Whatever happened to the 'level of school' consideration by Universities?
I vaguely remember that a while ago Cameron (or Clegg? Probably Cameron since Clegg does nothing...) was talking about making universities take a prospective students background into account a bit more, this would be quite important for me since I go to a school which, in all honesty, is good but also mostly full of illiterate morons who can't do Pythagoras in year 11. Anyway, I decided to stay in my current school with a horrible reputation because of my wonderful teachers and I can't help but wonder how much of a impact, if any, this would have on my chances of getting into a good Uni later on.
Next school year (so in a few days
) I'll start doing five A Levels -perhaps six with an extra GCSE/A Level in Japanese if I manage to get my head around the alien structure of this language, and those freaking Kanji- so I was just wondering if anybody knows if a Uni would consider 5/6 AS and 3 A Levels all at a minimum of a B along with 13/14 GCSE's all at or above a B to be 'good enough' to accept a student who went to one of the worst schools in the UK as opposed to a student with slightly better grades from a much better school?
To sum up my disconjointed, sleepy thoughts: would a high-brow Uni take a *pulls random letters from thin air* ABABBB student from a so-bad-that-its-failure-was-on-the-news school over a AAABB student from a much better school? And what happened to Cameron's plans for Universities to 'consider a students background more', or whatever fancy name he coined for it.
Next school year (so in a few days
) I'll start doing five A Levels -perhaps six with an extra GCSE/A Level in Japanese if I manage to get my head around the alien structure of this language, and those freaking Kanji- so I was just wondering if anybody knows if a Uni would consider 5/6 AS and 3 A Levels all at a minimum of a B along with 13/14 GCSE's all at or above a B to be 'good enough' to accept a student who went to one of the worst schools in the UK as opposed to a student with slightly better grades from a much better school?To sum up my disconjointed, sleepy thoughts: would a high-brow Uni take a *pulls random letters from thin air* ABABBB student from a so-bad-that-its-failure-was-on-the-news school over a AAABB student from a much better school? And what happened to Cameron's plans for Universities to 'consider a students background more', or whatever fancy name he coined for it.
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If it was just one grade difference and one more A-level, most likely. Otherwise consider doing fewer A-levels and aiming for the killer AAB that puts you in the right bracket.
Unis do consider your school, and that's all on your reference when the application gets sent off. But there's government regulations on unis taking students with less than AAB, so really go for that.
(Also, Japanese is alien but not that bad. If you already know what kanji is you've done half the GCSE tbh
well, not quite. But the GCSE is designed to be manageable.)
Unis do consider your school, and that's all on your reference when the application gets sent off. But there's government regulations on unis taking students with less than AAB, so really go for that.
(Also, Japanese is alien but not that bad. If you already know what kanji is you've done half the GCSE tbh
well, not quite. But the GCSE is designed to be manageable.)I get so frustrated when people try to use these things as an excuse.
You try your absolute damnedest whatever the circumstances you're faced with, and then once you've got your results you've done your best to achieve, then you go from there. Asking about it now, and already planning in advance to use your school as a cushion to fall back on if you don't achieve satisfactorily, is sheer laziness. Also, if you have "fantastic teachers" but your only problem is the "illiterate morons" you call your classmates (and appear to look down on), then it's not exactly impacting on you.
You try your absolute damnedest whatever the circumstances you're faced with, and then once you've got your results you've done your best to achieve, then you go from there. Asking about it now, and already planning in advance to use your school as a cushion to fall back on if you don't achieve satisfactorily, is sheer laziness. Also, if you have "fantastic teachers" but your only problem is the "illiterate morons" you call your classmates (and appear to look down on), then it's not exactly impacting on you.
Original post by IlexBlue
I get so frustrated when people try to use these things as an excuse.
You try your absolute damnedest whatever the circumstances you're faced with, and then once you've got your results you've done your best to achieve, then you go from there. Asking about it now, and already planning in advance to use your school as a cushion to fall back on if you don't achieve satisfactorily, is sheer laziness. Also, if you have "fantastic teachers" but your only problem is the "illiterate morons" you call your classmates (and appear to look down on), then it's not exactly impacting on you.
You try your absolute damnedest whatever the circumstances you're faced with, and then once you've got your results you've done your best to achieve, then you go from there. Asking about it now, and already planning in advance to use your school as a cushion to fall back on if you don't achieve satisfactorily, is sheer laziness. Also, if you have "fantastic teachers" but your only problem is the "illiterate morons" you call your classmates (and appear to look down on), then it's not exactly impacting on you.
