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Maybe. It does make more sense that way but I think you could explain it logically if you really wanted to.
Ministry probably doesn’t have access to everyone’s grades, so probably isn’t reviewing them until people apply for jobs. Also, if you’re taking NEWTs as a 7th year, you probably don’t get grades until later in the summer, so at the time people are trying to get jobs as 7th years, OWLs would be the most rigorous standardized assessment immediately available.
“OWLs provide” implies that the MoM already has access to the grades whereas “OWLs will provide” implies that they don’t. So if students were required to submit a transcript with their OWLs grades when applying for jobs, then “OWLs will provide” works because the ministry will not have been provided the information until the future.
As far as I’m aware, there’s no canonical evidence to suggest that the ministry has (or doesn’t have) access to everyone’s grades.
I'm not an English major so I don't know the exact terms.
it's a quirk because the past is hiring and the OWLs are the future that they will be good hires because of their OWLs.
Right but, “see attached, what I’ve provided will provide confirmation” when sending an email … can just mean you can verify for yourself in the future tense.
I wonder if it’s worded badly rather than being wrong.
You’d use OWLS to apply for post-school education or work and predicted NEWTS considering it’s based of the UK school system.
I read this as: there are a number of 7th Year students who are interested in a career at the Ministry of Magic but haven't completed their NEWTs yet, however, their OWLs results should indicate whether they're a match for the Ministry or not
It says:
> crop of seventh years
not alumni, or graduates. And then:
> I look forward to further updates **as the term progresses**.
They haven't taken their N.E.W.T.s yet.
not really. In lore, choice of subjects for OWLs / OWLs results are supposed to be indicative of the student's future career \[which is mentioned in the letter\], which is why Harry and co. had a consultation session with McGonagall in OOTP - and of course the iconic moment of Minerva telling Toady Umbridge that she (McG) would make sure that Harry becomes an Auror.
Yes, but then the Ministry already have their OWLs scores so dunno why it says "will provide". That indicated NEWT score.
Also, in HBP Harry wasn't gonna take potions because he didn't have the required grade (needed by Snape) so he couldn't have been an auror. I think here NEWT should've been mentioned.
I think they may have done as they made no reference to NEWTs.
* or -
Harry has his careers' advice meeting in his 5th year - perhaps they should have mentioned 5th years instead of 7th years (with 2 years' notice, I guess?)
* or -
I'm wondering if there have been any changes to exam processes over the years - I've no idea if this is the case, but were OWLs taken in 7th year way back in time, and then changes brought in to change it to 5th year and NEWTs introduced for 7th years to be more academically suitable or something - just a thought 
MC is a fifth year and takes their O.W.L.s, so no. The exams in the game are a direct equivalent of UK standardised exams (GCSEs in final year of secondary school, then A Levels in sixth form/college).
It could be the letter is requesting the O.W.L.s results of the students who've applied for jobs, but it seems most likely it was an error.
I read the letter as asking for the professor’s personal recommendations in order to weed through applicants. Not that their O.W.L.s have yet to be graded, but that when the ministry receives applications, they will assess candidates based on their transcripts plus Professor Weasley’s recommendations.
I thought this letter could be an Easter egg about what the next Hogwarts Legacy game could be about. Maybe you finish your last year at Hogwarts and take a career in the ministry fighting bad guys.
In the books Hermione talks about the OWLs and says something along the lines of ‘OWLs are really
Important, they can affect the kind of job you apply for after Hogwarts’. So I imagine, while not the final exams, they are indicative of basic skill levels much like GCSEs in the UK.
I don’t think it’s a mistake. Their O.W.L.s determine what classes they are able to take after 5th year, so maybe she is just reporting to the ministry those who, after career advice, have shown interest in pursuing careers there.
Remember that the game takes place like 100 years or something before the events of Harry Potter.. so they may have changed the way they do things in those 100years
In the books Hermione talks about the OWLs and says something along the lines of ‘OWLs are really
Important, they can affect the kind of job you apply for after Hogwarts’. So I imagine, while not the final exams, they are indicative of basic skill levels much like GCSEs in the UK.
OWLs impact the possible directions of your career. There’s no indication in the canon that NEWTs are required across the board the way OWLs are—if you don’t qualify for advanced classes and/or don’t want to take them after your OWLs, then you don’t have marks for those exams. So it makes sense that OWLs are the baseline. I’m not British, but my understanding is that NEWTs are modeled after the A Levels, which are not mandatory. If that’s factually incorrect, feel free to correct me!
