AEAs?

Do AEAs have any effect on your uni application?

I mean, most schools don't decide who's doing an AEA until much later or do you ask your teachers to put you in for them?

Do they even strenghten your application?

I mean, if you didn't do well at AS but your teacher has high 'expectations' of you and expects you to do really well then will an AEA help you in any way?

Thank you and Good luck to all applicants

Reply 1

Medicine Man

16

i dunno, i'm just doing in in Bio because it seems like a nice challenge!

Reply 2

inksplodge

17

Apparently, not really.

Reply 3

originalname

It certainly shows you like to challenge yourself.

Reply 4

The_Goose

18

I didn't even know what these were when i sent my ucas. But then my college was a little bit pants.

Reply 5

sleekchic

OP

18

For those of you who have done it did you ask to be put in for it or did your teacher suggest you should do it?

Reply 6

A Stranger in Moscow

12

I just put them down myself on my UCAS, and I'm just going to put them in on my resit form (I think you have to pay for them either way) because I want to do them. You don't need to be approved, do you?

Reply 7

willenium

10

if you're looking at taking an aea solely for the purpose of strengthening an application, then you're not the kind of person the aea is geared towards

Reply 8

Gooner

14

sleekchic

Do AEAs have any effect on your uni application?

I mean, most schools don't decide who's doing an AEA until much later or do you ask your teachers to put you in for them?

Do they even strenghten your application?

I mean, if you didn't do well at AS but your teacher has high 'expectations' of you and expects you to do really well then will an AEA help you in any way?

Thank you and Good luck to all applicants

They'll normally only strengthen your application if you're made an offer on them, and this normally only happens when you apply to Cambridge, and even there it's still pretty rare to get an AEA-inclusive offer.

As for the high expectations from your teacher thing, well in all honesty, your teachers high expectations mean nothing to a university I'm afraid. All universities are interested in is whether you can meet their offer or not :p:

Reply 9

ji38pkn685

I'm doing a psychology AEA and no, you can't "decide for yourself" :p:

People were hand picked in my college for it. Either way, it's still something the majority of people won't be doing.

Reply 10

littleshambles

14

No idea. I wanted to do more AEAs. Why not? Critical Thinking AEA probably isn't worth **** to a uni though...

Reply 11

Chrisateen

14

Not useful unless the uni specifcally ask you to do the AEA e.g in Maths. However if things go pear shape in the summer and you did well in the AEA you can use that as an excuse to let you in with lower grades if you miss your offer

Reply 12

Excalibur

15

My teachers didn't know that AEAs existed, so probably not that many people take them nationally. I think they show you have interest and commitment in your subject rather than as just another A-level, but I don't think it'll strengthen your application hugely.

That doesn't mean it's not worth sitting though - definitely give it a go, I found sitting the AEAs quite fun.

Reply 13

Echolife

15

Warwick require AEA for their maths course, well either that or STEP.

Reply 14

Oxy

14

puddlove

I'm doing a psychology AEA and no, you can't "decide for yourself" :p:

People were hand picked in my college for it. Either way, it's still something the majority of people won't be doing.

Yes u can decide, just ask ur subject tutor to enter u for it. I did im doing Chemistry.

Reply 15

ninety_nine

12

Saying that your doing an AEA won't have any real positive affect on your application since so many people attempt them (and so many fail).

Reply 16

caliban

I asked a UCL English admissions tutor about AEAs, and his exact words were: 'We welcome AEAs, but as only a minority of applicants sit them we can't use them to automatically select one candidate over another.'

Reply 17

Oxy

14

Im not using it to boost my application, I want to do it for the challenge. Plus it shows enthusiasm, regardless if the university's dont use it for admissions

Reply 18

Qlick

willenium

if you're looking at taking an aea solely for the purpose of strengthening an application, then you're not the kind of person the aea is geared towards

Exactly. It's depressing how people see it like that, it makes people who took them seem like ucas-obsessed show-offs. I honestly took them as a challenge (and because I was sincerely flattered that my teachers offered me the chance), and though I regretted that an hour before the exam when I was convinced I should have done tonnes of revision, they were really a good experience.

It's so crap that I find myself annoying when I read that post back, but it really is true...

Reply 19

imomo16

12

I'm taking one for history, for the fun of it and also to kind of prove my B at AS was an unlucky fluke. My teacher didn't even know about them until I asked him, but he said it would be fine for me to do it :smile:

AEAs?

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