Concerned parent!

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

Reply 1

godd

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
Yes, not everyone does science at AS. I know a lot of lawyers who studied History, Maths, Economics etc at A Level

She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
She can do that, but she needs to be careful of too much workload

What are her chances getting into university?
It will be tough, but you can get into university with CCC grades at A Level

Is university education right for her?
It only gets harder. If she is struggling academically maybe consider doing an apprenticeship or going into a school leavers programme? If she got bad marks due to laziness, then she needs to work harder. It's her choice at the end of the day, she will have to sit all future exams.

Reply 2

anonymouspie227

20

Do you know why your daughter did poorly?
Did she revise smartly? As in looking at mark schemes etc?

I would suggest repeating the year. I got low grades in some exams and resat some exams and turned out okay - So can your daughter.

With regards to which subjects I'd suggest her doing the subjects she would do best at/ she feels she'll do great in. And of course the required french.

Just because you've done badly in a couple of exams in AS doesn't mean you can't go to university. It just means you need to look at what you didn't do and fix it.

As someone with friends who failed subjects in AS and resat exams, then went onto russell groups and more than passed first year, i don't think it's the end.

Perhaps sit down and rethink where things went wrong and tell her to study over summer as well.

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

Reply 3

KittyRe-play

3

Well to be completely honest, if your daughter has no other plans and has not been accepted into any university then I would recommend taking a gap year to retake the AS levels she wants to. She should put in a lot of effort in the gap year to push those grades up in order to successfully pursue her studies. However, if you acknowledge that your daughter will not put enough effort into her studies if she were to take a gap year; meaning she will just be lazy and leave it to last minute then I would suggest that she considers altering her course choice. But if she really wants to do that course and is a determined person then a gap year is a perfect opportunity for her to hopefully get a good future by initially working at her dream job once she gets into the course at university. Hope I helped and good luck! :smile:

Reply 4

squeakysquirrel

20

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

Don't worry - she does not need a science subject and maybe having dropped it she will be able to concentrate better on the others.

I see that Aberystwyth is in clearing for lots of languages so really she should be OK for that subject.

From what I hear on the grapevine, Aber has been having a hard time of things lately but is on the way up. ANd any degree in languages is going to do your daughter well for the future. We are in the EU you know!!

Reply 5

dragonkeeper999

17

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

1. You don't need science subjects to study modern languages at university. With her grades, she could easily pull her C in French up to a B - although if she resat one or two of the AS French exams it might be easier since pretty much all of the AS French content is revised again and expanded upon at A2. She will need to work on improving her Biology grade as most universities give offers based upon three A levels - however she could also consider dropping the Biology completely if she doesn't enjoy it at all/ thinks she will do badly - and instead pick up another subject and 'fast track' AS+A2 in a single year. This will be A LOT of work though, so make sure she pick a subject she loves and can do well in if she choses this option. Another language would probably be helpful if she doesn't know which subject to chose.

2. I would suggest she retakes the French (see above) and Biology if she puts the work in and tries to pull that E up. Retaking Biology will probably be more work than the French since the topics are much broader and won't be covered again in her A2 classes - so make sure she is prepared to put A LOT of extra work in. She could perhaps consider the other option I suggested - taking another language and fast tracking it instead of taking Biology A2/ retaking the AS exams.

3. At the moment, her chances at a good university are not fantastic - but if she is willing to look at lower-ranked universities or maybe do a foundation year she should be ok. If she is prepared to work really hard this year and gets better grades (e.g. CCC+) she may be better off taking a gap year and reapplying to university during this - it would also be a great opportunity for her to travel a bit and have some experience of the languages she will be learning, which she could mention on her personal statement.

