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A-Level grades are far more important than subjects.

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Original post by WhamBamJam.
Thanks. :smile: Yeah I've read up on the requirements and they say they accept psychology, geography etc, but prefer it to be Chemistry, Physics and so forth.So I'm unsure if I'll be put below those who are doing more preferable sciences. I guess, like you said, best thing is to contact the uni. Thanks for your advice.

Edit: I see from your link it says 'Those applicants studying our preferred subjects will be more likely to receive an offer.', which I suppose makes sense!


No problem, I hope everything goes as you want it to :smile:
Reply 21
Original post by recurring500
Grades are important, but anyone living in the real world knows that a B in Maths better than an A* in Media.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App


You are comparing arguably the best A-Level you can do with arguably the worst.

Make it more realistic, e.g. B in Maths compared to an A* in Business, Law or Religion. I know which I'd rather have. Unless you need maths as a requirement for your course, such as for Engineering, you should pick the easier subject but be sensible, i.e. Media and IT are notoriously weak.
Original post by lil sister
You are comparing arguably the best A-Level you can do with arguably the worst.

Make it more realistic, e.g. B in Maths compared to an A* in Business, Law or Religion. I know which I'd rather have. Unless you need maths as a requirement for your course, such as for Engineering, you should pick the easier subject but be sensible, i.e. Media and IT are notoriously weak.


I think you have somewhat misinterpreted my point. I am not necessarily saying that I would rather have a B in Maths than an A* in Media. The point is that most would place the B in greater regard.

I am astonished that you would rather pick the easier option too. Clearly, you have fundamentally flawed ideas as to the concept of education; it is not simply a race to get the best grades, but more something to learn skills that will help throughout life.
Reply 23
Original post by recurring500
I think you have somewhat misinterpreted my point. I am not necessarily saying that I would rather have a B in Maths than an A* in Media. The point is that most would place the B in greater regard.

I am astonished that you would rather pick the easier option too. Clearly, you have fundamentally flawed ideas as to the concept of education; it is not simply a race to get the best grades, but more something to learn skills that will help throughout life.


I understood that - you missed my point that it is an extreme comparison. I showed you a more realistic comparison.

No, no, you are living in a dream world if you think pre-university education is anything about furthering your skill-set and gaining knowledge for its own sake. That couldn't be further from the truth. It most certainly is a race for the best grades; we jump through hoops to get an A* for no reason other than being accepted into our university of choice, not for the knowledge we gain from obtaining that grade.
Original post by lil sister
I understood that - you missed my point that it is an extreme comparison. I showed you a more realistic comparison.

No, no, you are living in a dream world if you think pre-university education is anything about furthering your skill-set and gaining knowledge for its own sake. That couldn't be further from the truth. It most certainly is a race for the best grades; we jump through hoops to get an A* for no reason other than being accepted into our university of choice, not for the knowledge we gain from obtaining that grade.


Your persistence is laughable. The fact is your comparison only further backed up my point, it did nothing to reveal your point about a more 'realistic' comparison. Most people would still consider a B in Maths more valuable than an A* in Law, as they would an A* in Media and many others. This is perhaps the reason why such A Levels are blacklisted by many universities.

Laughable too, is your belief as to the purpose of higher education. In your blighted eyes the idea that further education is to learn skills for life 'could't be further from the truth'; do you seriously not believe that some people do A Levels to learn things or are you just confused?

Furthermore, you state that A Levels are purely to achieve a grade and 'not for the knowledge we gain'. Whilst I accept, and have never denied, that the grade is very important, it is bigoted to say that the knowledge gained is of no value. If you ask many graduates they will tell you that the knowledge they learnt at A Level came in good use during their courses. Moreover, if you ask many working people they will tell you that the skills they learnt in school come in good use during life.

You are bigoted, naive and your argument has no ground. Open your eyes and realise that learning is not all about a grade on a piece of paper; what is far more important is the set of invaluable skills you take away.
It totally depends on what course you want to do :redface:
Original post by recurring500
Your persistence is laughable. The fact is your comparison only further backed up my point, it did nothing to reveal your point about a more 'realistic' comparison. Most people would still consider a B in Maths more valuable than an A* in Law, as they would an A* in Media and many others. This is perhaps the reason why such A Levels are blacklisted by many universities.

Laughable too, is your belief as to the purpose of higher education. In your blighted eyes the idea that further education is to learn skills for life 'could't be further from the truth'; do you seriously not believe that some people do A Levels to learn things or are you just confused?

Furthermore, you state that A Levels are purely to achieve a grade and 'not for the knowledge we gain'. Whilst I accept, and have never denied, that the grade is very important, it is bigoted to say that the knowledge gained is of no value. If you ask many graduates they will tell you that the knowledge they learnt at A Level came in good use during their courses. Moreover, if you ask many working people they will tell you that the skills they learnt in school come in good use during life.

You are bigoted, naive and your argument has no ground. Open your eyes and realise that learning is not all about a grade on a piece of paper; what is far more important is the set of invaluable skills you take away.



Can I just ask what point you're at in your education?

I just want to say that although A levels can be very valuable in helping your skills, all of that can seem pointless when you don't end up where you want to be (i.e. uni, job etc). It's very disheartening when others who have done easier subjects can get to that place and you can't. I'm sorry but that is the harsh reality.

Nobody is denying the worth of education, my main point is simply that if you take harder subjects it should be recognised by universities but unfortunately after going through the application process it seems that really isn't the case.

I enjoyed all of my A Levels but they were damn tough! When my aim for a few years now has been to study law at uni, it really makes me wonder, were those a Levels worth it?



This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100
(edited 11 years ago)
I want to study Psychology at a prestigious uni and I'm doing Bio, Psych, Lit and AS Spanish. I'm doing quite well in my subjects except for Biology where I've got an E. I can't balance all of these subjects, should I drop Bio and do Spanish as a full A-level (I'm getting Bs and As), or should I drop Lit/Spanish?Most of the unis I'm applying for don't have compulsory subjects but like one or two out of Bio, Chem, Physics, Maths, Psychology.Should I drop Bio and get good grades, or drop Lit/Spanish and take a big risk?
Original post by examassassin
I want to study Psychology at a prestigious uni and I'm doing Bio, Psych, Lit and AS Spanish. I'm doing quite well in my subjects except for Biology where I've got an E. I can't balance all of these subjects, should I drop Bio and do Spanish as a full A-level (I'm getting Bs and As), or should I drop Lit/Spanish?Most of the unis I'm applying for don't have compulsory subjects but like one or two out of Bio, Chem, Physics, Maths, Psychology.Should I drop Bio and get good grades, or drop Lit/Spanish and take a big risk?


I would suggest you start a new thread with a more focused title as this one is 6 years old.
Original post by ageshallnot
I would suggest you start a new thread with a more focused title as this one is 6 years old.

Good idea, thanks :smile:

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