Bad A levels, good uni, future jobs?
I got my a level results today and they were really quite bad however my insurance choice still gave me a place at their uni to study Law (even considering my grades are well below their entry requirements) I’ve talked to my parents and they say that even if I do well in uni I won’t be able to get a good job in that field in the future.
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
I can’t speak for Law but I have a degree in Biomedical Science (achieved a 2.1) after what could only be described as the worst A Levels of all time.
Biology - D
Maths - U (E grade at As Level)
Chemistry - U (E grade as As Level)
Luckily I managed a Foundation Year at a uni (University of the West of England, Bristol). After passing Foundation Year, I went on to study Biomedical Science and get said 2.1.
After my graduation, I went on to try and go into teaching (admittedly failed miserably and absolutely hated the job).
Having left (this was in December 2019 I.e when the plague started), I became a Medical Lab Assistant but got a promotion 2 months later to an Associate Practitioner (NHS AFC Band 2 to a Band 4) in one of the Lighthouse Labs set up for the pandemic.
After this, I started my IBMS portfolio (legal requirement to obtain this with an IBMS accredited degree to become a Biomedical Scientist. (I am currently working on it now (having started about 8 months ago)) and once I achieve this, I can legally become a Biomedical Scientist.
So, A Levels which don’t meet your expectations don’t mean a bad future, it just means you stumbled but you can pick yourself up and carry on.
I am now about to start my MSc in Biomedical Science to help my career progress further too. 🙂
Good luck!
Biology - D
Maths - U (E grade at As Level)
Chemistry - U (E grade as As Level)
Luckily I managed a Foundation Year at a uni (University of the West of England, Bristol). After passing Foundation Year, I went on to study Biomedical Science and get said 2.1.
After my graduation, I went on to try and go into teaching (admittedly failed miserably and absolutely hated the job).
Having left (this was in December 2019 I.e when the plague started), I became a Medical Lab Assistant but got a promotion 2 months later to an Associate Practitioner (NHS AFC Band 2 to a Band 4) in one of the Lighthouse Labs set up for the pandemic.
After this, I started my IBMS portfolio (legal requirement to obtain this with an IBMS accredited degree to become a Biomedical Scientist. (I am currently working on it now (having started about 8 months ago)) and once I achieve this, I can legally become a Biomedical Scientist.
So, A Levels which don’t meet your expectations don’t mean a bad future, it just means you stumbled but you can pick yourself up and carry on.
I am now about to start my MSc in Biomedical Science to help my career progress further too. 🙂
Good luck!
(edited 8 months ago)
Original post by Kimberly2023
I got my a level results today and they were really quite bad however my insurance choice still gave me a place at their uni to study Law (even considering my grades are well below their entry requirements) I’ve talked to my parents and they say that even if I do well in uni I won’t be able to get a good job in that field in the future.
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
Im a parent and tbh Id be a bit mad at that comment saying that even if you do well in uni, you wont be able to get a good job in that field. How snobbish is that?
Your Alevels, it was enough to get you to your insurance choice and that is absolutely amazing. You still got enough good grades to get to your second choice. This is why we have insurance choices, to be the back up plan at a uni we love, NOT the consolation prize.
You go for that insurance choice and show everyone what you can do and make your mark in the world
If you do well at the uni, you could branch off into something more niche masking you specialised in a particular field. As you do not want to do resits, they yeah you go for it.Original post by Kimberly2023
I’ve talked to my parents and they say that even if I do well in uni I won’t be able to get a good job in that field in the future.
If you do well in uni and come out with a degree in law there's a huge range of jobs you could go into. What do they consider a "good job" and "that field". Whose career is this they are making sweeping statements about anyway?
Original post by Kimberly2023
I got my a level results today and they were really quite bad however my insurance choice still gave me a place at their uni to study Law (even considering my grades are well below their entry requirements) I’ve talked to my parents and they say that even if I do well in uni I won’t be able to get a good job in that field in the future.
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
Your parents comments are not needed they should be supporting you not trying to put you off
Original post by Kimberly2023
I got my a level results today and they were really quite bad however my insurance choice still gave me a place at their uni to study Law (even considering my grades are well below their entry requirements) I’ve talked to my parents and they say that even if I do well in uni I won’t be able to get a good job in that field in the future.
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
I don’t know what the best way to go about it is, whether I should save up and re do my alevels and defer for a year or push on as I really would not want to re sit all my alevels again.
If anyone has any advice to give it would be really helpful. Thank you
Good morning @Kimberly2023
I'm sorry to hear you felt disappointed with your grades, please remember grades do not define you or your future. Be proud of all the hard work and determination you put into your studies, and get ready to embrace the next chapter in your life. #BeResultsProud
Great to hear your insurance choice gave you a place to study Law! Have you looked into the possible career routes available to law grads? We have a blog post on 5 careers for law graduates that you might find interesting, and you could write some of the ones down that interest you and show your parents. Remember, what course you choose is your choice, so make sure you make the right decision for yourself.
Wishing you the best of luck for this next chapter in your life, trust your gut and do what will make you happy!
Becky
If you were planning to apply to law firms after your degree, some of the big City firms in London (assuming this was your goal) do have A-level minimums in order to apply to them, usually hovering around AAB-ABB. It's important to note however, that if your goal was to work as a lawyer at a top firm, not ALL of them have an A-level minimum. In fact, it's a practice which is increasingly being removed from a firm's application procedure.
Most, if not all, firms will all require a 2:1 at university however. In reality, a 2:1 in Law from any university will open the doors in jobs that you'd likely want to be doing for the rest of your life. Just make sure you're somewhere that *you* want to be, and work hard at it! Your degree will only make up one part of an application, having a well rounded application is a lot more important.
Most, if not all, firms will all require a 2:1 at university however. In reality, a 2:1 in Law from any university will open the doors in jobs that you'd likely want to be doing for the rest of your life. Just make sure you're somewhere that *you* want to be, and work hard at it! Your degree will only make up one part of an application, having a well rounded application is a lot more important.
Hi @Kimberly2023
Congratulations on getting a place at your University. That is amazing!
So sorry to hear that you are not happy with your A level results, it is normal to feel diasppointed sometimes, but I think the most important thing is to keep going.
Having bad A level results are definitely not the end of a law career. As a law student, I know that competition can be quite fierce for future jobs, but A level results only form a small part of your application.
Since you have managed to get into a good University, I think working hard to secure a 2:1 grade will be important. This will help to improve your application. Another thing that will make employers consider you favourably will be gaining legal work experience. Legal work experience is definitely highly desired. Therefore, applying to law firm open days, insight days, vacation schemes and other experiences will be very useful.
I hope this helps. All the best!
Chloe
-University of Kent Student Rep
Congratulations on getting a place at your University. That is amazing!
So sorry to hear that you are not happy with your A level results, it is normal to feel diasppointed sometimes, but I think the most important thing is to keep going.
Having bad A level results are definitely not the end of a law career. As a law student, I know that competition can be quite fierce for future jobs, but A level results only form a small part of your application.
Since you have managed to get into a good University, I think working hard to secure a 2:1 grade will be important. This will help to improve your application. Another thing that will make employers consider you favourably will be gaining legal work experience. Legal work experience is definitely highly desired. Therefore, applying to law firm open days, insight days, vacation schemes and other experiences will be very useful.
I hope this helps. All the best!
Chloe
-University of Kent Student Rep
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