4. Possibly - only she can really tell. Does she love studying? Does she enjoy languages? Does she enjoy the other parts of the modern languages degree - e.g. French literature? If she is the more sociable type who wants the partying side of university life, it doesn't necessarily mean that university education is not right for her but she may be better of taking a gap year, enjoying herself, visiting her friends at other universities to enjoy the social side of things a bit, then going to university a year later with some life experience in the bag. It's hard to say what is best for her without actually knowing her - so perhaps you need to discus things with her? Remember that you don't HAVE to go to university straight after A levels, or even at all, to do well - and there are many other options available. University just makes it that bit easier to start out further up the career ladder - but only if you do well. Coming out of an ex-poly with a third isn't going to put you in a much better position than getting a job straight out of A levels, but will get you a tonne of debt...

Reply 6

SuperSloth

Is this the course she is interested in
[h="1"]Modern Languages with Business and Management (T9N1)? [/h]Did she do general studies? And if so what grade?

Reply 7

trustmeimlying1

20

Original post by godd

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
Yes, not everyone does science at AS. I know a lot of lawyers who studied History, Maths, Economics etc at A Level

She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
She can do that, but she needs to be careful of too much workload

What are her chances getting into university?
It will be tough, but you can get into university with CCC grades at A Level

Is university education right for her?
It only gets harder. If she is struggling academically maybe consider doing an apprenticeship or going into a school leavers programme? If she got bad marks due to laziness, then she needs to work harder. It's her choice at the end of the day, she will have to sit all future exams.

Does it get harder?

I heard if yeh can get into the course yeh sure can do it!

as a lad who flunked his final year exams and now got onto the deans list(albeit first year) I reckon otherwise...

Reply 8

TheWaffle

16

Original post by strose

Is university education right for her?

Firstly well done on the current results! Certainly Cs are decent grades! Some universities are more than happy to accept them. She is only one grade off the requirement for French at Aberystwyth but French A level does get a lot harder at A2. I think that concerning her grades it very much depends if these grades are the best she could have done. Did she revise from early on with a good routine? Did she seek help with any problems she encountered? If no then maybe she has get to reach her academic potential and could do better by implementing these stategies. Certainly some lower ranking universities will accept much lower grades than the ones she has. Of course then you have to weigh up whether it is worth the money/ time to gain a degree from such places if they really are so low ranked. However I think that modern languages is a particularly employable degree from most places, especially if you can get a first.
People can be late bloomers accademically and some only start to flourish at university. The system is a lot more independant so it's good to consider if she is willing to put in a lot of work without much supervision.
What are the other grade requirements of Aberystwyth? It certainly doesn't seem impossible to gain a B at A2 with a C at AS (though maybe a retake would be needed). I'd say it is a good idea to try reading around the subject to have something original to say. Also, if there is a culture module (e.g studying a particular book or film) it is a good idea to start working on this as soon as possible.
I myself did French A Level and study it at university so if you have any more questions about either feel free to send me a personal message on here :smile:

Reply 9

rakin295

5

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

I'm gonna be brutally honest here. Her grades aren't great. I think it is wise for her to repeat her AS without the science subjects. She should retake French, English Lit & pick up another AS. Encourage her to do this (in my opinion). If you truely believe that she will improve in biology let her retake it, if you dont believe that she'll improve - tell her otherwise. If she retakes the year and gets better grades she will obviously have a better chance at uni. University education is right for her if she believes its right for her. Ask her to be honest when she answers these questions, Why do you want to go to uni?, What do you hope to achieve in and after uni?

Reply 10

cathrg26

16

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

1) what are the exact requirements and what subjects do they prefer? Having another subject not related to modern languages isn't looked down on

2) how many exams will she have in total? I took 5 re-sits along with 7A2s and was extremely overworked, even though for Economics and Maths though AS knowledge was needed for A2. My standard slipped at the end as well and my last exam wasn't great. I missed out on my A*.

3) An E is not good and her chances aren't great. However many people mess up in their first year, partly because of various external circumstances, myself included. I was able to apply to university along with my year as my grades weren't too bad and managed to get offers from all my choices including RG unis for a competitive course as well. I would recommend she either retook along with A2s (providing she can cope and is aware of the huge amount of work involved) or redo the year. If she retook, she won't be able to go to the best ( something which I wasn't able to do) but be aware morale may fall if she had to redo the year. I don't think I would be able to handles gap year either in case I got lazy.

