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What should I do?

Hey there,

I have received an offer from imperial for Computer Science Meng (I really don't understand why, I'm not a strong candidate, last year I had 4 B's in my AS, and I have ABBB predicted for this year), but Im not sure taking it is the right thing to do.

I mean, they want me to get

A* in maths
A in physics
A in chemistry or computing
Merit in Maths AEA

But in january exams I received the following grades: A*A*(maths,physics)BB(chemistry,computing), which while better then last year is still not enough, I think if I tried really hard I could get an A in chemistry (computing is a lost cause), but I really need some more time to get the AEA papers going as I think they are a lot more important.

Realistically in july, I don't think I'm going to end up with more then

A* in maths
A* in physics
Merit/Distinction in maths AEA
B in chemistry

Do you think there is a chance they would give me a place with the following grades? Or should I ignore this offer and apply to a place that gave me a lower offer (AAB), like Manchester?

Reply 1

jayshah31

14

freefrag

... for Computer Science Meng ...

... I think if I tried really hard I could get an A in chemistry (computing is a lost cause) ...

Any reason for this?

Do you think there is a chance they would give me a place with the following grades? Or should I ignore this offer and apply to a place that gave me a lower offer (AAB), like Manchester?

The normal response, based on last year, would it'd be very unlikely. However, they've gone nuts with the A* offers this year and if enough people miss it who knows what'll happen. That said, you really shouldn't have an excuse not to get an A in A-level computing.

Reply 2

freefrag

OP

10

Oh, my excuse for not getting an A in computing is meh, Im good with the practical side of things in computing (I achieved an ok grade in the BIO and a solid A in the coursework), but its the theory that's bringing me down, there's so much obsolete stuff on it, it makes learning painful.

Reply 3

DarkWhite

17

freefrag

Oh, my excuse for not getting an A in computing is meh, Im good with the practical side of things in computing (I achieved an ok grade in the BIO and a solid A in the coursework), but its the theory that's bringing me down, there's so much obsolete stuff on it, it makes learning painful.

Any chance you could elaborate on this?

The only out-dated technology we covered in A-Level Computing was Teletext/Ceefax, and arguably, some people still use that.

By the looks of your first post though, you would be one grade up in Physics, and one grade down in Chemistry. Physics is probably more applicable to CompSci than Chemistry, so I don't really see it being a huge problem, but of course, getting an A in Chemistry would just secure your application so just word your backside off to get it :smile:

Reply 4

freefrag

OP

10

DarkWhite

Any chance you could elaborate on this?

The only out-dated technology we covered in A-Level Computing was Teletext/Ceefax, and arguably, some people still use that.

By the looks of your first post though, you would be one grade up in Physics, and one grade down in Chemistry. Physics is probably more applicable to CompSci than Chemistry, so I don't really see it being a huge problem, but of course, getting an A in Chemistry would just secure your application so just word your backside off to get it :smile:

Ill try my best to get the A in chemistry although it will be hard.

As for the theory I think obsolete was the wrong word for it, I find that:

Most of the topics require students to memorize the answers rather then understand them, for example I don't think I have anyone in my class who understands what recursion is and when it should be used.

They don't consider answers which are right, but not in their mark scheme (for example on a question: "How would a system analyst gather data about the current system?", I mentioned reversing the program to analyse the flow of the data in detail (systems are usually fully documented and there is no reason to do that, but sometimes its more feasible than standing over the program for hours trying to figure out what it does), and I got 0 marks for it, because of that computing doesn't mix well with outside work.

Another example is in the coursework - comments. Our teacher requires a ridiculous amount of them, (for example, when I declare a variable called szUserFirstName, my teacher requires me to put a comment next to it that says: "this variable holds the users first name"), I mean I have nothing against comments. I find them to be very valuable when you go back to your code after a while, or you want someone else to be able to understand your code, but honestly? This is beyond stupid.

Those are only three examples, which don't stand for much but over the year I remember a lot more things which annoyed me about the subject.

Reply 5

jayshah31

14

I fully agree with you, it's purely memorisation. Hence, I didn't do a days revision for it (at A2) because I had to cram my other 3 A-levels, then the night before, ran through the past papers, still miraculously got an A.

But seriously, don't let your pride get in the way of your education. Swallow it, memorise the answers, and get into Imperial.

Reply 6

crazedmonkey09

2

it was the opposite for me, i got solid A's in the exams but failed the coursework because it was soooo tedious, why can't they take the database with comments on the code rather than this ******* documenting every god damn thing. so I got a B for it > :frown:

4 marks off. Its old sylabus so I can't retake it so I'm wondering if they would be willing to change this subject for another, I think they might because my interviewer seemed to look down on computing as an A Level, as far as he was concerned it involved no worthwhile coding at all lol. I hope it works out for you op.

What should I do?

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