prospective students have a clear idea of what grades they need to get based on the offers they've received. Plus, students who go for an interview have the chance to impress the admissions tutor, and demonstrate their abilities in person, with the possibility of getting a better offer if they make a good impression. If the results come out before the applications to university are made, this might not happen, and students with high potential who don't shine at exams will lose out.
John Hammersley, England

I think that delaying of applications until the students are in possession of their results is an idea that's long over due. Having just finished university myself I can all too well remember the stress and heartache caused to my friends by the present system, with some ending up on courses and at universities they didn't really want to be at. Luckily for me I took a year out and therefore knew my grades and could pick the best course/university for me. It was by far the better option.
Matthew Wood, England

As a Sixth Form Tutor who has helped many students with their application for university I cannot see what benefit the majority will have by applying after the results are out. The majority of students get the grades for which they are estimated. I have also had few cases of students lacking confidence and applying below their capabilities - far from it, I have spent hours persuading students that they have over estimated their abilities, trying to get them to reduce their sights. The students who have not heeded my advice have usually found themselves in clearing!
Philip, England

When they receive their results, students will not know whether their grades will secure them a university place Alison, UK

The potential benefits to less confident student should be weighed against the increased pressure such a system would put on the general student population at exam time. If the change takes place, students will lose the clear goals they are presented with by the current system. Even when they receive their results, students will not know whether their grades will secure them a university place. Exam performance may also be given undue importance in the application process, as it may become pointless apply for competitive courses such as medicine unless you have 3A grades, especially if universities simply to not have time and resources to look at worthy AAB or ABB applicants. Under the current system, students who do better than expected can easily re-apply the following year. We should be careful about ruining a system that works for a majority, to try and improve it for the minority.
Alison, UK

So let's change the entire system for students who don't want to give it 100%? I expect the spin to arrive next week for this latest gimmick that panders to students with no drive. Will this Government get voted out before they'll just leave teachers and pupils alone to get on with it?
Ken, England

I think it's a great idea. I know that in the States you don't apply to college until after you have taken the SAT1 and gotten your results. That way, you know exactly which universities you are capable of getting into, and makes the choice a lot easier and less stressful.
Natasha Saunders, France

To delay the application is really to place more strain on the admissions system Tony, Welling, Kent

To delay the application is really to place more strain on the admissions system, but frankly I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the way that Universities are now used as a final polish to the education system. This is a wholesale misuse of the system. What you should have is senior colleges from which you graduate and University education is left to later in life when it is needed.
Tony, Welling, Kent

As one of the many who failed to reach the grades required to meet either of my first choice or insurance place, I would gladly welcome changes to a system which pressurises 18 year olds with making huge choices based on, in my case, highly inaccurate and untrustworthy predictions. In my case, I had to repeat the whole process of university application the following year, and in the end applied for a completely different course based on my performance in my A-Level exams and having an extra ten months to consider what I actually wanted to do. Please end the unfairness and anxiety of 'predictions' and estimates and give this age group a break.
Anne, England

NO, the logistics wouldn't work, it would mean universities starting later. What should happen is admissions tutors make offers on potential and ability not on estimated grades which are not always correct. This could be achieved by interview as happens at the moment, existing course work and a test set by the university itself to assess ability, based on a weighting factor.
Glen Watson, UK