I was at Uni from 1975 - 1978, and I agree with what thismaz has said.
thismaz said The parents would be expected to make up the balance
This is true, but it should be noted that as far as I know, this is not legally enforceable, so it is perfectly possible for a student with comfortably-off parents to be a lot poorer than one whose parents have nothing. I knew of students in my own time, and at least one now amongst my son's friends, who were kept very short by their parents. This might be because the parents simply don't want to pay, but it should also be borne in mind that just because the calculations say that the parents should contribute, doesn't mean they can actually afford to do so.
he doesn't quite have the academic resume
You haven't said whether your MC is actually British. If he is, that's not how he would describe the situation. I can't help with Scottish usage (their exams are different for a start), but in general in the UK we don't use the term résumé, we use cv. However, a school-leaver at that time would not have a cv at all, you just didn't.
Your would-be undergraduate is going to say something like "I'm not going to get the grades for Oxbridge" / "I haven't got enough 'O'-Levels to get in there" / "I'm hoping for two As and a B, but it's just as likely to be three Bs."
When I was applying for Uni in 1974/5, I don't remember anything about predicted grades. I remember choosing my unis based on location and whether I liked the place; I don't remember getting any help at all in how I should have been choosing, and if I recall correctly I had no real idea what kind of grades I might get in my 'A' Levels. Other schools might have been more helpful, of course, but the whole "mark scheme" way of doing things, where a student is shown very clearly what they need to do to get a certain grade, just didn't exist as far as I know.
thismaz said The parents would be expected to make up the balance
This is true, but it should be noted that as far as I know, this is not legally enforceable, so it is perfectly possible for a student with comfortably-off parents to be a lot poorer than one whose parents have nothing. I knew of students in my own time, and at least one now amongst my son's friends, who were kept very short by their parents. This might be because the parents simply don't want to pay, but it should also be borne in mind that just because the calculations say that the parents should contribute, doesn't mean they can actually afford to do so.
he doesn't quite have the academic resume
You haven't said whether your MC is actually British. If he is, that's not how he would describe the situation. I can't help with Scottish usage (their exams are different for a start), but in general in the UK we don't use the term résumé, we use cv. However, a school-leaver at that time would not have a cv at all, you just didn't.
Your would-be undergraduate is going to say something like "I'm not going to get the grades for Oxbridge" / "I haven't got enough 'O'-Levels to get in there" / "I'm hoping for two As and a B, but it's just as likely to be three Bs."
When I was applying for Uni in 1974/5, I don't remember anything about predicted grades. I remember choosing my unis based on location and whether I liked the place; I don't remember getting any help at all in how I should have been choosing, and if I recall correctly I had no real idea what kind of grades I might get in my 'A' Levels. Other schools might have been more helpful, of course, but the whole "mark scheme" way of doing things, where a student is shown very clearly what they need to do to get a certain grade, just didn't exist as far as I know.
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