1 Disappointing Grade - Will it matter?

lemon8

gg

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

cathrg26

16

Original post by lemon8

Hi, so I got my AS level results yesterday and got a pretty solid AAAD
D in history which almost everyone seemed to have done poorly in...
I would like to go to Bath or UEA, will this D hold me back from getting in to those universities?
Another thing is that my as level grades have really improved upon my GCSEs which were 2A* 2A 4B 2C, so will this improvement from gcse to a level help me as well when applying?
thanks

Is the D in the subject you would like to study at university? For some universities, this grade will matter as it's by quite a margin and will be used to differentiate yourself from other applicants. If everyone has done poorly in history, maybe there is something wrong with the marking - ask the department to enquire about it. I would talk to your student advisor/head of year and ask for advice, maybe contact some universities before applying, which I did last year. I would suggest retaking a module in history to see if you can drag it up a bit.

Original post by lemon8

Hi, so I got my AS level results yesterday and got a pretty solid AAAD
D in history which almost everyone seemed to have done poorly in...
I would like to go to Bath or UEA, will this D hold me back from getting in to those universities?
Another thing is that my as level grades have really improved upon my GCSEs which were 2A* 2A 4B 2C, so will this improvement from gcse to a level help me as well when applying?
thanks

Hiya

Which subject are you considering taking at Bath? I wouldn't worry too much about the D there is always the opportunity to retake history, however unless you want to study architecture most courses at Bath only want 3 A levels so your 3 A's would be perfect. It is good to see you have improved in your transition to As levels from GCSE's, this might be picked up in your personal statement but this is up to the admissions department. All I can say is some subjects at Bath require particular grades in Maths and English GCSE's so make sure you have those grades.

I hope this helps,
Sara

Reply 3

SlowlorisIncognito

16

Universities do look at your overall academic profile when you apply, and for very competitive courses, you'll probably be up against people offering AAAa and stronger GCSEs, which could cause you to miss out. Nobody can say if you will get an offer or not, as it depends who applies next year, and what the universities are looking for. Also, do check what GCSE grades the university are looking for. Most will specify grades for English and maths, as well as sometimes other relevant subjects.

However, if your predicted and achieved grades meet what the university is asking for, you should be in with a good chance of getting an offer, especially if you also have a strong PS and reference.

You do have five choices, so it's worth researching other universities. The general advice is to have 1/2 aspirational choices 2 which you're pretty sure you'll get an offer from, and 1/2 back up options.

Good luck.

Reply 4

lemon8

OP

gg

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5

lemon8

OP

gg

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

Blastaphone

I highly doubt it would matter. Maintain the good grades in Maths, Eco and History and drop History for A2. Don't worry about it.

Reply 7

perflous

11

AQA History by any chance? We all got really disappointing History grades as well (straight A* students at GCSE got B's and C's).

Are you dropping History? I'd recommend that you do, unless you want to study it at uni, in which case I'd say resit it. Otherwise, it's not ideal but if you've got strong predictions you should be okay.

Reply 8

Ankabout

14

I had all A's except a C in Physics (I remember almost everyone doing badly in it too). It really didn't matter in the long run as my BSc/MSc degree was in computer science. I got A's in Computing and Maths so that's what mattered the most. :smile:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

cathrg26

16

Original post by lemon8

I spoke to Southampton and Nottingham and they both said the grades were good enough - is there anyone here with a story similar to mine who got into a russell group university?

Enquiring before applying and ask advice from your Economics teacher is good. History is encompassed into quite a few courses especially York so maybe avoid these courses where they have these module compulsory. I got BBCC at AS and still got offers from York and Birmingham. I turned these down for Surrey though. Ended up with AAA at the end and was v. close to A* for 2 of my subjects :smile:

don't worry too much

Reply 10

CallMeJay

12

It will not matter.

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Reply 11

lemon8

OP

baller - i also have another question
i have heard straight econ is quite boring at uni, im not interested in politics either but econ and management looks good - but none of my chosen unis offer it!
is econ that boring? and if so will it really take away from my uni experience that much?

Reply 12

lemon8

OP

bump

Reply 13

Chlomc

18

No it won't. I didn't even have a 4th AS and I got the same grade for my History last year a D. Again EVERYONE who took it did badly apart from like one person. I had to take it on at A2 because I did 3 at AS but managed a B with one resit :smile:

Just make sure you have a strong PS + a good reference. You should be fine.

What exam board where for History btw? I'm curious!

Reply 14

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by lemon8

baller - i also have another question
i have heard straight econ is quite boring at uni, im not interested in politics either but econ and management looks good - but none of my chosen unis offer it!
is econ that boring? and if so will it really take away from my uni experience that much?

It most certainly will take away from your uni experience if you are doing a course you think you will find boring even before you've applied. Time to think outside the box a bit and look at other course, in my view. And choose the courses first, not the universities!

Reply 15

Origami Bullets

19

I got offers from Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Leicester and Loughborough with ABCC at AS and AAB predicted at A2, in 2010 which was rather more competitive than things are nowadays.

You'll be fine.

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Reply 16

samba

6

Original post by Origami Bullets

I got offers from Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Leicester and Loughborough with ABCC at AS and AAB predicted at A2, in 2010 which was rather more competitive than things are nowadays.

I'm not disagreeing, but explain that statement please.

Reply 17

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by samba

I'm not disagreeing, but explain that statement please.

She means that in 2010 there was still a set of limits on how many students a university could take, and the numbers were set by the government, who fined universities about £10,000 per student they took over and above that number. Once the restrictions were lifted on how many ABB+ students a university could take, they could recruit a lot more students, making competition for places much less.

Reply 18

TheLegalDealer

9

So guys basically I got alright grades I'm my AS exams but I need to retake two of my unit one exams (easier ones) to push my grades up .

So the dilemma is I really need to get A's this year in order to get into my preferred uni next year so I need some an advice on how I can achieve this. e.g. study routine , limiting social interactions and just generally anything that can help me stay focused throughout next year so I can achieve my grades . Any suggestions greatly appreciated

Reply 19

fortunaisland

4

Original post by perflous

AQA History by any chance? We all got really disappointing History grades as well (straight A* students at GCSE got B's and C's).

Are you dropping History? I'd recommend that you do, unless you want to study it at uni, in which case I'd say resit it. Otherwise, it's not ideal but if you've got strong predictions you should be okay.

I wouldn't worry about lower grades from AQA History at AS than expected. I went up a grade between AS and A2 without actually resitting anything, as I found the A2 exams easier and there is also the historical inquiry coursework to pull your grade up.

1 Disappointing Grade - Will it matter?

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