Regardless of whether you choose to accept it,
Eton >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> run down inner city state school
Unless you're freakishly talented, 'trying your best' is never going to be good enough when the playing field isn't equal. Those in the better learning environment always stand a better chance at succeeding than others, this includes getting into the top unis, jobs, better life in general, etc. Its not really an excuse, its a fact of life.
I seem to remember some representative from Oxbridge telling our college that because we weren't a prestigious college, the selection process would take that into consideration and perhaps choose someone with worse grades from our college over someone from private education with better grades, he said it was because we were more likely to have untapped potential, but I get the feeling it was probably more to do with government/media pressure, however the entry requirements would remain the same. (I didn't apply in the end because I knew I wouldn't stand a chance of getting in so I can't guarantee this is the case, I know that a girl who did get to Cambridge got A*AA, so it's likely the requirements were the same.)
While unis may take your position into account when deciding if to give you a conditional offer, I think you'll be extremely lucky to get an easier offer unless you have a learning disability of some kind.
While unis may take your position into account when deciding if to give you a conditional offer, I think you'll be extremely lucky to get an easier offer unless you have a learning disability of some kind.
Original post by Jack93o
Regardless of whether you choose to accept it,
Eton >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> run down inner city state school
Unless you're freakishly talented, 'trying your best' is never going to be good enough when the playing field isn't equal. Those in the better learning environment always stand a better chance at succeeding than others, this includes getting into the top unis, jobs, better life in general, etc. Its not really an excuse, its a fact of life.
Eton >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> run down inner city state school
Unless you're freakishly talented, 'trying your best' is never going to be good enough when the playing field isn't equal. Those in the better learning environment always stand a better chance at succeeding than others, this includes getting into the top unis, jobs, better life in general, etc. Its not really an excuse, its a fact of life.
...and you completely ignored what I said.
OP is already preparing his excuse in case he doesn't get his grades (which makes room for slacking off.) He hasn't even got them yet, or begun trying. If he works hard enough, he could get the necessary grades to go to whatever school he wanted to. Wait until you have the sheet of paper in your hand before you think about things like that.
Original post by IlexBlue
...and you completely ignored what I said.
OP is already preparing his excuse in case he doesn't get his grades (which makes room for slacking off.) He hasn't even got them yet, or begun trying. If he works hard enough, he could get the necessary grades to go to whatever school he wanted to. Wait until you have the sheet of paper in your hand before you think about things like that.
OP is already preparing his excuse in case he doesn't get his grades (which makes room for slacking off.) He hasn't even got them yet, or begun trying. If he works hard enough, he could get the necessary grades to go to whatever school he wanted to. Wait until you have the sheet of paper in your hand before you think about things like that.
While that's true, assuming unis actually did this, then say you expect your grades to be AAB, you may therefore not bother applying for a uni that wants A*AA, however you knew there was a chance that because of your school you could be offered AAA, it may then become more worthwhile to apply, in case you do slightly better than expected.
Original post by RankWinner
I vaguely remember that a while ago Cameron (or Clegg? Probably Cameron since Clegg does nothing...) was talking about making universities take a prospective students background into account a bit more, this would be quite important for me since I go to a school which, in all honesty, is good but also mostly full of illiterate morons who can't do Pythagoras in year 11. Anyway, I decided to stay in my current school with a horrible reputation because of my wonderful teachers and I can't help but wonder how much of a impact, if any, this would have on my chances of getting into a good Uni later on.
Next school year (so in a few days) I'll start doing five A Levels -perhaps six with an extra GCSE/A Level in Japanese if I manage to get my head around the alien structure of this language, and those freaking Kanji- so I was just wondering if anybody knows if a Uni would consider 5/6 AS and 3 A Levels all at a minimum of a B along with 13/14 GCSE's all at or above a B to be 'good enough' to accept a student who went to one of the worst schools in the UK as opposed to a student with slightly better grades from a much better school?
To sum up my disconjointed, sleepy thoughts: would a high-brow Uni take a *pulls random letters from thin air* ABABBB student from a so-bad-that-its-failure-was-on-the-news school over a AAABB student from a much better school? And what happened to Cameron's plans for Universities to 'consider a students background more', or whatever fancy name he coined for it.
Next school year (so in a few days
) I'll start doing five A Levels -perhaps six with an extra GCSE/A Level in Japanese if I manage to get my head around the alien structure of this language, and those freaking Kanji- so I was just wondering if anybody knows if a Uni would consider 5/6 AS and 3 A Levels all at a minimum of a B along with 13/14 GCSE's all at or above a B to be 'good enough' to accept a student who went to one of the worst schools in the UK as opposed to a student with slightly better grades from a much better school?To sum up my disconjointed, sleepy thoughts: would a high-brow Uni take a *pulls random letters from thin air* ABABBB student from a so-bad-that-its-failure-was-on-the-news school over a AAABB student from a much better school? And what happened to Cameron's plans for Universities to 'consider a students background more', or whatever fancy name he coined for it.
