[Minerva]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about this.

When you get your results, if an overall grade is given as well as individual module grades, this means that the school has certificated them. If an overall grade is not given, this means the results have not been certificated.

If your school certificates (or cashes in) your AS results these must be declared on your UCAS, assuming you achieved grades A-E. A grade U does not have to be declared because this means that you failed the exam and therefore you don't have a qualification to declare. While you must declare your AS overall grades, you do not have to include your unit grades.

If your school does not certificate your AS results, then you enter all your AS overall grades as pending, even if you are not taking one or more subjects on to A2.

If you have certificated results but are planning to resit AS module/s, the AS must be entered twice: first as an achieved qualification, and secondly as a pending one.

If you are resitting A2s you enter the actual grade you've already got under qualifications and your resit plans under pending. If you have already got your resit results you enter the higher of the grades you achieved and the date on which you did so.

Schools/colleges are asked to state in their references what their certification policy is, so if they normally do certificate results and yours were not, unis will tend to assume that they were not great. So while theoretically you could try to ask your school in advance not to certificate your results, it's not that great an idea, and the school is unlikely to agree anyway.

If your school/college does not certificate results, you can only enter your ASs as pending, and any spectacular unit grades/UMS marks will need to be reflected in your reference (better there than in your personal statement).

Useful Links
JCQ Statement 2007
UCAS Apply: Education
UCAS Apply: Qualifications
TSR Wiki

Note that some sites such as Direct Gov haven't been updated yet to take account of the A* grade.

Several people seem to have been advised that there are changes this coming year; in fact they changed after the Summer of 2007, when the option to decline grades was withdrawn. So far there is no evidence that I've been able to find on the UCAS site that any further changes are planned for Apply 2010. Therefore, it is not and will not be compulsory to enter unit grades. (Note that you can't enter UMS marks; do not attempt to use the 'other' option to do this as it will cause problems with validating your form.) However, some universities do specify unit grades as part of their entry requirements so you will need to check the position for each of your choices. Some universities also specify that the module grades must be obtained at the first sitting - this is relatively rare but important to check in advance if it might apply to you. Even if you don't enter module grades on your UCAS form, such unis will ask for evidence of both the grades achieved and when. Taking modules early is not always a good idea!

If you have taken modules early
You can only enter qualifications you actually hold. If you have taken one or two modules only you enter the qualification as pending and therefore the module grades as pending too. If you resat any of these modules but you still don't have the full qualification the result is entered as pending.

A* grades
Even if you got 90% or more, the highest grade you can enter for AS levels, whether overall or for individual modules, is an A. This is all the system will offer you.

As A* grades for A2 will not be awarded until next year, any certificated A2 grades you already have, regardless of the module scores, will not be higher than A. Uncashed (uncertificated) module grades - which you won't be able to enter on UCAS as the qualification will be pending - will be confirmed when the qualification is cashed in. Note also that the A* grade will apply to the whole A2, not to individual A2 module grades.

A note for Maths students Your position may be complicated because of the option to 'trade' modules between Maths and Further Maths. If in doubt, ask your school/college or UCAS for advice about how to enter these correctly.

[ArchedEdge]

Ok this has been annoying me for ages, and after emailing my careers advisor at school and receiving no reply I'm now turning to TSR (who I probably should've just asked first anyways )

So I've been told different things by many people, that we now have to declare ALL our grades on our UCAS, and that we can't reject ANY grades, and some have told me we still can.

What's the official rule on this now? Do we now have to declare what we got for every subject we took, and that we can't reject grades we no longer want?

I say this because my school forced us to take General Studies and I didn't prepare myself well enough, and while I know it's "only" general studies, having a bad grade on it still doesn't reflect that well overall.

[Minerva]

(Original post by ArchedEdge)
Ok this has been annoying me for ages, and after emailing my careers advisor at school and receiving no reply I'm now turning to TSR (who I probably should've just asked first anyways )

So I've been told different things by many people, that we now have to declare ALL our grades on our UCAS, and that we can't reject ANY grades, and some have told me we still can.

