What's better AAAAB or AAAA?
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Original post by fudgesundae
Well no you haven't. The achievement isn't getting 4 A grades. The achievement is getting A grades in every single A level you took.
A levels are not about how many you can 'collect'. With regards to the top universities, they would rather straight A grades. Otherwise you start wondering, why didn't they get an A in that extra A level. By your logic AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA.
A levels are not about how many you can 'collect'. With regards to the top universities, they would rather straight A grades. Otherwise you start wondering, why didn't they get an A in that extra A level. By your logic AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA.
Yes exactly. On a serious level, it won't matter at all. But strictly speaking, my feeling is that if you present with all As (albeit only 4 subjects), you are saying you did exceptionally well in every single subject you took. It also gives the impression that perhaps if you had taken another subject you would have got an A in that too. With an extra B, the question is already answered that 4 was your limit of how many you can handle exceptionally well.
AAAA looks better if you're applying to places like Oxford or Cambridge, because you only have A grades, which at AS is the best you can achieve. If you also have a B grade, it shows you tried, and failed, to get an A. Failure to get an A is a pretty big blow.
For Cambridge letter grades are not important anyway, UMS scores are, and, in general, you really want to be average about 90% at least to have a realistic chance (and so you see that B grade would be detrimental to your averages).
For Cambridge letter grades are not important anyway, UMS scores are, and, in general, you really want to be average about 90% at least to have a realistic chance (and so you see that B grade would be detrimental to your averages).
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by TurboCretin
Sorry, this is just completely illogical. How is AAAAB ever going to look worse than AAAA? If you've achieved the former, you've automatically achieved the latter. Your argument might apply if we were talking about AAAA vs AAABB.
Lemme give you a counterexample to your logic
(and I'm fully prepared to be negged by the lurking retards of this thread)
-I took 4ASs and got consistent results (lowest was 95%, highest was 100%)
-I could have taken a 5th AS that was still very relevant to my firm uni course (Biology)
-If I would have got a B in Biology (70%-80%) my entire 'consistency' would have broken down
-I would never have come across as an exceptional all-rounded 'scientist'
-I would have definitely been asked "Why the **** did you get a B?" at interview
-I would have had a significantly lower chance of making it into my firm
As much as you might not like the sound of the above, it's the harsh truth...
Sometimes, a B isn't good enough
Original post by WaNaBe
How could 4 As and a B be worse than 4 As? You still got 4 As with an extra B as well. Think of it like this. On your birthday you can get 4 £10 notes from family, or 4 £10 notes and a £5 from family, I know which one I'd rather have.
Definitely. It shows you got 4 As ON TOP OF WHICH you did a whole other A level which you also got a high grade in
Original post by fudgesundae
Well seeing as your opinion is exactly that, and my reply was taken from conversations I have had with admissions tutors, it is fairly obvious who is wrong in this case.
Real, or imaginary? I'm sure you're just repeating their half-baked logic, right? One or two people have now posted about Cambridge and UMS, which I accept. One would've thought that would have been a point you'd have raised, no?
Original post by hackashaq
I took 5 AS levels and I think I'm going to get AAAAB in them. Would I be at an advantage or a disadvantage if I was applying to top universities (e.g. LSE/UCL/Oxbridge) with AAAAB instead of AAAA if I only took four subjects?
It is true that AAAA > AAAAB in the eyes of Oxbridge, and that's from ringing them up. I asked about taking 4-5 A2s or 3-4, and they said if I go for the higher one then they'll expect As in the fifth. Whoever said quality over quantity was right - not everyone can take 5, and even so they say "do well in what you do". Plenty of people taking 4 could do 5 and get 5 As if they wanted to. Getting a B in your fifth shows that you can't for definite, whereas others might have if they'd tried.
