Puzzled!

Perran and Carenza have still not returned to UCAS to select their firm and insurance offers.  They are trying to find out more both about their own likely grades and also about the universities. By the end of this week, they should have the results of the modules and retakes they sat in January, so another part of the jigsaw will be in place. 

I know the jigsaw is a dull and much-used analogy, so just for fun, let's over-extend the metaphor - I see the whole UCAS situation as one of those typical jigsaws beloved of old ladies, showing a scene of a nineteenth century farmyard, with trees and sky in the rear. 

The results that Perran and Carenza will get are pretty much like the carthorse and chickens in the foreground  - definite and distinct and easy to piece together.  The universities however, are more like pieces of sky – it’s not always so easy to choose between.  So in an effort to locate a piece of sky with a distinguishing mark (like, say, a swallow), I’ve asked Carenza to ring one of her candidate universities and ask them how flexible they are if somebody who picks them as reserve drops a grade. 

She said, “Okay, I’ll do that, just as soon as I can fight my way out of this metaphor.”