should i apply? (extenuating circumstance)

Hi guys, in year 12 i simply picked the wrong subjects. I took up maths, chemistry, geography and economics. I achieved an A in geography, an A in economics but a U in maths and a D in chemistry. I really didnt want to stay in school for another 2 years by taking another subject. So i decided to speak to my head of year. He advised me to drop both maths and chemistry and to take up a subject of my choice (and do it all in 1 year). I agreed to this and took up government and politics and went to AS classes in school but taught myself the A2 side at home (because the classes clashed). So now im in year 13 and have fully completed my A levels and waiting for my results. However on top of the difficulty of doing a whole subject in a year my parents also split up recently and this really bought me down. I was rather depressed and i believe this might have an effect on my final results. I will most likely achieve BBB/ABB. I want to apply to LSE, Durham and St.Andrews for International Relations, however this course requires AAA. My aim is to resit one module for each subject to get me my 3 A's. I have a feeling that my 3B's will be rather high so it wouldnt be too difficult to boost them up. So my question is will these top universities even consider me? keeping in mind that i had family issues and plus i taught myself the entire A2 course for government and politics. With a strong personal statement could they give me an offer of AAA? I know that you cant really say yes or no but what are the chances? . PS i forgot to say that i will be taking a gap year this year so il be applying during it. I couldnt apply last year as i only had 2 predicted grades as i dropped maths and chemistry. sorry for the long winded message, its just that my mind is set on these unis. if i dont get an offer i might not even go to university at all. thanks a lot!

Reply 1

Groundearth

9

Parents getting a divorce will not cut it for LSE; not a chance. You should have worked harder; you're just looking for an excuse when your grades are not good enough. Do you really think you're the only one to have their parents divorce during their A-levels? It's not like it really affects you that much anyway; yes it's stressful and upsetting, but you weren't sick, hurt, disabled, kidnapped, tortured, abused, etc and it's not a valid reason as to why you got a D and and U.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

daalchaval

OP

7

Original post by Groundearth

Parents getting a divorce will not cut it for LSE; not a chance. You should have worked harder; you're just looking for an excuse when your grades are not good enough. Do you really think you're the only one to have their parents divorce during their A-levels? It's not like it really affects you that much anyway; yes it's stressful and upsetting, but you weren't sick, hurt, disabled, kidnapped, tortured, abused, etc and it's not a valid reason as to why you got a D and and U.

i got a D and a U because i made a mistake, i simply chose the wrong subjects (and that was in yr12 when my parents were still together so theres no excuse for that). I hold my hands up for that. And who are you to make such an assumption about my situation? Personally i felt very depressed and exhausted from the family issues. So for me, yes i could compare it to being tortured or kidnapped.

Reply 3

Groundearth

9

Original post by daalchaval

i got a D and a U because i made a mistake, i simply chose the wrong subjects (and that was in yr12 when my parents were still together so theres no excuse for that). I hold my hands up for that. And who are you to make such an assumption about my situation? Personally i felt very depressed and exhausted from the family issues. So for me, yes i could compare it to being tortured or kidnapped.

Unless you have a doctor's letter for this depression, it's not valid. I'm pretty sure you can't compare being tortured or kidnapped to whatever you went through; it disgusts me that you'd think that. Who am I? A realist who isn't stupid enough to think I can tell LSE that I got a bit sad because my parents split up, and I'm sorry I chose the wrong subjects, please let me in. They won't care; they have thousands of applicants who chose the right subjects, who have top grades in those subjects and lot of them will come from a lot worse circumstances than you.

Reply 4

daalchaval

OP

7

Original post by Groundearth

Unless you have a doctor's letter for this depression, it's not valid. I'm pretty sure you can't compare being tortured or kidnapped to whatever you went through; it disgusts me that you'd think that. Who am I? A realist who isn't stupid enough to think I can tell LSE that I got a bit sad because my parents split up, and I'm sorry I chose the wrong subjects, please let me in. They won't care; they have thousands of applicants who chose the right subjects, who have top grades in those subjects and lot of them will come from a lot worse circumstances than you.

alright ok, put all that to one side. Iv had a response from a range of people who in fact achieved ABB/BBB and got offers from LSE of 3 A's (for IR). And these people didnt have any extenuating circumstances. They had great references, great personal statements and in fact resat modules to get 3 A's.

should i apply? (extenuating circumstance)

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