Edit: Ooh nice analogy. Imaaagine if you were a football club. Is 30-20-10 W-D-L better than 30-0-0? Nope.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Brutal Chav
Lemme give you a counterexample to your logic
(and I'm fully prepared to be negged by the lurking retards of this thread)
-I took 4ASs and got consistent results (lowest was 95%, highest was 100%)
-I could have taken a 5th AS that was still very relevant to my firm uni course (Biology)
-If I would have got a B in Biology (70%-80%) my entire 'consistency' would have broken down
-I would never have come across as an exceptional all-rounded 'scientist'
-I would have definitely been asked "Why the **** did you get a B?" at interview
-I would have had a significantly lower chance of making it into my firm
As much as you might not like the sound of the above, it's the harsh truth...
Sometimes, a B isn't good enough
(and I'm fully prepared to be negged by the lurking retards of this thread)
-I took 4ASs and got consistent results (lowest was 95%, highest was 100%)
-I could have taken a 5th AS that was still very relevant to my firm uni course (Biology)
-If I would have got a B in Biology (70%-80%) my entire 'consistency' would have broken down
-I would never have come across as an exceptional all-rounded 'scientist'
-I would have definitely been asked "Why the **** did you get a B?" at interview
-I would have had a significantly lower chance of making it into my firm
As much as you might not like the sound of the above, it's the harsh truth...
Sometimes, a B isn't good enough
It's not about what I like or don't like, and I accept the point about Cambridge and UMS as I say above. What is logically indefensible is that your not doing biology at all would have been preferable to getting a B in it, which is what that poster was saying. I doubt omitting to take biology would make you look like an exceptional all-rounder scientist either, would it?
Original post by Astronomical
AAAA looks better if you're applying to places like Oxford or Cambridge, because you only have A grades, which at AS is the best you can achieve. If you also have a B grade, it shows you tried, and failed, to get an A. Failure to get an A is a pretty big blow.
For Cambridge letter grades are not important anyway, UMS scores are, and, in general, you really want to be average about 90% at least to have a realistic chance (and so you see that B grade would be detrimental to your averages).
For Cambridge letter grades are not important anyway, UMS scores are, and, in general, you really want to be average about 90% at least to have a realistic chance (and so you see that B grade would be detrimental to your averages).
This is the main place your point falls down; with regards to Cambridge. For calculating UMS, they count your top 3 AS-levels for arts or most relevant 3 for sciences - so that B wouldn't be included in the UMS average.
Original post by hassi94
This is the main place your point falls down; with regards to Cambridge. For calculating UMS, they count your top 3 AS-levels for arts or most relevant 3 for sciences - so that B wouldn't be included in the UMS average.
Yeah, that's definitely how it works, they only look at the 3 most relevant subjects and ignore the others completely and don't factor them into their decisions at all.
Original post by Astronomical
Yeah, that's definitely how it works, they only look at the 3 most relevant subjects and ignore the others completely and don't factor them into their decisions at all.
Don't try ridicule my argument. You specifically wrote that the B would lower your UMS average - it wouldn't, end of. You were wrong.
Original post by hackashaq
Oh so basically there's no chance if I apply to Cambridge with AAAAB?
Don't be silly - and don't listen to people who tell you so. The B shouldn't hold you back at all for cambridge if you have high UMS scores in your other AS levels (I'm assuming the B is your least relevant subject anyway?). Don't let people put you off from applying. If you get grades like those and you want a shot at going to Cambridge then you'll need to and should apply.
Original post by GreenLantern1
There is no point answering with a straight answer! If I were to choose one, I would just get a load of negs.
Though in my opinion they are both fantastic and would do well in the eyes of any university! Just do your best, that is enough and it is great!
Though in my opinion they are both fantastic and would do well in the eyes of any university! Just do your best, that is enough and it is great!
I think you'll get less negs if you don't start every post with 'if I answer I'll get negged'
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by hackashaq
Oh so basically there's no chance if I apply to Cambridge with AAAAB?
No, there is a chance, just possibly less so than if you had AAAA.
Original post by hassi94
Don't try ridicule my argument. You specifically wrote that the B would lower your UMS average - it wouldn't, end of. You were wrong.
Actually, take another look at my post. I wrote "averages", indicating average UMS per subject and not overall average. You are wrong.