If you go to a school which you describe as "good" then why does this matter to you?
Your school is probably about average if you have Year 11s who cannot do Pythagoras. That's pretty much par for the course.
I'm not sure I understand your post at all. You describe your school as "good" then say that it has a "horrible reputation" then make a reference to some school being one of the worst and on the news - I'm not sure if this is your school or not.
I also think you're doing far too many A-Levels purely for the sake of it. That may seem like a good idea now and hey, you might have the talent to pull that off without a hitch, I don't know, but don't overstretch yourself just so you can say to universities "Hey, look at me! I'm doing more than four A-Levels! PICK MEEEEEEEE"
Original post by IlexBlue
I get so frustrated when people try to use these things as an excuse.
You try your absolute damnedest whatever the circumstances you're faced with, and then once you've got your results you've done your best to achieve, then you go from there. Asking about it now, and already planning in advance to use your school as a cushion to fall back on if you don't achieve satisfactorily, is sheer laziness. Also, if you have "fantastic teachers" but your only problem is the "illiterate morons" you call your classmates (and appear to look down on), then it's not exactly impacting on you.
You try your absolute damnedest whatever the circumstances you're faced with, and then once you've got your results you've done your best to achieve, then you go from there. Asking about it now, and already planning in advance to use your school as a cushion to fall back on if you don't achieve satisfactorily, is sheer laziness. Also, if you have "fantastic teachers" but your only problem is the "illiterate morons" you call your classmates (and appear to look down on), then it's not exactly impacting on you.
There are some schools though, where it does matter how hard you try - unless you're a very good student, then your grades and overall education might suffer. I agree that if you're very talented then you'll get the grades, but you'll also get plenty of students with the potential to do well who never realise it because they can't cope with the school environment.
Original post by IlexBlue
...and you completely ignored what I said.
OP is already preparing his excuse in case he doesn't get his grades (which makes room for slacking off.) He hasn't even got them yet, or begun trying. If he works hard enough, he could get the necessary grades to go to whatever school he wanted to. Wait until you have the sheet of paper in your hand before you think about things like that.
OP is already preparing his excuse in case he doesn't get his grades (which makes room for slacking off.) He hasn't even got them yet, or begun trying. If he works hard enough, he could get the necessary grades to go to whatever school he wanted to. Wait until you have the sheet of paper in your hand before you think about things like that.
People who go to Private schools are three times more likely to achieve AAB at their A levels than those from state schools. These pupils also fill 50% of Oxbridge places despite being only 8% of the populaion.
Some are doomed from the start.
I think all universities take school into account to a certain extent. The only ones i know about (Oxford and Cambridge) certainly do.
I think another question raised here though is... why so many AS levels? AAAA is far better than AABBBB, you know. I appreciate that you seem to be taking extra classes out of interest rather than usefulness (e.g. GCSE Japanese), but at the expense of your results and uni chocies? I think cutting back might be a good idea.
I think another question raised here though is... why so many AS levels? AAAA is far better than AABBBB, you know. I appreciate that you seem to be taking extra classes out of interest rather than usefulness (e.g. GCSE Japanese), but at the expense of your results and uni chocies? I think cutting back might be a good idea.
Perhaps this is a quota thing, with the government requiring a certain percentage of students to be from non-private school backgrounds. However, since I went to a private school, that allowed every girl who didn't get into Oxbridge to whine that it was "because of the government," which, I know in some cases, certainly wasn't true.
However, if you have these great teachers, then I'm sure you'll do wonderfully, and the requirements are the same wherever they take the application from. If you get good grades, you stand a good chance, as always.
However, if you have these great teachers, then I'm sure you'll do wonderfully, and the requirements are the same wherever they take the application from. If you get good grades, you stand a good chance, as always.
The universities apply a number of contextual rules when choosing candidates. Under performing schools are automatically flagged up by their identification number on the Ucas form.
Original post by Miracle Day
People who go to Private schools are three times more likely to achieve AAB at their A levels than those from state schools. These pupils also fill 50% of Oxbridge places despite being only 8% of the populaion.
Some are doomed from the start.
Some are doomed from the start.
Unfortunately the counter argument to that is - "Pupils who go to private schools likely have wealthy parents. Wealth is often the result of being intelligent, either by having a good job or running a business. If intelligence is genetic, then private schooled pupils do not get good grades because they go to a good school, but they get good grades because they have clever parents who have passed on their intelligence genetically."