However success is possible. I got BBCC at AS, dropped the subject I got a B in and then achieved AAA at A2, 2 subjects being close to A*.

Reply 11

nulli tertius

21

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

I think your daughter is heading for a car crash here.

This wasn't an unexpected poor result. The normal year 12 workload is 4 ASs. That workload was clearly beginning to tell by March since she dropped to three subjects.

You are now expecting her to do what amounts to four or five subjects (and realistically it has to be five because the biology is otherwise going to be a clog on her prospects) in year 13 (treating the resits as another subject).

My view is that she should resit year 12 and her AS levels. She should drop biology down the nearest hole. She should look for one or two AS levels that play to her strengths and that are perhaps considered easy subjects in which to get decent grades.

By the end of next year she should then have three or preferably four decent AS level grades to carry forward, three of which she can carry forward to A level in 3rd year VIth.

(edited 9 years ago)

Original post by strose

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

As an employer, working in education management (and Universities) I am going to sound a much more flat note than many of the above posters (mostly, the same age and experience levels as your daughter I suspect).

A University education is probably not right for her, unless she had significant mitigating circumstances. Her grades probably don't put her in the top end of A level takers -maybe floating around the middle of the cohort. Is that going to get her into a degree course that is worth getting into £30+k of debt for? I'm afraid the answer is almost certainly No. That shouldn't be the b all and end all of the decision, but it should be a significant, influencing factor.

I fear that what people are not considering now is their position in 10-15 years time. By all accounts, nearly all graduates are still going to be paying off their student debts by then and will they be in roles where degrees like French and Business are adding value to their professions to the tune of 9% of pay over £20k? I suspect not by a long chalk.

And I'm not dissing Aber, I went there many years ago, its a lovely place and a Uni that has lower entry grades simply to encourage people to go out to the middle of nowhere (where there's a great community). But I'd never take 3 years of A levels to go and do a joint degree anywhere, especially one with Business.

£30k plus of debt for 20 odd years is a hell of a lot of money to invest in 3 years of partying, growing up, making new friends etc. Thing of it this way - you could go on mega £3k holidays for 10 years and get the experiences that will get you for the same amount, while building a career, if you are prepared to spend that much money on the fun-factor.

Start a career instead.

Reply 13

username1347185

13

Honestly a C won't be too difficult to bring up to a B grade. I suggest looking at what exam(s) she did the least well in and retaking those ones and then next year make sure that she is using the right study techniques. Quality over quantity is more important when it comes to studying, you could be studying for hours but if you're not doing it right it will be completely useless.

She will be able to get into uni if she is able to look at where she went wrong and put into place steps to improve, I'm sure with the right work and determination she is more than capable of going to uni. C grades are good grades and definitely a solid foundation for building upon to boost them up to B grades.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 14

Sexyfartgoblin101

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.[/QUOT

Right. The best course of action really depends on the following:

- Could she have prepared better for her AS's i.e. not just worked harder, but worked smarter and more efficiently, doing all the past papers etc. that kind o stuff?

- Are the C grades high ones? And were the disappointing marks the result of similar performances in every exam or are there just one or two 'shockers' that dragged her down?

- How did she perform at GCSE and do the AS's correlate? Plenty of people struggle with the step up to AS, but adjust to it by A2 and come out fine.

Basically though, it's up to you and her. If you're confident she can make the grades for Abewystwth without retaking the entire year, then go for it, but if you have any doubts it may be best just to retake. Universities are a lot more forgiving to applicants resitting their AS's than their A2's.

P.S. Don't worry! I was actually in a similar position myself last year (I got ABC but was predicted very high A's). I have just finished my A2's (without retaking the year, just two freak modules) and got A*A*A*. If you want anymore advice I'd be happy to help, just either hit me up on this thread or PM me. I also have a close friend who got EUUU in his AS's and another who got UDED last year. Both reset, worked their butts off and have now got AAAB and ABBC respectively, so obviously light years ahead of where they were the previous year. Good luck to you guys and best wishes :smile:

xx

Reply 15

strose

OP

Original post by SuperSloth

Is this the course she is interested in
Modern Languages with Business and Management (T9N1)?