Oh, and I was ridiculing your naivety, not your supposed 'argument' (which was actually a mere statement, not 'a reason leading to a conclusion' - the definition of an argument).
Original post by Astronomical
Actually, take another look at my post. I wrote "averages", indicating average UMS per subject and not overall average. You are wrong.
Oh, and I was ridiculing your naivety, not your supposed 'argument' (which was actually a mere statement, not 'a reason leading to a conclusion' - the definition of an argument).
Oh, and I was ridiculing your naivety, not your supposed 'argument' (which was actually a mere statement, not 'a reason leading to a conclusion' - the definition of an argument).
That doesn't make any sense though. You don't need to average 90% in each AS level so the latter part of the sentence doesn't follow the former. Oh and I basically scraped an A in Chemistry and I know many others with similar circumstances.
My naivety? And where have you been in this process to know what can be considered naive? I've researched and talked to admissions staff extensively, along with having been through the whole process. Really with Cambridge we'd have to be a lot more specific. 90 90 90 90 70 (these are percentages by the way) would wipe the floor with 80 80 80 80 in the admissions process 'game' - well for the grades part any way. Cambridge explicitly talk about how they mainly care about how good you are at your subject and care very little for other frills. Do you think they're stupid enough to pick one physics applicant over another because one got a B in French?
Oh, and my reasoning was they take 3 subjects to calculate UMS, and my conclusion that was that that phrase/sentence whatever was wrong. I'm not going to pretend to have a brilliant vocabulary, English isn't exactly my subject of interest, so you can criticise it as much as you want.
Oh and if we're splitting hairs then you also said "really want to be average about" so who knows whether I should be paying attention to your suffixes or not?
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by fudgesundae
Well no you haven't. The achievement isn't getting 4 A grades. The achievement is getting A grades in every single A level you took.
A levels are not about how many you can 'collect'. With regards to the top universities, they would rather straight A grades. Otherwise you start wondering, why didn't they get an A in that extra A level. By your logic AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA.
A levels are not about how many you can 'collect'. With regards to the top universities, they would rather straight A grades. Otherwise you start wondering, why didn't they get an A in that extra A level. By your logic AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA.
AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA... Though I would see them as pretty much the same tbh.
I did 5 AS' subjects this year and if my grades are good enough, I want to go to similar universities to you. I did have to do a lot more work than my friends who did 4 but I enjoyed each subject and still can't decide which subject im dropping 
. I don't think it'll matter too much but top unis may see it as a weakness. If your not carrying on the B, they probably wont care too much.
. I don't think it'll matter too much but top unis may see it as a weakness. If your not carrying on the B, they probably wont care too much.Original post by GreenLantern1
AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA... Though I would see them as pretty much the same tbh.
I don't know, I think AAAAEE is pushing it quite far
Would probably show either a lack of commitment to subjects you dislike or a pretty clear limit of the workload you can take on. I think I could've probably added 3 or 4 Es onto my AS Levels with minimal effort but I don't think it'd have looked too good
Original post by A level Az
Techinically AAAAB is better than AAAA, but in an application to top universities having AAAA instead of AAAAB will look better for sure. Now had we been comparing AAAAAAAAAA and AAAAAAAAAAB, then I would say the latter was better because that's a huge amount of work to get through in 2-3 years, so falling short one grade isn't much of a negative, whereas only four and a half A levels isn't really that much more work when you compare it to the amount of work you'll have to do at university (and I did four and a half A levels).
After reading a few posts I'm actually annoyed by the stupidity of some people. AAAAEE or AABBB isn't automatically better than AAAA or AA just because the former have the grades + extras. In the first case AAAA is clearly better because having two E's to your name is crap, implies that you couldn't handle the pressure, whereas in the other case AABBB is better than AA because you're comparing 3+ A levels to just two, and since three is the minimum requirement for most universities that would be a better result. It's not simply black and white, who are these fools saying AAAAB is categorically better than AAAA just because they're the same + a B grade? Please don't be so stupid, there are other factors to consider.
