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Can I get into a university with only 2 full A Levels and 3 AS's?

I am getting a lot of flak from my college regarding this. They have flatly told me I will NOT get into a university with only 2 full A Levels, even though I am pretty sure I am going to end up with way more than the standard 240 UCAS points for most undergraduate courses.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

If its any help these are the courses

1st year (2008-2009) I did:

AS Graphic Design (I am going to get either a fail or D-E as I did not enjoy the course and my attendance dropped due to some issues)

AS Film Studies (I did really well, got an A on my 50% worth coursework, highest in my class, probably expecting an A or B)

AS Psychology (Loved this course, got an A on my first module worth 50%. Again would expect an A or B)

2nd Year, which I want to do, not what my college is advising:

A2 Film Studies
A2 Psychology
AS Sociology (Goes well with Psychology, kinda wish I had done it to start with)
AS English Lit& Lang (Only signed up for this as AS Geography is no longer available at my college, but I don't think it would be too bad)

I have also been invited by my Film Studies tutor to do an Extended Project Qualification, which I understand would give me the same point/grade system as an AS but I don't know if a university sees it as an equal to an AS.

Thanks for any help, I am having a hellish time here.

PS. to be honest, I don't care what university I go to as long as its got reasonably nice accomadition, Im not going to get stabbed if i leave the campus, its a distance from home (surrey, for me) and it does the course i want. after uni i want to do a teaching diploma. i havent actually decided what degree to do yet.

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Reply 1

sigstuff

There's quite a few unis that accept 2 A-levels and usually say you can replace the third with 2 AS's but you have three so even better.

Edit: Have a look at the entry requirements on the UCAS website.

Reply 2

hussain92

do 3 full A2s to prevent limiting uni choices
better to be safe than sry

Reply 3

bigman_ben

You usually have to have at least 2 full A Levels which you have plus everything else i.e. AS levels, key skills etc so you can get into uni, not some of the top ones that the majority of people on here crow about but university nonetheless as long as you get at least a C in all your subjects

Reply 4

bcji

Its all dependent upon the specific uni course requirements. I know that a lot of courses state for example 240 points, from a minimum of 2 A levels, which means the rest of the points can be met using AS levels or the equivalent qualifications. Whereas others, specifically state that the points must be met using 3 full A-levels. Moreover, unis can also specify which A-level you must obtain a minimum grade from. Just make sure you do your research, and take the papers you need to take to get where you want to go.

Reply 5

User188463

Lasuil

Yeah that sounds fine - why did you only do 3 AS's if you're getting A's though?

Reply 6

inksplodge

Some unis will accept 2 AS as 1 A2, but obviously you'll have to check the course reqs =)

Reply 7

Kate5tar

T-o dore

Yeah that sounds fine - why did you only do 3 AS's if you're getting A's though?

I was doing 4 but I dropped Photography due to the teacher hating me XD
I cant do 3 A2's because I don't want to do a2 Graphic Design, and probably wont have got the D to go onto A2 anyway.

My college have suggested doing intensive law or history but i really wanna do sociology.
i have contacted a few universities regarding the 2 full A Level things but no answers yet.

Reply 8

User188463

Lasuil

You've screwed things up a bit, then... I think you should be okay as long as you do a couple more AS's and get your tutor to explain the situation in your reference.

What course did you want to do at uni? Sociology?

Reply 9

Kate5tar

T-o dore

I know i've screwed up lol but nothing i can do about that now.

id like to do either a psychology degree or film studies related one. I am going to start really researching the courses this week, because I know its critical to decide, even though I am planning to defer a year to take a gap year.

i know its not an excuse but another reason for doing badly in the graphics was due to mental health issues, which I made my college aware of and only finished the AS because they insisted. i am in ongoing therapy.

Reply 10

Kate5tar

zdo0o

kings for medicine have a possible offer of AAaab so yes, even for the most competitive courses it is sometimes possible depending on the university

i dont know why but the credibility of a university doesnt bother me - i just want to do a course that suits me in a nice uni, i dont want to go to cambridge or oxford, i just wanna get a degree XD

Reply 11

0404343m

Any university which goes down the UCAS points system will specify how many A-Levels and AS the points need to be drawn from. If you were to get AB at A2 and AB at AS, that'd be over 300 points, which should be enough for plenty of places.

Reply 12

sazzle7

Lasuil

I'd really recommend you taking an intensive A Level, it broadens your options moreso than relying on a couple of AS levels. Have you thought about doing intensive Sociology? I just finished A Level Sociology and to be honest, it's reeeally easy :smile:

And interesting! I did intensive English Literature myself this year. The pace can be hard to keep up with, but I don't think it was overly challenging.. having 2 coursework modules eased the pressure a bit come exam time!

If you don't want to do that though, then don't worry too much about opting for two A Levels and 3 ASes. You'll be fine for a good number of universities with that, as long as you get decent grades! Leicester for example accept two A Levels and two AS levels for Law :smile:

Reply 13

emmie19

Yup- but your choice will more limited... look up UCAS =) (Most ask for at least 2 A2 Levels)

Reply 14

xSkyFire

My friend's cousin got into Cambridge with 2 A levels and 1 AS so yes, it's possible. She did some Optometry thing and is an Optician now.

Reply 15

jamie2124

I got an offer from Leeds uni to do law with 2 A levels and 2 AS levels. Your probaly better off getting good grades in your AS levels then bad ones in one A level, in my opinion anyway.

Reply 16

Kate5tar

sazzle7

my college wont offer me intensive Sociology cos they're idiots XD

Reply 17

simon12345

Yeah you can, but it will limit your choices. Try doing an A level in one year instead of two (AS exams in Jan, A2 exams in the summer). I'd recommend doing this with English Language & Literature. If your college doesn't offer it you can sit as an external candidate. It's not a subject that really requires a teacher, you can easily self-teach yourself what you need to know.

Reply 18

Kate5tar

simon12345

how would i go about sitting an exam as an external candidate and would i have to pay? i am 17

Reply 19

Magical Moogles

This may be a repeat of what people have already said but...

You can go to university with 2 Alevels and 3 AS's. Some universities allow you to combine 2 AS' taking the average of the two grades and use it like one A2.

Also there are plenty of universities out there which ask for points, with a minimum of 2 A levels.

You will be slightly restricted to where you can go, but for your college to say you will not get into university is wrong.

I was a bit like you in my first year, I did 3 AS's in the first year, (thats what we were advised to do, but I should of done 4). Anyway my two years went like this.

1st year

- AS Maths
- AS Computing
- AS ICT

I 'really' hated ICT. I still managed to get an acceptable grade though.

2nd year

I really did not want to do A2 ICT, so I decided to do Further Maths in a year to get the 3 Alevels I needed, so I did.

- A2 Maths
- A2 Computing
- AS Further Maths
- A2 Further Maths

Ive now just finished all my exams, and I must say, it was the best decision Ive made. It was a lot of fun doing the whole A level in a year, I learnt so much, and it built my confidence.

Anyway the point is, you could do AS and A2 of a subject if you really want. It will be hard work, and you might have teachers saying you cant do it, but if you are determined and want it, you will succeed.

I suggest doing an AS and A2 in a year, but if you stick to your original plan, you do have options, so dont worry

Best of luck!