Did she do general studies? And if so what grade?

1- French & Spnaish Degree- UCAS RR14

She is interested in this course.

2- No, she didn't do general studies

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 16

SuperSloth

Original post by strose

1- French & Spnaish Degree- UCAS RR14

She is interested in this course.

2- No, she didn't do general studies

RR14 and T9N1 have the same entry requirements - 280 ucas points with a B in a MFL. It would also appear that they will take 2 A2s with the rest of the points coming from AS grades.

So my thoughts are:

1. Take French onto A2 and resit AS alongside as it will be easier to bring the grade up on the AS modules. She maybe able to get away with just resitting the lower module. A B in French will give her 100 UCAS points.
2. Replace Biology with Spanish AS and aim for a B grade. This will add more weight to her uni application and an AS will be easier than A2. This would give her 20 UCAS points from her Biology AS and another 50 from Spanish.
3. The second A2 is more difficult and the choices will depend on what her college offers too. She could take English onto A2 but she would still need 110 UCAS points which means either aiming for an A or alternatively an A in French A2 or Spanish AS to meet the 280 point entry requirement. This option would be very hard work as she would be resitting AS modules for English AS too but could work out even if she fell short. This course was in clearing this year.
4. An easier option could be to drop English and take a BTEC Subsidiary Diploma in Business which is 100% coursework and counts as a full A2 in is done in one year. Provided she keeps on top of the coursework will be completed and out of the way before she needs to revise for her French and Spanish Exams. This would leave her with 40 points from her English AS and another 70 Ucas points to find from the BTEC. A merit grade would do it.

Reply 17

strose

OP

Btbbt, Kudos to you and your lucky friends on receiving superb A2 grades and
best of luck to all of you in your future endeavours!

She went through past papers and worked hard.
What else can she do to enhance her abilities? Elaborate please.
Both of her C grades are showing 105 points. I am dubious if they are high Cs.

GCSE grades were 4 As / 5 Bs and 2 Cs

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 18

hestermae

1

1. you won't need a science subject to study mfl, but some unis are funny with how long you take to get your a levels, I have no idea what Aberystwyth's policy on it is
2. for french, imo AS is harder than A2 in terms of workload and my french teacher says that almost everyone goes up a grade in A2 (eg my friend got a C at AS, retook a module and got a B overall in A2, she's now going to uni to study french :smile:

). also with biology, if she works hard it's possible, my friend went from an E at AS to a B overall with resits.
3. with resits and predicted grades (and a solid personal statement) it;s possible, if she wants to apply she should, although it all depends on how willing she's willing to do the work to bring up her grades
4. I imagine its the biology grade that's bothering you, but she's doing well in french (which is a hard subject, and the jump from GCSE to A level was the biggest of all my subjects imo) and that's what matters for what she wants to study at uni I think, it all depe

Reply 19

German123

21

Original post by strose

My daughter dropped her Chemistry in March and just few days ago she received her AS result.

French= C
English Literature = C
Biology= E

She wants to study Modern Languages in Aberystwyth University and their requirement is Grade B in French.

Is it wise to repeat AS without science subjects?
She wants to retake French and Biology with A2?
What are her chances getting into university?
Is university education right for her?

Considering her grades, I want an honest opening please.

your daughter is worth a lot more than the grades she got on a piece of paper so please dont let those grades decide her fate. Also there are other options for example Btecs so its not completely the end of the world if she does not get the grades. She did the best that she could and if she has not i guess she must have learnt her lesson that its though out there so she needs to be prepared...Remember a persons life does not go in a straight line so dont stress of over her exam results as a parent...as it is not all about going to Cambridge or oxford-she does not have to go there to make something good out of her life so she should do what suits her.

Always Remember "Winners are to busy to be sad, to positive to be doubtful, to optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated."

Edit: It is not all about a piece of paper with your name on it.

(edited 9 years ago)

Concerned parent!

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