The Student Room Group

Should I go for remarks despite getting a place?

Essentially I got a place at my insurance uni which I'm really pleased about, but... They gave me the place despite me not teaching the required grades. (so relieved) I'm wondering whether to remark but I'm worried if I do.. And still don't meet the required grades, they'll look at my application and go.. Hang on a minute, maybe we shouldn't offer him a place? Am I being paranoid, and is it really necessary to get a remark, especially if I do well at uni? Cheers!
Reply 1
I'm in the same position! Both my insurance and firm wanted the same grades, long story short I got into sussex to do psychology with an ABB despite the fact they wanted AAB! I was considering a remark purely cos I was 5 marks of an A in psychol, and its the subject I wanna study in uni, but at then end I thought there is no point in wasting that money when I already have a certified place at a great uni which I like!

If you wanna remark it because you think it may help you get into your firm then go for it, otherwise I wouldnt really bother ! You've got a place already!

I dont think you need a remark! you may come out of uni with a 1st or 2:1, it depends on you !

hope ive helped a tad !
Reply 2
Original post by AliB20
Essentially I got a place at my insurance uni which I'm really pleased about, but... They gave me the place despite me not teaching the required grades. (so relieved) I'm wondering whether to remark but I'm worried if I do.. And still don't meet the required grades, they'll look at my application and go.. Hang on a minute, maybe we shouldn't offer him a place? Am I being paranoid, and is it really necessary to get a remark, especially if I do well at uni? Cheers!


I was in the same position as you and my 1st choice uni accepted me despite the fact that I hadn't met the grade requirements. I was only 1 mark off an A in one subject and 2 marks off an A in another (this was before the days of A*). I ended up being so relieved to get into uni that I never even thought about getting my papers remarked.

What I would say it's dependant on how far off the grade boundary you are from the next grade up and also how important your A-Levels are for what you want to do in the future. If the mark is not far off, then do it - get it remarked. Also, I wanted to go into law after my law degree and I never realised how much my A-Levels could potentially hinder me. For all those reasons, even though things worked out well now, if I could, I would get mine remarked. There were 3 marks difference between an ABB and AAA.

But then again, this is a judgement call you have to make. All I can say is speak to your insurance uni about it if you are worried and see what they say about remarking and still getting the same grade. My thought is that they offered you a place despite you not having met the requirements. If you get remarked and your grade increases, better for you and them. If you get remarked and it stays the same then technically, why would they now not let you in - you were in the same position as before. It is just the chance that you might be marked down...but then that's why you have to consider how important this is to you. :smile:
Reply 3
Cheers guys, well I wouldn't even have considered it if I hadn't seen a friend of mine had gone up in a subject I'd done. I guess I need to find out how far off the grade boundaries I was. Do you know how important A-Levels are to employers at the end of Uni, if say you have a 2:1 or a 1st?:smile:
Original post by h-g-1
I was in the same position as you and my 1st choice uni accepted me despite the fact that I hadn't met the grade requirements. I was only 1 mark off an A in one subject and 2 marks off an A in another (this was before the days of A*). I ended up being so relieved to get into uni that I never even thought about getting my papers remarked.

What I would say it's dependant on how far off the grade boundary you are from the next grade up and also how important your A-Levels are for what you want to do in the future. If the mark is not far off, then do it - get it remarked. Also, I wanted to go into law after my law degree and I never realised how much my A-Levels could potentially hinder me. For all those reasons, even though things worked out well now, if I could, I would get mine remarked. There were 3 marks difference between an ABB and AAA.

But then again, this is a judgement call you have to make. All I can say is speak to your insurance uni about it if you are worried and see what they say about remarking and still getting the same grade. My thought is that they offered you a place despite you not having met the requirements. If you get remarked and your grade increases, better for you and them. If you get remarked and it stays the same then technically, why would they now not let you in - you were in the same position as before. It is just the chance that you might be marked down...but then that's why you have to consider how important this is to you. :smile:


Did you manage to get past the AAB filter for the top city law firms? Also, if you don't have those grades are you unable to proceed with the application?
Reply 5
Original post by AliB20
Cheers guys, well I wouldn't even have considered it if I hadn't seen a friend of mine had gone up in a subject I'd done. I guess I need to find out how far off the grade boundaries I was. Do you know how important A-Levels are to employers at the end of Uni, if say you have a 2:1 or a 1st?:smile:


Yes, first step, find out how far off. :smile: If the uni let you in, I would have thought you wouldn't have been too far off (but don't quote me on this!).