What's the official rule on this now? Do we now have to declare what we got for every subject we took, and that we can't reject grades we no longer want?

I say this because my school forced us to take General Studies and I didn't prepare myself well enough, and while I know it's "only" general studies, having a bad grade on it still doesn't reflect that well overall.

As far as I can make out, nothing has changed for next year as far as entering your qualification goes. http://www.ucas.com/students/startap...y09/education/

I suspect what may have happened is that a number of schools/colleges have now decided to routinely certificate everything as you don't need to decline grades to be able to resit modules. As a result, you do have to declare your grades overall, but you don't have to show your individual unit grades. However, some unis do require these so even if they don't go on UCAS you will be asked for the information.

[ArchedEdge]

(Original post by Minerva)
As far as I can make out, nothing has changed for next year as far as entering your qualification goes. http://www.ucas.com/students/startap...y09/education/

I suspect what may have happened is that a number of schools/colleges have now decided to routinely certificate everything as you don't need to decline grades to be able to resit modules. As a result, you do have to declare your grades overall, but you don't have to show your individual unit grades. However, some unis do require these so even if they don't go on UCAS you will be asked for the information.

So I won't be able to reject/decline my General Studies grade at all, or will it be upto my school/uni I apply to?

[Minerva]

(Original post by ArchedEdge)
So I won't be able to reject/decline my General Studies grade at all, or will it be upto my school/uni I apply to?

If your school's policy is to certificate all grades, and you get a pass grade, then you won't be able to decline it. Any pass grade means you have the qualification and therefore it must be declared. What view a uni might take of a poor grade in General Studies depends on the uni. The ones that won't accept it as one of three A levels probably won't care very much.

[ArchedEdge]

(Original post by Minerva)
If your school's policy is to certificate all grades, and you get a pass grade, then you won't be able to decline it. Any pass grade means you have the qualification and therefore it must be declared. What view a uni might take of a poor grade in General Studies depends on the uni. The ones that won't accept it as one of three A levels probably won't care very much.

Ah ok, if it's school policy does that mean it's negotiable between them?

And thanks for your help!

[Draconis]

If the school declines all AS grades, do you still have to put them on your application now?

[Minerva]

(Original post by ArchedEdge)
Ah ok, if it's school policy does that mean it's negotiable between them?

And thanks for your help!

You mean between the school and the Exam Board, or between the school and you? The School makes the decision as to whether it certificates at the end of Year 12, and I believe has to state this at the time of entering people for the exams. Even if you specifically do not want them to certificate your results, I am not sure that you would be able to stop it now. The other thing is that schools are asked to declare their policy on certification in references, so if their policy is normally to certificate and your results are missing, unis will draw their own conclusions!

(Original post by Draconis)
...

If your school has a policy of not cashing in until Year 13, as I understand it you won't be able to enter module grades on your UCAS as the overall grade will have to show as 'pending'. The deal then, if you have something in particular you want the unis to know, is to ask your referee to specifically mention it in your reference (comes across better than putting it in your PS).

[terms-and-conditions]

When does UCAS 2010 open?

[Lulubelle*]

Okayyy... I'm worried now 'cause my guidance teacher told me to not put the fact that I got two Fs last year, so I went along with it...but now I don't know if I've done the right thing?

[Minerva]

(Original post by Lulubelle*)
Okayyy... I'm worried now 'cause my guidance teacher told me to not put the fact that I got two Fs last year, so I went along with it...but now I don't know if I've done the right thing?

Fs in GCSEs? Strictly speaking, they should have been included because it's only a U grade that's a fail (officially). If you mean U grades at AS, no they didn't need to be included.

[Lulubelle*]

(Original post by Minerva)
Fs in GCSEs? Strictly speaking, they should have been included because it's only a U grade that's a fail (officially). If you mean U grades at AS, no they didn't need to be included.

It's Scottish Highers...

[Minerva]

(Original post by Lulubelle*)
It's Scottish Highers...

If F is a fail grade for Scottish Highers, then you didn't need to include them, so your guidance teacher's advice was correct.

[Lulubelle*]

(Original post by Minerva)
If F is a fail grade for Scottish Highers, then you didn't need to include them, so your guidance teacher's advice was correct.

