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Is 3 AS levels enough?

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Original post by Kyle1198
EPQ is worth half an AS level, and unis recognise this whether they use UCAS points or not


How exactly? If my offer is AAA and i get ABB with an A in EPQ where does this put me? What is "half an AS level"? Can i slap it on top of a B to make an A? No. You cannot.

Unis will acknowledge it and some will lower your offer (i think i already mentioned someone who went from AAA to AAB because of EPQ). However, not all of them will do this. About 1/2 the people at my college did an EPQ and the vast majority of them did not get concessionary offers.

EDIT: It depends on the course and probably the university as well but calling an EPQ 1/2 and AS level is meaningless. Its supplementary.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Marked Target
When it comes to doing an EPQ I'd suggest considering if it will really help you. For some subjects its pointless. I did an EPQ for maths and none of the universities cared at all. I remember bringing it up in an interview and the interviewer was like "Oh, we don't care about EPQs but do go on about this book you read." However, on the other hand I know someone who did one for history and it brought their offer down from A*AA to A*AB.


So does this depend on the university?
Original post by Marked Target
How exactly? If my offer is AAA and i get ABB with an A in EPQ where does this put me? What is "half an AS level"? Can i slap it on top of a B to make an A? No. You cannot.

Unis will acknowledge it and some will lower your offer (i think i already mentioned someone who went from AAA to AAB because of EPQ). However, not all of them will do this. About 1/2 the people at my college did an EPQ and the vast majority of them did not get concessionary offers.

EDIT: It depends on the course and probably the university as well but calling an EPQ 1/2 and AS level is meaningless. Its supplementary.


Oops sorry I meant half an A Level not half an AS.
It is worth as much as an AS Level, that is what I meant.
Yes, people do get lower offers due to EPQ, maybe because they are taking on more than the usual person is - and the people who didn't get lower offers probably didn't do a 4th AS Level or something

Plenty of websites I just googled said the above was the case.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I understand it takes as much time to complete as an AS or A2 level alone???
Original post by Kyle1198
Oops sorry I meant half an A Level not half an AS.
It is worth as much as an AS Level, that is what I meant.
Yes, people do get lower offers due to EPQ, maybe because they are taking on more than the usual person is - and the people who didn't get lower offers probably didn't do a 4th AS Level or something

Plenty of websites I just googled said the above was the case.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I understand it takes as much time to complete as an AS or A2 level alone???


Haha, well, I did 75% of my EPQ on the weekend before it was due and got an A in it so idk if it takes as much time to complete as an AS level. Some people put a lot of effort in sure but its not as much work as proper coursework.

It may be worth an AS level in theory but what is an AS level even worth? If you did 6 AS levels and then dropped 3 of them in A2 would universities give you concessions? Tbh, I don't think many would. At the end of the day everything outside of your 3 main A levels is supplementary to them. I don't know anyone who did 4 A levels who's offer read "get A*AA or AAAA" etc and that's a full A level.

I'm not saying don't do an EPQ though it may sound like that. I think its very worthwhile for some subjects (if you're doing history DO an EPQ - its easy and that seems like the most common subject to get concessions for it). However, if you do maths (probably the best example) then, imo, don't bother unless its something you'd be researching in your own time anyway. (That said, even if it is I'd be tempted not to since 50% or something of the EPQ mark comes from documenting your progress etc which is painful)
Original post by Marked Target
Haha, well, I did 75% of my EPQ on the weekend before it was due and got an A in it so idk if it takes as much time to complete as an AS level. Some people put a lot of effort in sure but its not as much work as proper coursework.

It may be worth an AS level in theory but what is an AS level even worth? If you did 6 AS levels and then dropped 3 of them in A2 would universities give you concessions? Tbh, I don't think many would. At the end of the day everything outside of your 3 main A levels is supplementary to them. I don't know anyone who did 4 A levels who's offer read "get A*AA or AAAA" etc and that's a full A level.

I'm not saying don't do an EPQ though it may sound like that. I think its very worthwhile for some subjects (if you're doing history DO an EPQ - its easy and that seems like the most common subject to get concessions for it). However, if you do maths (probably the best example) then, imo, don't bother unless its something you'd be researching in your own time anyway. (That said, even if it is I'd be tempted not to since 50% or something of the EPQ mark comes from documenting your progress etc which is painful)


Yeah that's true actually. Maybe unis give you concessions because you can write about literally whatever you want?
Original post by Marked Target
Haha, well, I did 75% of my EPQ on the weekend before it was due and got an A in it so idk if it takes as much time to complete as an AS level. Some people put a lot of effort in sure but its not as much work as proper coursework.

It may be worth an AS level in theory but what is an AS level even worth? If you did 6 AS levels and then dropped 3 of them in A2 would universities give you concessions? Tbh, I don't think many would. At the end of the day everything outside of your 3 main A levels is supplementary to them. I don't know anyone who did 4 A levels who's offer read "get A*AA or AAAA" etc and that's a full A level.

I'm not saying don't do an EPQ though it may sound like that. I think its very worthwhile for some subjects (if you're doing history DO an EPQ - its easy and that seems like the most common subject to get concessions for it). However, if you do maths (probably the best example) then, imo, don't bother unless its something you'd be researching in your own time anyway. (That said, even if it is I'd be tempted not to since 50% or something of the EPQ mark comes from documenting your progress etc which is painful)

Doing 4 A levels is beneficial for certain courses at certain unis.

For example, the Warwick maths standard offer is A*A*A* for 3 subjects, but only A*A*AA if you do 4 subjects. This is however quite rare.

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