Original post by ilickbatteries
Unfortunately the counter argument to that is - "Pupils who go to private schools likely have wealthy parents. Wealth is often the result of being intelligent, either by having a good job or running a business. If intelligence is genetic, then private schooled pupils do not get good grades because they go to a good school, but they get good grades because they have clever parents who have passed on their intelligence genetically."
>Thinking intelligence is genetic
>2012
ahahahahahaa
Original post by RankWinner
I vaguely remember that a while ago Cameron (or Clegg? Probably Cameron since Clegg does nothing...) was talking about making universities take a prospective students background into account a bit more, this would be quite important for me since I go to a school which, in all honesty, is good but also mostly full of illiterate morons who can't do Pythagoras in year 11. Anyway, I decided to stay in my current school with a horrible reputation because of my wonderful teachers and I can't help but wonder how much of a impact, if any, this would have on my chances of getting into a good Uni later on.
Next school year (so in a few days) I'll start doing five A Levels -perhaps six with an extra GCSE/A Level in Japanese if I manage to get my head around the alien structure of this language, and those freaking Kanji- so I was just wondering if anybody knows if a Uni would consider 5/6 AS and 3 A Levels all at a minimum of a B along with 13/14 GCSE's all at or above a B to be 'good enough' to accept a student who went to one of the worst schools in the UK as opposed to a student with slightly better grades from a much better school?
To sum up my disconjointed, sleepy thoughts: would a high-brow Uni take a *pulls random letters from thin air* ABABBB student from a so-bad-that-its-failure-was-on-the-news school over a AAABB student from a much better school? And what happened to Cameron's plans for Universities to 'consider a students background more', or whatever fancy name he coined for it.
Next school year (so in a few days
) I'll start doing five A Levels -perhaps six with an extra GCSE/A Level in Japanese if I manage to get my head around the alien structure of this language, and those freaking Kanji- so I was just wondering if anybody knows if a Uni would consider 5/6 AS and 3 A Levels all at a minimum of a B along with 13/14 GCSE's all at or above a B to be 'good enough' to accept a student who went to one of the worst schools in the UK as opposed to a student with slightly better grades from a much better school?To sum up my disconjointed, sleepy thoughts: would a high-brow Uni take a *pulls random letters from thin air* ABABBB student from a so-bad-that-its-failure-was-on-the-news school over a AAABB student from a much better school? And what happened to Cameron's plans for Universities to 'consider a students background more', or whatever fancy name he coined for it.
You say your teachers are wonderful - environment makes some difference but not that much. Anyway yes most universities will take this into account somewhat but it depends on other factors as to how much it affects the application.
If you're not planning on getting straight As (or near enough) over 5-6 AS Levels then you need to take less as you could get higher grades.
Original post by Miracle Day
>Thinking intelligence is genetic
>2012
ahahahahahaa
>2012
ahahahahahaa
Firstly, I was quoting a regularly spouted counter argument.
Secondly - There may be (and probably is) a genetic component to intelligence
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/international-team-uncovers-new-231989.aspx
I don't think you could possibly do both GCSE and A Level Japanese in the space of time you have, unless you already have a knowedge of a similar language such as Chinese Mandarin... it's taken me a long time to build up my kanji especially, and I spend a lot of time studying Japanese. For the two courses you'd need to know a minimum of 600 kanji for a good A2 grade, not to mention grammar and vocabulary.
They still do this.
Maybe drop one a level to bring other grades up.
And particulary at Oxbridge, they will look at your school.
BUT if you are looking at Oxbridge, make sure your knowledge of the subject is high even if you are intelligent; the most common reason for poor state school candidates getting rejected is lack of appropriate knowledge from poor teaching. (guardian study)
Maybe drop one a level to bring other grades up.
And particulary at Oxbridge, they will look at your school.
BUT if you are looking at Oxbridge, make sure your knowledge of the subject is high even if you are intelligent; the most common reason for poor state school candidates getting rejected is lack of appropriate knowledge from poor teaching. (guardian study)
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Miracle Day
>Thinking intelligence is genetic
>2012
ahahahahahaa
>2012
ahahahahahaa
You think aptitude has no genetic component whatsoever? Wow.
And that's without taking into account the nurture factor, that intelligent parents would probably raise their children in a more education-oriented environment...
OP, given that it will be another 2 years before you finish your A levels and go to university, if you want to go to a Russell group you'll probably be needing at least one A*. As others have said, it's definitely worth more to do really well in 3 than averagely well in 5 or 6.
Also I think the consideration factor is only taken into account if you're going to get the grades they want anyway. So, for instance, if the entry grades were A*AA and a kid from a bad state school and a kid from a private school were both predicted A*AA then they would give the offer to the state school kid.
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