Am I able to apply for a good uni? Will I be able to raise my grades?

Hi everyone, I'm currently worried that I'm not doing as well as I want to on my a-levels, predicted a B in EPQ, A in Film, C in Business Studies and C in German. Any advice to help me out with studies?

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Original post by K-pop013

Hi everyone, I'm currently worried that I'm not doing as well as I want to on my a-levels, predicted a B in EPQ, A in Film, C in Business Studies and C in German. Any advice to help me out with studies?

I can give pointers for business studies, but not for German. Let me know if this is something that might help.

Also, the subjects seem somewhat random. What exactly do you intend to do at university with these subjects, should you go to uni at all?

Reply 2

K-pop013

OP

12

Yes business studies pointers would be helpful thank you.

I have been told that many times actually, but learning a language can help me in both subjects in my opinion. I am planning to take business for uni, and since most unis don't have the course of working with business in creative industries, hence why I chose business and film, I am aiming to take business and during the year makes sure it focuses on the marketing side. At first I wanted to do film as a future course at uni but then changed my mind to business. I think that German can help me with both industries, as it can help with communication and understanding. My picks sound random I admit.

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Original post by K-pop013

Yes business studies pointers would be helpful thank you.

I have been told that many times actually, but learning a language can help me in both subjects in my opinion. I am planning to take business for uni, and since most unis don't have the course of working with business in creative industries, hence why I chose business and film, I am aiming to take business and during the year makes sure it focuses on the marketing side. At first I wanted to do film as a future course at uni but then changed my mind to business. I think that German can help me with both industries, as it can help with communication and understanding. My picks sound random I admit.

Note: I asked because they don't seem like subjects you specifically need for specific degrees, so you can do business and film for example with any 3 A Levels so long you have the grades. In terms of work wise, you don't really need a degree to go into business, creative industries, marketing, or film, so you can go into these sectors with a degree in any subject (or none at all). However, if you're adamant on doing a degree for this, then by all means I'm happy to help.

Business studies pointers:

•

The formulas tend to require rote memorisation. It's not rocket science

•

The essays would require you to think strategically; the more strategic and critical your thinking, the higher the marks generally.(assuming you have everything else)

•

I would heavily focus on the analysis before then use critical thinking; a mediocre analysis won't get you very far - think pro vs con, long term vs short term, how would it affect all other areas of business (businesses generally have 101 moving parts), consequences of decisions, risks, etc.

•

Critical thinking would encompass questioning the analysis and the significance of it when looking at the big picture e.g. you make more profit by choosing option A than B, but is £500 difference mean a lot? What are you missing out in doing so?

•

If you don't know certain information about a case study, raise the question in your answers. Whilst it's generally not considered good wiriting to include rhetorical questions, you can still include them in your critical analysis

•

When provided with a case study, quote as much as you can from the case study and rely less on the business ideas/principles - more on application than regurgitation of theory - they are testing you on your application more than what you can remember

•

For any given question, they tend to go very narrow on a certain topic. To get the marks, you are likely going to have to go deep.

•

I would practice as much as I can with past papers as well as thoroughly examining the mark scheme. If you need help understanding whether you got the marks or not, consult your tutor about how they mark the papers.

•

Practice applying your knowledge than memorising the theory for most questions. It's generally what the examiners are looking for, especially for essay based subjects.

If you want to go into marketing generally, I would recommend looking at professional marketing qualifications (they're recognised by the industry) like CIM. These tend to give you more credibility for marketing roles than degrees, even though you don't need qualifications to go into marketing.
For anything in the film industry, it's going to be tough to even get your foot in the door. If you can, whenever you can, I would network with as many people in the industry. If you have time at uni, I would network with pretty much as many people doing something in film as you can, especially those who are already in the industry.

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Original post by Anonymous

Note: I asked because they don't seem like subjects you specifically need for specific degrees, so you can do business and film for example with any 3 A Levels so long you have the grades. In terms of work wise, you don't really need a degree to go into business, creative industries, marketing, or film, so you can go into these sectors with a degree in any subject (or none at all). However, if you're adamant on doing a degree for this, then by all means I'm happy to help.

Business studies pointers:

•

The formulas tend to require rote memorisation. It's not rocket science

•

The essays would require you to think strategically; the more strategic and critical your thinking, the higher the marks generally.(assuming you have everything else)

•

I would heavily focus on the analysis before then use critical thinking; a mediocre analysis won't get you very far - think pro vs con, long term vs short term, how would it affect all other areas of business (businesses generally have 101 moving parts), consequences of decisions, risks, etc.

•

Critical thinking would encompass questioning the analysis and the significance of it when looking at the big picture e.g. you make more profit by choosing option A than B, but is £500 difference mean a lot? What are you missing out in doing so?

•

If you don't know certain information about a case study, raise the question in your answers. Whilst it's generally not considered good wiriting to include rhetorical questions, you can still include them in your critical analysis

•

When provided with a case study, quote as much as you can from the case study and rely less on the business ideas/principles - more on application than regurgitation of theory - they are testing you on your application more than what you can remember

•

For any given question, they tend to go very narrow on a certain topic. To get the marks, you are likely going to have to go deep.

•

I would practice as much as I can with past papers as well as thoroughly examining the mark scheme. If you need help understanding whether you got the marks or not, consult your tutor about how they mark the papers.

•

Practice applying your knowledge than memorising the theory for most questions. It's generally what the examiners are looking for, especially for essay based subjects.

If you want to go into marketing generally, I would recommend looking at professional marketing qualifications (they're recognised by the industry) like CIM. These tend to give you more credibility for marketing roles than degrees, even though you don't need qualifications to go into marketing.
For anything in the film industry, it's going to be tough to even get your foot in the door. If you can, whenever you can, I would network with as many people in the industry. If you have time at uni, I would network with pretty much as many people doing something in film as you can, especially those who are already in the industry.

Forgot to mention, you can also look for tips on YouTube or Google to help with your grades e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdWBh3SxFqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVSwt_6GNLI
https://www.caiebusiness.com/how-to-achieve-an-a-in-business-a-level-using-the-business-news/
https://ateamtuition.com/how-to-get-an-a-in-business/

Reply 5

K-pop013

OP

12

Original post by Anonymous

Forgot to mention, you can also look for tips on YouTube or Google to help with your grades e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdWBh3SxFqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVSwt_6GNLI
https://www.caiebusiness.com/how-to-achieve-an-a-in-business-a-level-using-the-business-news/
https://ateamtuition.com/how-to-get-an-a-in-business/

Thank you so much :smile:

will make sure to go through the links and apply the pointers you have mentioned! My new teacher is quite lacking for theme 2 and 4 so I figured out I will have to do a lot of self study especially since I didn't take business for GCSE

Am I able to apply for a good uni? Will I be able to raise my grades?

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