[North Irelandman]

I am sitting my A2 exams at the moment, 8 down and 2 to go, and am increasingly worrying about missing my firm conditions. I need AAB with an A in Maths for my firm choice (Economics & Economic History), and my insurance is ABB at another university. I am quite confident of A grades in Physics and Economics but I think my Maths grade is too close to call, especially after some very hard papers. So potentially I could end up with AAB but without an A in Maths by a few marks.

A couple of things I'd like some advice on:

Would paying for an express remark of a Maths paper be likely to gather any marks or would that be ridiculous?

There is a very similar course within my department which I am considering changing to (and have spoken to a tutor who confirmed I can do this) when I get there, it only has grade requirements of AAB (no maths), so would it be wise to contact my uni before (or after) results day about this?

There is a huge difference between my firm choice and insurance, if I was only given the options to go to my insurance or take a gap year, which would be the better choice?

Any opinions / experiences are appreciated, hopefully I won't have to resort to any of this but I cannot stop worrying about it.


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[00raiser]

First phone/email your firm uni to see whether they will still accept you without the A in maths coz some university do have leeways.

And if you apply for an express remark, you will have to pay but you get your money back if your grade went up. And I would advice you to do that if you missed the A, since it is possible for the marker to make mistakes (my friend got extra 15 marks in a C2 paper remark because they added his marks wrong) but you should order your papers back first to check whether they made mistakes in marking(this costs unrefundable money unfortunately)

If you really dont like your insurance choice then yes, take a gap year, and do something that's gonna boost your application (eg work experience and travelling) and apply for a better uni next year

Good luck in your remaining two exams. (I have 7 to go myself, lol)






00raiser

[North Irelandman]

(Original post by 00raiser)
First phone/email your firm uni to see whether they will still accept you without the A in maths coz some university do have leeways.

And if you apply for an express remark, you will have to pay but you get your money back if your grade went up. And I would advice you to do that if you missed the A, since it is possible for the marker to make mistakes (my friend got extra 15 marks in a C2 paper remark because they added his marks wrong) but you should order your papers back first to check whether they made mistakes in marking(this costs unrefundable money unfortunately)

If you really dont like your insurance choice then yes, take a gap year, and do something that's gonna boost your application (eg work experience and travelling) and apply for a better uni next year

Good luck in your remaining two exams. (I have 7 to go myself, lol)

I think I will contact the uni to see what they say, I'll try not to link it personally with me yet...

Ah thanks very much for the info! I just can't see maths being very hard to mark, but if I'm a mark or two away then I'll definitely have to check.

I'd be really scared about a gap year since I've always wanted to get a degree and get into my field asap, but I would hate to be unhappy at my insurance. My current firm choice is where I really want to go, so if I ended up on a gap year I'd end up reapplying to there again, I'm not sure how well that would look...

Haha, thanks! Best of luck with yours too


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[TenOfThem]

(Original post by North Irelandman)
My current firm choice is where I really want to go, so if I ended up on a gap year I'd end up reapplying to there again, I'm not sure how well that would look...

If they want an A in maths and you do not get an A in maths how would a gap year and a re-application help?

[00raiser]

You're welcome ^_^

And yeah, gap years aren't that scary (as long as you organise it very well) besides if you do some work experience/part time job thats related to the course, that will really appeal the admission officers.

But anyhow, dont think about it too much right now, all you can do is contact the uni first and focus on your exams then wait til results day and you'll have a whole summer to celebrate/worry about these things


00raiser

[North Irelandman]

(Original post by TenOfThem)
If they want an A in maths and you do not get an A in maths how would a gap year and a re-application help?

I would be applying to the AAB (no maths) course, or (less likely) retake my Maths.


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[00raiser]

(Original post by TenOfThem)
If they want an A in maths and you do not get an A in maths how would a gap year and a re-application help?

If you do something productive during your gap year eg. Relevant work experience. That would balance out the B in maths easily (although it does depend on the university's preferences) but in general good work experience outweighs missing out a grade in ALevel


00raiser

[TenOfThem]

(Original post by North Irelandman)
I would be applying to the AAB (no maths) course,

Am I correct in thinking that you have already contacted the university about changing to this course anyway

Perhaps it would be worth making sure that this would be you preferred path

Between the Sunday and the Thursday the university will make a decision about accepting you ... it is best that they know all the information ... they could move you to the other course and offer you that place without any further issues ... if they know in advance ... this would be better than trying to talk to them if they reject you for the first course

[North Irelandman]

(Original post by TenOfThem)
Am I correct in thinking that you have already contacted the university about changing to this course anyway

Perhaps it would be worth making sure that this would be you preferred path

Between the Sunday and the Thursday the university will make a decision about accepting you ... it is best that they know all the information ... they could move you to the other course and offer you that place without any further issues ... if they know in advance ... this would be better than trying to talk to them if they reject you for the first course

No there's no official record of it, at a visit day I spoke with one of the lecturers and he said it would take nothing more than a signature. I will contact the university but I'm not sure how exactly to word things yet. But yes I agree it makes more sense to tell them before receiving a rejection.


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[STOmelody]

My tutor and both my maths teachers are markers for Maths papers, and unless, as expressed above, the marks are added incorrectly, all three of them have said it's very unlikely the marks will go up. It's cos it's not a subjective paper I'm guessing - whereas English etc are more down to opinion, Maths is either right or wrong. Therefore if you get a B for example, and you think that that's pretty accurate, it's commonly recommended you don't waste the money. Also, dependent on the university, they may well take you even if you miss the grade. Although this is kind of chance-y...