After reading a few posts I'm actually annoyed by the stupidity of some people. AAAAEE or AABBB isn't automatically better than AAAA or AA just because the former have the grades + extras. In the first case AAAA is clearly better because having two E's to your name is crap, implies that you couldn't handle the pressure, whereas in the other case AABBB is better than AA because you're comparing 3+ A levels to just two, and since three is the minimum requirement for most universities that would be a better result. It's not simply black and white, who are these fools saying AAAAB is categorically better than AAAA just because they're the same + a B grade? Please don't be so stupid, there are other factors to consider.
Oh My! That is all I can say... So naive
Original post by hassi94
That doesn't make any sense though. You don't need to average 90% in each AS level so the latter part of the sentence doesn't follow the former. Oh and I basically scraped an A in Chemistry and I know many others with similar circumstances.
Indeed you may have an offer, but your offer depends on STEP. They make maths offers expecting half of people to not meet those offers; the same cannot be said for other subjects, so your personal experiences aren't all that relevant in my opinion.
My naivety? And where have you been in this process to know what can be considered naive? I've researched and talked to admissions staff extensively, along with having been through the whole process. Really with Cambridge we'd have to be a lot more specific. 90 90 90 90 70 (these are percentages by the way) would wipe the floor with 80 80 80 80 in the admissions process 'game' - well for the grades part any way. Cambridge explicitly talk about how they mainly care about how good you are at your subject and care very little for other frills. Do you think they're stupid enough to pick one physics applicant over another because one got a B in French?
So if two candidates performed equally well in interviews and had identical UMS in the most relevant subjects but one had an A in french and the other had a B (and french was not one of the relevant subjects) then who gets the place? That is what I am getting at.
Oh, and my reasoning was they take 3 subjects to calculate UMS, and my conclusion that was that that phrase/sentence whatever was wrong. I'm not going to pretend to have a brilliant vocabulary, English isn't exactly my subject of interest, so you can criticise it as much as you want.
Oh and if we're splitting hairs then you also said "really want to be average about" so who knows whether I should be paying attention to your suffixes or not?
Indeed, I seem to have added an extra "be" for some reason. Doesn't really change anything though, especially considering you've been using 90% as an "acceptable average" yourself.
Indeed you may have an offer, but your offer depends on STEP. They make maths offers expecting half of people to not meet those offers; the same cannot be said for other subjects, so your personal experiences aren't all that relevant in my opinion.
My naivety? And where have you been in this process to know what can be considered naive? I've researched and talked to admissions staff extensively, along with having been through the whole process. Really with Cambridge we'd have to be a lot more specific. 90 90 90 90 70 (these are percentages by the way) would wipe the floor with 80 80 80 80 in the admissions process 'game' - well for the grades part any way. Cambridge explicitly talk about how they mainly care about how good you are at your subject and care very little for other frills. Do you think they're stupid enough to pick one physics applicant over another because one got a B in French?
So if two candidates performed equally well in interviews and had identical UMS in the most relevant subjects but one had an A in french and the other had a B (and french was not one of the relevant subjects) then who gets the place? That is what I am getting at.
Oh, and my reasoning was they take 3 subjects to calculate UMS, and my conclusion that was that that phrase/sentence whatever was wrong. I'm not going to pretend to have a brilliant vocabulary, English isn't exactly my subject of interest, so you can criticise it as much as you want.
Oh and if we're splitting hairs then you also said "really want to be average about" so who knows whether I should be paying attention to your suffixes or not?
Indeed, I seem to have added an extra "be" for some reason. Doesn't really change anything though, especially considering you've been using 90% as an "acceptable average" yourself.
I cannot be bothered to continue with this, and have no agenda. I merely was trying to forewarn the OP that if he ends up with a B then it is a disadvantage, not necessarily a fatal one, but nevertheless a disadvantage.
Original post by GreenLantern1
AAAACC or AAAAEE is better than AAAA... Though I would see them as pretty much the same tbh.
They're not for unis like Oxbridge. They're seen as a weakness, especially two E's. If they're related subjects to the course you want to do, then you'll be at a disadvantage.
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