The Student Room Group

can one grade ruin my chances of uni?

so i want to go to a uni and study maths. im probs gonna get an A in maths, B/A in further maths (predicting, havent even begun it yet but im willing to spend a lot of work) B/A in physics and B in biology. however i'd be lucky to get a C/D in chemistry and i fear that will be a severe bottleneck in my chances of uni. when i was doing GCSE i was doing pretty badly at music and my mum told me on several occasions that uni's can sometimes look down on bad grades, even if they're not for the required subjects. is this true? or was my mum just trying to prevent me from being lazy in the subject, which is ridiculous as i've NEVER been lazy in any of my work.... and i still got a D in music, but that's besides the point. so was my mum right?
Original post by Toasticide
so i want to go to a uni and study maths. im probs gonna get an A in maths, B/A in further maths (predicting, havent even begun it yet but im willing to spend a lot of work) B/A in physics and B in biology. however i'd be lucky to get a C/D in chemistry and i fear that will be a severe bottleneck in my chances of uni. when i was doing GCSE i was doing pretty badly at music and my mum told me on several occasions that uni's can sometimes look down on bad grades, even if they're not for the required subjects. is this true? or was my mum just trying to prevent me from being lazy in the subject, which is ridiculous as i've NEVER been lazy in any of my work.... and i still got a D in music, but that's besides the point. so was my mum right?


Depends where you are applying and what grades your A levels are.
Unlikely imo that will have any effect but if it comes to a tiebreak then they can use any small difference.
Why are taking all these subjects. Most universities only need 3. You should concentrate on your best 3 ensuring Maths and Further Maths are 2 of them as this will give you your best chance of getting in
Unlikely
Reply 4
Original post by Toasticide
so was my mum right?


It's absolutely crazy to be doing 5 A-Levels (or 6 with Music?). Especially if you aren't going to get top grades in all of them. Focus on 3. Drop the others. Get AAA or better.

Quality not quantity.

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(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 5
Ok thanks everyone, uhh i may have forgotten to mention a couple of things, firstly i took music GCSE and also im in the first year still, and i havent actually started further maths yet as i can only do AS in 2nd year. Im definitely dropping chemistry for the 2nd year as its inevitable im going to do badly (wont begin to explain why) that way the worst prediction i can currently make is ABB(B/D, further maths is an AS for my school, ill probs get a B but the ums is halved)
Original post by Toasticide
Ok thanks everyone, uhh i may have forgotten to mention a couple of things, firstly i took music GCSE and also im in the first year still, and i havent actually started further maths yet as i can only do AS in 2nd year. Im definitely dropping chemistry for the 2nd year as its inevitable im going to do badly (wont begin to explain why) that way the worst prediction i can currently make is ABB(B/D, further maths is an AS for my school, ill probs get a B but the ums is halved)

it is critical for you to achieve the highest possible grades in 3 A levels and nothing should get in the way. The grades required for Maths are very high. Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Durham, Warwick, Bath, Exeter and Bristol are among a group of universities requiring at least A*AA and many universities require AAA or AAB. If you do not reach these grades your choice of university will be severely restricted. Whilst further Maths is required by some leading universities it is not generally required at lower graded universities and AS Maths will be of limited help. Concentrate on your 3 best A levels to allow a greater choice of universities.
Reply 7
Original post by swanseajack1
it is critical for you to achieve the highest possible grades in 3 A levels and nothing should get in the way. The grades required for Maths are very high. Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Durham, Warwick, Bath, Exeter and Bristol are among a group of universities requiring at least A*AA and many universities require AAA or AAB. If you do not reach these grades your choice of university will be severely restricted. Whilst further Maths is required by some leading universities it is not generally required at lower graded universities and AS Maths will be of limited help. Concentrate on your 3 best A levels to allow a greater choice of universities.


to be honest, despite what my mum keeps telling me, an A in maths is perfectly achievable but all my other a levels so far are either being ruined by unfortuante events (chemistry, im almost certain im gonna drop it in the second year anyway) or have an extremely low chance of getting an A so for me ABB is probs the result ill get. I want to go for a lower down uni, but not too low and meh they may not ask for further maths but heck do i enjoy maths :smile: plus i suppose if i have to go for an interview for uni, studying further maths AS will make me look better than applicants who didnt. i don't mean that in a bragging arrogant way :s-smilie:. It's a shame really, i feel that i can almost get into the top tier uni's (not oxbridge though, thats WAY too high) but 1. i'll just be a tad off so i can't enter and 2. even if i do enter, the stuff i'll be doing will be way too stressful and difficult compared to a slightly lower down uni where the work won't be easy, but a bit more... do-able
Original post by Toasticide
to be honest, despite what my mum keeps telling me, an A in maths is perfectly achievable but all my other a levels so far are either being ruined by unfortuante events (chemistry, im almost certain im gonna drop it in the second year anyway) or have an extremely low chance of getting an A so for me ABB is probs the result ill get. I want to go for a lower down uni, but not too low and meh they may not ask for further maths but heck do i enjoy maths :smile: plus i suppose if i have to go for an interview for uni, studying further maths AS will make me look better than applicants who didnt. i don't mean that in a bragging arrogant way :s-smilie:. It's a shame really, i feel that i can almost get into the top tier uni's (not oxbridge though, thats WAY too high) but 1. i'll just be a tad off so i can't enter and 2. even if i do enter, the stuff i'll be doing will be way too stressful and difficult compared to a slightly lower down uni where the work won't be easy, but a bit more... do-able

Can I ask you check Ucas because there will not be many top universities accepting you on ABB. Alternatively try what uni. You really need to maximise your grades and anything that gets in the way of that is not going to help you.
Original post by Toasticide
so i want to go to a uni and study maths. im probs gonna get an A in maths, B/A in further maths (predicting, havent even begun it yet but im willing to spend a lot of work) B/A in physics and B in biology. however i'd be lucky to get a C/D in chemistry and i fear that will be a severe bottleneck in my chances of uni. when i was doing GCSE i was doing pretty badly at music and my mum told me on several occasions that uni's can sometimes look down on bad grades, even if they're not for the required subjects. is this true? or was my mum just trying to prevent me from being lazy in the subject, which is ridiculous as i've NEVER been lazy in any of my work.... and i still got a D in music, but that's besides the point. so was my mum right?


you only need 3 A2's to get into uni just drop the ones you won't do well in after your AS levels.
Original post by Toasticide
so i want to go to a uni and study maths. im probs gonna get an A in maths, B/A in further maths (predicting, havent even begun it yet but im willing to spend a lot of work) B/A in physics and B in biology. however i'd be lucky to get a C/D in chemistry and i fear that will be a severe bottleneck in my chances of uni. when i was doing GCSE i was doing pretty badly at music and my mum told me on several occasions that uni's can sometimes look down on bad grades, even if they're not for the required subjects. is this true? or was my mum just trying to prevent me from being lazy in the subject, which is ridiculous as i've NEVER been lazy in any of my work.... and i still got a D in music, but that's besides the point. so was my mum right?


Look at the universities you might want to go to, especially look at the course structures and modules and look at the entry requirements.
ABB (Maths, Bio & Physics) with an AS in FM will get you into a lot of good universities, but it won't get you into the top unis either.
That may or may not be a bad thing, depending on how you view it, be realistic but also strive to do your best. I doubt Chemistry or music result will be an issue, but likewise I would probably not bother doing an EPQ or General Studies unless you have to either

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