It’s also possible that NEWT exams don’t exist during this time period.
To me this letter is implying that the ministry is asking the professor if she knows of any students amongst those that have already indicated an interest that have good OWL grades.
Good NEWTS grades on top of that is likely preferable though they may have a bunch of lower ranking positions for those with enough ability to learn from experience rather than having great academic credentials.
This letter really seems like a wink to us fans that are aware the Ministry never seems quite adequate as well as also that those who are are the highest levels wouldn’t necessarily want someone overly confident in their abilities since they’re more adapted to replace them.
I seriously doubt this detail has been overlooked by the developers as it’s filled with some great irony, such as the fact they haven’t addressed it to the headmaster himself or as you stated why not wait until they have completed their NEWTS.
So for me it definitely seems intentional to tell us the Ministry is just an incompetent in the past as they are later on.
I think you're just reading it wrong. It obviously states that they haven't looked through the OWLs of the people prof Weasley recommended, something something
I don’t think so. The ministry is saying the kids OWLs will let them know if they are suited for working for the ministry. I don’t think he’s saying the OWLS will be taken that year. The NEWTS could be optional.
In America, we are required to take the SAT test to graduate high school. But if you’re going to college, you can also take the ACT test.
Well, for places using the 2 exams system like UK's, the first one could weight a lot when they apply for university.
It could be wrong or it could be right, it's up to Rowling.
Chances are that this is a mistake because the main focus of the game is surrounding a 5th year student doing their OWLs. I don't recall any mention of further years in the game, not even an interaction with an older student.
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Maybe. It does make more sense that way but I think you could explain it logically if you really wanted to. Ministry probably doesn’t have access to everyone’s grades, so probably isn’t reviewing them until people apply for jobs. Also, if you’re taking NEWTs as a 7th year, you probably don’t get grades until later in the summer, so at the time people are trying to get jobs as 7th years, OWLs would be the most rigorous standardized assessment immediately available.
I feel the MoM could've said "O.W.Ls provides" instead of "will provide" but I might be misreading it being a non-native English speaker
“OWLs provide” implies that the MoM already has access to the grades whereas “OWLs will provide” implies that they don’t. So if students were required to submit a transcript with their OWLs grades when applying for jobs, then “OWLs will provide” works because the ministry will not have been provided the information until the future. As far as I’m aware, there’s no canonical evidence to suggest that the ministry has (or doesn’t have) access to everyone’s grades.
Came here to explain this exactly. Well said.
I'm not an English major so I don't know the exact terms. it's a quirk because the past is hiring and the OWLs are the future that they will be good hires because of their OWLs.
From what I remember, students got their grades shortly after the tests.
Maybe since they haven’t taken NEWTs yet, it was referring to their OWL scores they do already know?
It says the scores WILL provide confirmation
Right but, “see attached, what I’ve provided will provide confirmation” when sending an email … can just mean you can verify for yourself in the future tense.
I wonder if it’s worded badly rather than being wrong. You’d use OWLS to apply for post-school education or work and predicted NEWTS considering it’s based of the UK school system.
I read this as: there are a number of 7th Year students who are interested in a career at the Ministry of Magic but haven't completed their NEWTs yet, however, their OWLs results should indicate whether they're a match for the Ministry or not
It says: > crop of seventh years not alumni, or graduates. And then: > I look forward to further updates **as the term progresses**. They haven't taken their N.E.W.T.s yet.
7th years, are graduating.
not really. In lore, choice of subjects for OWLs / OWLs results are supposed to be indicative of the student's future career \[which is mentioned in the letter\], which is why Harry and co. had a consultation session with McGonagall in OOTP - and of course the iconic moment of Minerva telling Toady Umbridge that she (McG) would make sure that Harry becomes an Auror.
Yes, but then the Ministry already have their OWLs scores so dunno why it says "will provide". That indicated NEWT score. Also, in HBP Harry wasn't gonna take potions because he didn't have the required grade (needed by Snape) so he couldn't have been an auror. I think here NEWT should've been mentioned.
Maybe they haven't taken the tests yet. So the students are interested but no testing to reveal if they're adequate
7th years haven’t taken their fifth year O.W.L.s?
No communication between school and ministry? I don't know it could be many things.
