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Has anyone here persuaded their teacher to give them better predicted grades?

YoFadda

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Reply 1

Aph

Original post by YoFadda

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This is very unlikely to ever happen. Unless you massively up your game in the first month of A2 they almost certainly won't. If the school consistently over-predicts unis catch on and are less likely to accept students from that school. Generally your school is more likely to under predict you by 2 levels then over predict by 1 just so it can be safe.

Reply 2

Doones

Original post by Aph

Generally your school is more likely to under predict you by 2 levels then over predict by 1 just so it can be safe.

No unfortunately that's just not the case. It's extremely common for grades to be over-predicted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35492915

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Reply 3

Aph

Original post by jneill

No unfortunately that's just not the case. It's extremely common for grades to be over-predicted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35492915

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That is really suprising. Although the fact that 52% of people who get accepted to their firm missed their grades by at least 2 grades is even more shocking to me.

Reply 4

ninapudding

Yes; my entire year group.

It is a bit annoying to see people who have been working on Cs all year bragging about their 3 predicted As, but when it comes to results day they're the ones who will be disadvantaged. :K:

Reply 5

super_kawaii

Original post by YoFadda

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No, my school refused to predict higher than the grade you achieved at AS for A2, unless you were very close (i.e. 2 marks) to the above grade.

You're only setting yourself up for disappointment if you get your predicted grades higher than that

Reply 6

Midgeymoo17

Original post by YoFadda

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My first response to this question is why are you asking?

Whilst it is normal for predictions to be sent to Universities many universities disregard them completely for the reason stated above as many are hyper inflated.

Paraphrased from the words of the Manchester Physics Department - we outright reject approximately 2/3 of all applicants because their AS grades show the predictions are hyper inflated and that those applicants are unlikely to be with in striking distance of our entry requirements despite being predicted the entry grades. There is a video on youtube of the Admission Tutor for Physics at Nottingham basically saying the same thing that because most predictions are so inaccurate they place more weight on the other parts of the application when looking for offer making. Another example Cambridge always used to ask for actual Unit by Unit grades at AS favouring actual grades over predictions.

The reason I hilight this is that you really do not need your predictions to match the entry requirements of your first choice. For me I received offers from a couple Universities asking for A*A*A when my predictions were AAA and 3 unconditional offers from Russel Group Universities to read Physics despite retaking my whole Physics A level from scratch in a third year. I put this down to my application demonstrating nothing but realism, honesty and openess. I firmed an A*A*A offer from Manchester- I know I am unlikely to get it I currently expect A*AA but I was given that offer because my previous grades demonstrated a small possibility of making the grade and my application demonstrated realism in my expectation as to whether I would get it. If the filter had been predicted grades I would not have got the offer.

The second thing to think about is that if your teacher raises your prediction it will raise your expectation. This can be very detrimental as it increases pressure on you and can draw reassurance. Personally I found by my predictions being more realistic they felt achievable and this drove me to work harder. To try and paint a picture as to why imagine you have to run a marathon, if your competitor is Mo Farah who will just leave you for dust you will end up on the course alone and it is far harder to drive yourself to a personal best than if say your competitor was me. Probably far more your speed and hence will keep pushing you up untill the end- this will more often than not will give a better result. Whilst the analogy is bad the theory here is based on sound behavioural research based done in Chicago. Ultimately small goals set based on pushing someone a little out of their comfort zone repeatedly was found to achieve more improvement than 1 big goal which participants often gave up on.

Reply 7

GabbytheGreek_48

well I think if they have spaces to fill might as well fill them

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Reply 8

bigdonger

Original post by jneill

No unfortunately that's just not the case. It's extremely common for grades to be over-predicted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35492915

Posted from TSR Mobile

This is why the education system sucks

all people care about is just grades more than actual learning

Reply 9

math42

I have a friend who managed it; for some reason he was predicted a B in English Lit after getting an A at AS; he asked to be predicted an A and was. Got an A* in the end

Reply 10

JoshC98

My further maths teacher refused to increase my predicted grade from an A to an A* despite the fact I got 283/300 UMS at AS. Ended up going around her and the head of maths increased it for me. I also had my economics teacher bump up my predicted grade to an A* from an A. In general though, it was pretty hard to get predicted grades increased at my school. The maths department outright refused to predict anybody a higher grade than they achieved at AS unless you got a high A and wanted an A* prediction (even then it was pretty tough). My economics teacher bumped up mine and a few of my friends' grades, but that's only because he's super relaxed. As far as I know, other departments wouldn't increase people's predicted grades. Depends on your school.

Reply 11

returnmigrant

This is actually an extremely foolish thing to do,

It isnt your predicted grades that will get you into University - its your ACTUAL grades.

Inflating your grades will usually mean that you end up holding offers you cannot actually achieve, and while everyone else is jumping around in August celebrating their now confirmed Uni place, you will be the one in tears because the teachers were right about your likely performance.

If you feel certain you can achieve higher than you are predicted, then don't apply in the autumn. Work your butt off for the best grades you can achieve take a gap year and apply in 2017 with known grades. Nowhere does it say you can only apply to Uni whilst still at school.

How to Avoid 5 Rejections here : http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/content.php?r=20445-how-to-avoid-getting-five-university-rejections

Reply 12

countduckula1906

I did with all my subjects

Reply 13

The Empire Odyssey

Original post by YoFadda

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I did. I persuaded my Ethics teacher to predict me a B. He did. But then my Philosophy teacher refused because I had depression. However, if I didn't have depression I would have been predicted a B. Got a B in the end anyway.

But, I think if you prove to them you are willing to work extremely hard by doing the extra work, improving your work ethic and etc then they might be tempted esp if you worked hard in your 1st year and was so close to your predicted grade at AS.

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Has anyone here persuaded their teacher to give them better predicted grades?

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