Should I apply to AAA universities even if I've been predicted A*AA

Essentially my math teacher believes I can achieve an A* in maths and I do not. I only did well in my AS year because I did additional further maths at GCSE and I redid my AS year so I knew core 1 and core 2 like the back of my hand, it wasn't because I was amazing at maths or anything. I did get a B in biology at AS;however I was really close to the boundary and I knew where I went wrong ( my school gave me a really bad book to study from). I do believe I am not totally inept at maths, so I do think I could manage an A, it's just an A* is too crazy and hard to achieve.

What are your thoughts?

Do you want to go to those top universities? Do you want to get the A/A* grade, and are you willing to put in the work to do that? Do you and your teachers believe that you have a chance? If so, go for it! Your success is determined by your effort and determination much more than it is by your natural talent, and whilst talent does play a part it is a much smaller factor in comparison.

Good Luck whatever you decide!

Essentially my math teacher believes I can achieve an A* in maths and I do not. I only did well in my AS year because I did additional further maths at GCSE and I redid my AS year so I knew core 1 and core 2 like the back of my hand, it wasn't because I was amazing at maths or anything. I did get a B in biology at AS;however I was really close to the boundary and I knew where I went wrong ( my school gave me a really bad book to study from). I do believe I am not totally inept at maths, so I do think I could manage an A, it's just an A* is too crazy and hard to achieve.

What are your thoughts?

I really don't think if I ' work hard enough' I'll achieve an A*.

I really don't think if I ' work hard enough' I'll achieve an A*.

Then apply to AAA courses and lower for your insurance.

Firstly I would just like to say that you are possibly underestimating your ability. You say you knew C1 and C2 like the back of your hand but that came entirely from practice. It just so happens that the practice for those two modules came from doing it a year earlier. If you work hard enough I expect you will end up doing your other modules just as well.

Addressing your question, the answer should be yes no matter the situation. Even if you were confident in getting that A*AA, it is still worth applying to a university below that level. When you accept your offers, you will only be able to take two and generally you want two levels of grades in case anything goes wrong.

Remember that you've got five options of universities - you can have one or two ambitious choices, and three or four more conservative choices for which you are more likely to reach the offer. I'd still say to push yourself, but if you genuinely believe that the top grade(s) is/are beyond you, there should be no shame in that; half the battle is choosing your aiming point, after all!

I feel I am fully capable of achieving AAA;however, I don't think I'm capable of A*AA due to the fact I've been quite ill this year, the work-load, the time constraints and and the fact my two other subjects are quite hard. I don't want to firm an A*AA and miss the offer. It would be safer to firm an AAA and then insurance an AAB. I'm only saying this because I am applying for chemical engineering and its really competitive so the entry standards are high.

The year is still young but if you are set on taking an AAA course as your firm then do so. My advice would be that if you don't know what to put as a fifth choice then you might as well put in an application for an A*AA uni and see how you feel later. If you want to fill out all five with AAA and slightly lower then that's absolutely fine too.

Well then give A*AA a punt and put AAA as your insurance

My cousin was predicted A*AA and achieved AAB, I really don't trust predicted grades.

That's what clearing exists for, and a lot of decent unis are in clearing nowadays.

He didn't go into clearing. The university just offered him a replacement course. He applied to do maths and physics at warwick, and instead he just got physics.

Hey, I'm predicted BBB and one of my potential options is an A*AA course at manchester. Do you know why?

It's because my aspirational grades are A*A*A*. And I've learned from my mistakes from AS. I can feel the pressure of A2 and the amount of damn work there is. I know how important sacrificing a bit of your "fun" (which is usually for me just wasted time) is and how important time management is.

I think I'm going to get the A* in maths but I really want it in biology and computing too. I'm also thinking of self-studying further maths and obviously I'm aiming for an A*.

But that's just me. It's different for everyone. I have a lot of family commitments so I must either work smarter or sacrifice some "fun time".

Not saying you can't achieve A*AA. But I've honestly accepted A levels are REALLY REALLY hard.