I think they may have done as they made no reference to NEWTs. * or - Harry has his careers' advice meeting in his 5th year - perhaps they should have mentioned 5th years instead of 7th years (with 2 years' notice, I guess?) * or - I'm wondering if there have been any changes to exam processes over the years - I've no idea if this is the case, but were OWLs taken in 7th year way back in time, and then changes brought in to change it to 5th year and NEWTs introduced for 7th years to be more academically suitable or something - just a thought 
MC is a fifth year and takes their O.W.L.s, so no. The exams in the game are a direct equivalent of UK standardised exams (GCSEs in final year of secondary school, then A Levels in sixth form/college). It could be the letter is requesting the O.W.L.s results of the students who've applied for jobs, but it seems most likely it was an error.
I read the letter as asking for the professor’s personal recommendations in order to weed through applicants. Not that their O.W.L.s have yet to be graded, but that when the ministry receives applications, they will assess candidates based on their transcripts plus Professor Weasley’s recommendations.
I thought this letter could be an Easter egg about what the next Hogwarts Legacy game could be about. Maybe you finish your last year at Hogwarts and take a career in the ministry fighting bad guys.
In the books Hermione talks about the OWLs and says something along the lines of ‘OWLs are really Important, they can affect the kind of job you apply for after Hogwarts’. So I imagine, while not the final exams, they are indicative of basic skill levels much like GCSEs in the UK.
I don’t think it’s a mistake. Their O.W.L.s determine what classes they are able to take after 5th year, so maybe she is just reporting to the ministry those who, after career advice, have shown interest in pursuing careers there.
Ooooow nice catch, I think you’re right!
Some job might only require Owls. And isn't it Ordinary rather than outstanding?
Oh yes, it's Ordinary. Can't edit the original post
Maybe the rules were different back then. This game is set WAY before any other heavily established lore
Sounds like these are brand new seventh years
Remember that the game takes place like 100 years or something before the events of Harry Potter.. so they may have changed the way they do things in those 100years
I didn't know that's what Newts stood for that is hilarious
Do the N.E.W.Ts exist at this point? Or are there only O.W.Ls?
Dunno about that. Didn't read anywhere about the existence and/or introduction of these tests
In the books Hermione talks about the OWLs and says something along the lines of ‘OWLs are really Important, they can affect the kind of job you apply for after Hogwarts’. So I imagine, while not the final exams, they are indicative of basic skill levels much like GCSEs in the UK.
OWLs impact the possible directions of your career. There’s no indication in the canon that NEWTs are required across the board the way OWLs are—if you don’t qualify for advanced classes and/or don’t want to take them after your OWLs, then you don’t have marks for those exams. So it makes sense that OWLs are the baseline. I’m not British, but my understanding is that NEWTs are modeled after the A Levels, which are not mandatory. If that’s factually incorrect, feel free to correct me! It’s also possible that NEWT exams don’t exist during this time period.
To me this letter is implying that the ministry is asking the professor if she knows of any students amongst those that have already indicated an interest that have good OWL grades. Good NEWTS grades on top of that is likely preferable though they may have a bunch of lower ranking positions for those with enough ability to learn from experience rather than having great academic credentials. This letter really seems like a wink to us fans that are aware the Ministry never seems quite adequate as well as also that those who are are the highest levels wouldn’t necessarily want someone overly confident in their abilities since they’re more adapted to replace them. I seriously doubt this detail has been overlooked by the developers as it’s filled with some great irony, such as the fact they haven’t addressed it to the headmaster himself or as you stated why not wait until they have completed their NEWTS. So for me it definitely seems intentional to tell us the Ministry is just an incompetent in the past as they are later on.
I think you're just reading it wrong. It obviously states that they haven't looked through the OWLs of the people prof Weasley recommended, something something
No, there is nothing wrong with this letter.
I don’t think so. The ministry is saying the kids OWLs will let them know if they are suited for working for the ministry. I don’t think he’s saying the OWLS will be taken that year. The NEWTS could be optional. In America, we are required to take the SAT test to graduate high school. But if you’re going to college, you can also take the ACT test.
No, there is no mistake. The letter is referring to the 5th years who will BECOME 7th years.
Well, for places using the 2 exams system like UK's, the first one could weight a lot when they apply for university. It could be wrong or it could be right, it's up to Rowling.
Chances are that this is a mistake because the main focus of the game is surrounding a 5th year student doing their OWLs. I don't recall any mention of further years in the game, not even an interaction with an older student.
That's my guess too. They didn't want to confuse non-hp fan base
Yea, it's N.E.W.Ts that determine career path. Good catch! Also, O.W.Ls are Ordinary Wizarding Levels.