How hard was it to get into imperial?

A*A*A*A*BB

I did maths further maths physics chemistry biology and film studies.

Wow well done that's amazing!!! Can I ask what are you doing at imperial and how did you cope with the workload of 6 A levels?


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My A Levels were: Biology (A), Maths (A), Psychology (B - by two marks, I'm not still mad about that ). I also did AS Chemistry (A) and Religious Studies (A) and 13 GCSEs (A*-A).

My offer was AAA so I missed it, but still got accepted (forever grateful!) . I know quite a lot of people who missed their offer by one grade as well and still got it, although that's less likely for the really competitive subjects at Imperial. However, my school was awful (as in just failed its inspection awful) so I think I got some special consideration. I can't imagine they would have been that nice to me if I went to a grammar/private school!

I saw your other post and they only usually ask for three A Levels so if you think doing four would mean you'd get worse results then don't do it! Make sure they're all in relevant subjects though. Most of the people I've met at Imperial only have three full A Levels so don't worry about it!

Wow, that's so good! How did you manage doing that many A Levels? For the people you've met who did 3 A levels, could you give me some examples of what their subjects were and what they got, if you can remember. Thanks

I was only doing four each year (Chemistry AS in Year 12, Religious Studies AS in Year 13). I was in a weird situation where I had to do Psychology in a partner school because it wasn't offered in mine, but in Year 13 the timetables changed and Psychology clashed with Maths (even though I had told them multiple times I wanted to take it in Year 13 and was told it wasn't a problem ) so I had to take it as a night class at a local college. However, my school wouldn't let me do only two A Levels (the college night class didn't count apparently) so I had to pick up another AS. Sorry for the rant, it still makes me mad . But anyway it meant Year 13 was pretty much the same as Year 12 for me so it wasn't too bad. It helped that Religious Studies was incredibly easy for me so I didn't have to put much work into it at all, unlike Chemistry that I struggled with, so it felt to me like I was only doing three A Levels. If you wanted to know about revision I did then just ask

Most of the people on my course (Biology if I didn't mention!) were doing Maths and Chemistry along with Biology and they got AAA (the typical offer for Biology in my year was AAA), but I know a fair few people who got AAB (as long as the B wasn't in Biology). Biochemistry is similar as well, but they tended to be fussier with grades so fewer people got in if they missed their offer. I know someone doing Computing who did three A Levels as well (Maths, Further Maths and Physics) and got A*A*A. What subject were you thinking of applying for? I could ask some people I know if they know how they feel about three A Levels if you want?

At my sixth form, they're making us do all the exams at the end of year 13, which is annoying :/ I start sixth form in September and am planning to do 4 subjects (not sure yet, but if I am then it will be Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics). If you could tell me how you revised, that would be great

I'm planning to apply for the Chemical Engineering course, do you know if they would be more strict about the grades in this course? If you know anyone that takes it, could you ask them what grades they got/subjects they did? Thank you so much for helping me out

That's so annoying, sorry you have to do them all at the end of Year 13! Your subject choice seems perfectly fine to me because they're all 'hard' A Levels. If you're good at Maths and are sure you want to do Chemical Engineering I'd consider taking Further Maths (if it's offered) instead of Biology because it's more relevant to the course, but take what you think you could get the best grades in. Unfortunately Chemical Engineering is one of the really popular courses so they're likely to be stricter (but like I said earlier if your Sixth Form isn't great they may make considerations, or at least interview you even if you don't meet what they 'normally' expect). I don't know anyone doing Chemical Engineering, but I'll ask around and get back to you!

I revised differently for each subject so I'll list what I did below for you
Maths: I tried to break down all the things we had to learn into a step-by-step process, so I knew that for a questions on 'X' I had to do 'A' then 'B' then 'C' and I just had to put the numbers in. I tried to understand exactly what was happening at each step as well. I also refused to give up on a question until I understood how to do it (if I really couldn't work it out I'd look at a mark scheme for the answer, but still not move on until I understood why the mark scheme was right).
Biology: I'll be honest, I found Biology really easy so my revision mainly consisted of learning mark schemes so I knew my answer would be what they were after. Biology has a lot of content and it's mainly just about memorising it at A Level so if your memory is good you won't have a problem! Try to make sure you understand why something works because it makes it so much easier to learn. Also don't forget about the coursework (or controlled assessment, whatever they're doing now!). I should have had an A* in Biology from my exams, but I screwed up the last coursework
Chemistry: I had a huge problem with Chemistry unless it was related to Biology or Physics. I just tried to learn it and didn't worry too much about understanding it. I'd just learn that if the question is about 'X' then I have to answer 'Y'. I didn't understand what 'Y' really meant, but I knew it's what they wanted! In the end I did understand what most of it meant though
Psychology and Religious Studies: As you're not taking these I won't go into too much detail. I really hated Psychology. I didn't find it hard, but it was so boring so revising it was a struggle! I just learnt some studies and the concepts. With RS there were only about six questions they could ask for each exam so I just learnt the answers to those, my only issue was with timing.

I never used revision timetables and, apart from homework and coursework, I didn't revise until Easter (or Christmas because we still had the January exams!). When I started revision though I was pretty much doing it all day and I had the evening off. At the start I'd focus on the subjects I didn't understand, but I'd always have a day a week to look over things I thought I understood to be sure I knew them (or any days I just didn't feel like revising). After I felt I knew most of my subjects I'd just randomly chose one to revise that day.

Hope this helps you!

I may do that (take further maths instead of biology) but I'll see how I did in my GCSEs first. (I did further maths GCSE). Thanks for the information about your revision, I don't use revision timetables either haha. If you could find some people who did Chemical Engineering, that would be great! I just would like to know as much as possible about what it's like to study that course there, to help me decide on my future. Thank you again

At my sixth form, they're making us do all the exams at the end of year 13, which is annoying :/ I start sixth form in September and am planning to do 4 subjects (not sure yet, but if I am then it will be Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics). If you could tell me how you revised, that would be great

I'm planning to apply for the Chemical Engineering course, do you know if they would be more strict about the grades in this course? If you know anyone that takes it, could you ask them what grades they got/subjects they did? Thank you so much for helping me out

Good luck on your GCSE results! Hope you get what you want in them
One of my friends knows someone doing Chemical Engineering and they've asked them for you, hopefully they'll reply soon!

A*A*A*A*BB

I did maths further maths physics chemistry biology and film studies.

Hi, if you don't mind me asking how exactly did you revise for the exams to get those grades? What are you revision plans like? Do you study 24/7, be honest since it is anonymous on student room. Thanks

Hi, if you don't mind me asking how exactly did you revise for the exams to get those grades? What are you revision plans like? Do you study 24/7, be honest since it is anonymous on student room. Thanks

Hey there ; if you scroll up then you're realise I was joking about getting these grades as I'm currently waiting on my A2 results but I know of people who have achieved 4 A*s At A-level and they've done so through working a LOT like this one guy did every question out of the maths textbooks twice ... Or would do past papers over and over till they got full marks but in general most people get such high grades through having a natural ability for the subject as many people could revise 24/7 but not get A*'s !

'twas just banter my friend