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Low AS Grade in chemistry

At our school our AS grades are the predicted grades and I feel like I did really badly in chemistry, actually I know I didnt do as well as I hoped and I think I got a C or maybe even a D. How bad does this look?
I'm still going for pharmacy because it is what I actually want to do and I don't think it was that I'm bad at chemistry because I'm not but I do think I was ill-prepared so I'm guessing I'm retaking modules 2 and 3b in jan when I know I can get certain A's. I mean I think I may have got 3 other A's hopefully including maths and bio but with pharmacy being centred a lot on chemistry what do you guys think about my situation? I mean I was planning on applying to LSOP and Kings so should I probs not bother with these and go for other universities instead or what?

I just hope you guys can help me look at this realistically and give me some advice :frown:

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Reply 1
how u know u can get certain A's bitchass
Reply 2
Because I've already started re-revising :frown:
Reply 3
You can decline your AS grade so that it comes up on your UCAS form as pending.

Just make sure your teachers predict you a good set of grades that match any of the university grade requirements for the ones you want to apply to. For LSOP and Kings as long as you're predicted a B they're likely to be happy with that.
Just get a prediction of a B and they will give you an offer.
I got a C in AS but have been accepted by manc and bath, both of which are pretty good courses. Now i just have to get the B they asked for :s-smilie:
You're going to need it to carry onto A2, so they won't see your grades on the UCAS form, it will just say "pending". The prediction you get is more important. Have a focussed, dedicated work ethic until the teachers predict you a B and you'll be fine

You don't have to put down your individual module grades. It's good if you have all A's and show that you didn't get full marks in one and a low grade in another.

Also, i was in your situation this time last year. I got a C in chemistry and wanted to take on 1, 2 and 3 in January. My teachers told me to resit 3 in January because of the organic chemistry also involved in module 4, makes sense, and do 1 and 2 in June for the synoptic. This resit plan has really helped. Module 1 and 2 seemed really easy to take in after the A Level stuff and it really helped me a lot. However, it's up to you what you wanna do

Last point, make sure your personal statement is well written
Reply 6
Wait until results day. Decide then.
strictnlong
how u know u can get certain A's bitchass

Aww don't be mean! I know its very difficult to predict whether you got certain A's, but if you're fairly confident then that will boost your optimism!

Don't worry, its not the end of the world if you get a C in chemistry. A friend of mine got offers at Bath, Manchester and Keale with a C in chem...so its not impossible :smile: I'm not sure about LSOP and King's. Have you checked their requirements at AS? If you're still unsure just ring up the admissions office, i'm sure they wouldn't mind helping with any of your queries.

Go for it! And stay optimistic! :smile:
Reply 8
Thanks guys, I'm feeling better about this now especially thanks to Irrelevance but I don't know what a synoptic is..? I'm with edexcel not nuffield or anything so not sure if it applies to that?
Stanley90
Thanks guys, I'm feeling better about this now especially thanks to Irrelevance but I don't know what a synoptic is..? I'm with edexcel not nuffield or anything so not sure if it applies to that?


Synoptic is a combination of questions across different modules.

I do AQA Chemistry, module 5 and 6 are both "synoptic", so the questions could be composed from anything between modules 1-4, for example, a question could start off asking about moles and then ask you a question about metal extraction. The question after that could be module 5 material etc.

And thanks for the mention but other people did their bit too (except strictnlong). Come back after your results and when you're getting ready to write your personal statement. There will be quite a few people with the same problem, so don't feel worried

Good luck with it all
Reply 10
I'm in the same situation. In January i got an E in module 1 which has made my overall prediction go down from an A to B/C
I'm quite good at chemistry, and I think I have done WAAY better than an E this time.

I was ill in January though, probably why I got an E... :frown:
I am in the same position.
I probably will get a C in Chemistry.
And this year we can't decline grades although I hear we can put them as pending.

The thing is I have really lost my will. lol
tomen123
I am in the same position.
I probably will get a C in Chemistry.
And this year we can't decline grades although I hear we can put them as pending.

The thing is I have really lost my will. lol


It felt worse when i actually recieved my grades. However, to be honest, i got a D previously and they told me since i got CC at double science GCSE, it would be impossible for me to get an equivalent grade at A Level.

Good one, guys.

It's harder in your AS year because you realise you have another year left. When i got to A2 and for the past couple of weeks, i've adopted an epic "Do or Die" attitude where i've studied for hours on end. I'm usually lazy as hell and i've done 5 hours today in preparation for tomorrow. And i did 2 1/4 hours of bio exams today.

It's all will power. I guess uni offers were the biggest incentive, i doubt i'll meet it, but Bath giving me an offer was just amazing. Apologies for anybody reading this who got rejected by them! I was basically against all odds and my teachers didn't have much faith in me as a whole

You can do it guys
Reply 13
Congrats on the offer man and I'm sure you'll make it :smile:

P.S: Same here tomen123 but everything about pharmacy just seems too good to lose the will. It's basically my favourite part of biology which is molecules and how they move/diffuse and practicals in chemistry are what I enjoy too. I guess the organic chem is probably the biggest down side but that isn't even that bad.
Reply 14
I was accepted with a C in Chemistry, and a few people I know were as well. I Just made sure they wrote how much I LOVED chemistry on my reference and how I was very "talented" at practicals. You can still do pharmacy, just maybe need to look at different universities.
Don't give up hope :smile:
I know this girl who got a D in her first chemistry module and was thinking of dropping the subject but she decided to stick it out, resat it and ended up getting A in As Chemistry.
fizzerz
I was accepted with a C in Chemistry, and a few people I know were as well. I Just made sure they wrote how much I LOVED chemistry on my reference and how I was very "talented" at practicals. You can still do pharmacy, just maybe need to look at different universities.
Don't give up hope :smile:

Which university
Reply 17
tomen123
Which university


Brighton. And it is really good here, I'm really enjoying it!
Reply 18
whats the problem with taking a gap year and applying with actual grades... assuming you get the definate A's that you speak of
I managed to get a C at AS up to a A at A-level. Its possible, and I still got offers from all my unis. The other grades weren't too good either but I got there in the end and did better in the end than most people who got better than me at AS. So the hard work really pays off. Resit some of your papers that you did bad on. Who knows you may have even done better than you expected.

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