It really depends what you want to do. My only experience has been with law and that is extremely competitive and it is REALLY important because of automatic filters. Therefore, it is really hard for people who have come out of uni with 1sts and 2:1 to get past the first part if they don't meet the A-Level grade requirements of AAA/B (for top unis). Not sure what they are now with A*s though.

But then again, that is purely one sector that really cares of A-Levels even after uni. If I'm honest, I've never heard of any other areas; banking, accountancy etc. that really care as much.

Just out of interest and if you're OK to reveal, what were your A-Levels? I'm asking just because I wonder if it is anyway a respectable result regardless of remarks. :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by Cutmeloose
Did you manage to get past the AAB filter for the top city law firms? Also, if you don't have those grades are you unable to proceed with the application?


Hmmm, I was in a weird position because I ended up taking 4 A-Levels and therefore my overall UCAS points were higher than AAA. Some people might call that unfair but I was just using what I had to my advantage because it was so difficult. Therefore, I applied to top firms except for those that specifically said "AAA/B from your top 3 A-Level grades". I justified it later in the application and actually aside from that, my university and LPC grades were strong.

In the end, I was lucky to get a TC with an MC firm but it took a lot of applications and a lot of tears. Thinking back - I would have got the paper remarked just to save myself all that anxiety if there was really a chance that I could have turned one of the Bs into an A.
Reply 7
Original post by h-g-1
Yes, first step, find out how far off. :smile: If the uni let you in, I would have thought you wouldn't have been too far off (but don't quote me on this!).

It really depends what you want to do. My only experience has been with law and that is extremely competitive and it is REALLY important because of automatic filters. Therefore, it is really hard for people who have come out of uni with 1sts and 2:1 to get past the first part if they don't meet the A-Level grade requirements of AAA/B (for top unis). Not sure what they are now with A*s though.

But then again, that is purely one sector that really cares of A-Levels even after uni. If I'm honest, I've never heard of any other areas; banking, accountancy etc. that really care as much.

Just out of interest and if you're OK to reveal, what were your A-Levels? I'm asking just because I wonder if it is anyway a respectable result regardless of remarks. :smile:



Um I got BBC which was less than I was predicted.. I was very surprised too.. Never thought I'd done so badly, especially when I was predicted ABB..

Well I don't want to go into law so that's okay, more down the Journalism side for me I think.
Reply 8
Checked grade boundaries, definitely going for a remark, cheers guys :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by AliB20
Checked grade boundaries, definitely going for a remark, cheers guys :smile:


Good luck with it!
Original post by AliB20
Cheers guys, well I wouldn't even have considered it if I hadn't seen a friend of mine had gone up in a subject I'd done. I guess I need to find out how far off the grade boundaries I was. Do you know how important A-Levels are to employers at the end of Uni, if say you have a 2:1 or a 1st?:smile:


Some of the competitive graduate schemes have A level requirements, yes. They generally ask for 320/300 UCAS points which is BBB-ABB.
Likewise for training schemes like teacher training there might be subject A level requirements in addition to degree level ones.
However for a lot of jobs, its about experience and your degree classification rather than A levels or anything silly like league tables.

I had an A level remarked despite meeting the entry requirements for my firm. I came out with a B in English lit but had a high B in the coursework, full UMS in one of the exams then somehow was given a D in the synoptic unit bringing me onto a B which just didn't make sense and I was definitely expecting to get more than D in that unit. It was a blip and no one at all got higher than a C in my college of about 200 people taking A2 English lit so the college just put everyone in for a remark because a lot of people missed university offers because of it and/or it was just odd results. For example, my friend had a Cambridge offer to study English lit and scrapped an A overall but was given a very low E for that unit.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 11
Just think, were your A levels for you to get into uni? Yes - You got into uni - no need to remark.

A levels for personal achievement - not happy with results - get them remarked.

Just remember that most people who get them remarked, the grades go down because the examiners check harder.

Quick Reply

Latest