Thank youuuu x

[Geokitty]

This is from the UCAS website...

You must list all subjects that have been certificated (also known as 'claimed' or 'cashed in') at GCE AS level. This includes subjects which you are taking on to A level. You should include a subject even if you are re-sitting an AS unit to improve your A level grade.

If you have any doubts about the certification of your AS subjects, you should check with your school or college, or whoever is helping you with your application.

For certificated qualifications we recommended that you include details of all units with a separate result/grade, but which are incorporated into the overall qualification grade. Please note that entering unit details for AS or A levels is optional.

The following scenarios should help you to enter your qualifications correctly.

•Your AS levels were certificated in 2008
Enter your AS subject and the grade achieved, with the achieved unit results if you wish.

•Your AS levels were certificated in 2008, and you are retaking some/all units to achieve a higher overall grade
Enter your AS subject and grade achieved in 2008 with the achieved unit results if you wish. Then, enter the AS level again for 2009 (to cover the re-sit) with the pending unit grades, even if you are taking the subject on to A level. We need to know about the AS level re-sits for matching purposes to enable us to pass on the potentially new AS grade to your chosen universities and colleges.

•Your AS level was certificated prior to sitting A levels
When entering your pending A level, you can enter the three units achieved at AS level with the grades if you wish. Then, enter the three additional units for your A level as pending.

Or

When entering your pending A level you can enter just the three pending units that you are taking.

If you are resitting one or some of the AS units that will count towards achieving your A level, you can also enter these units as pending.

THIS IS SO CONFUSING! I just don't understand what they require, and I'm really woried because I think that I may get really bad AS grades, but I am improving all the time & if I do retakes then I'll have a better idea of where I went wrong & would stand a chance of improving the grade. So, can I just put the three A levels I am taking (to A2) as 'pending' with all the modules including any I am retaking, as 'pending', and all modules I'm happy with as showing the actual grade.
Honestly I don't think this system could be more complicated if they tried!

[inksplodge]

Yes, you put all the subjects you're taking at A2 as pending. Any AS you drop you put down and declare the grade.

[Geokitty]

(Original post by inksplodge)
Yes, you put all the subjects you're taking at A2 as pending. Any AS you drop you put down and declare the grade.

Are you sure? It's just that I keep reading that you have to declare all your AS/module grades, even if you are retaking them or continuing them to A2.

[inksplodge]

(Original post by Geokitty)
Are you sure? It's just that I keep reading that you have to declare all your AS/module grades, even if you are retaking them or continuing them to A2.

Well I originally put down the A2 subjects I did at A2 but my careers advisor (who checks all the forms) said that it's wrong and I only needed to put the one I dropped. And my grades were all cashed in and stuff. It didn't cause me any problems! You should put them down first, then check with whoever does your UCAS form if you've done it correctly

[Minerva]

(Original post by Geokitty)
THIS IS SO CONFUSING! I just don't understand what they require, and I'm really woried because I think that I may get really bad AS grades, but I am improving all the time & if I do retakes then I'll have a better idea of where I went wrong & would stand a chance of improving the grade. So, can I just put the three A levels I am taking (to A2) as 'pending' with all the modules including any I am retaking, as 'pending', and all modules I'm happy with as showing the actual grade.
Honestly I don't think this system could be more complicated if they tried!

If your school certificates or cashes in your AS results you must declare them on your form, even if you are resitting. What this is telling you is that in that case, you must enter them twice, first as an achieved grade, and then as a pending one. If you are taking some of the ASs on to A2, you enter the A2s as pending as well.

You only declare ASs where the grades have been certificated. If they have not, you put it down as pending even if you are not taking it on to A2.

You do not have to enter individual module grades, only the overall grade.

[Geokitty]

(Original post by Minerva)
If your school certificates or cashes in your AS results you must declare them on your form, even if you are resitting. What this is telling you is that in that case, you must enter them twice, first as an achieved grade, and then as a pending one. If you are taking some of the ASs on to A2, you enter the A2s as pending as well.

You only declare ASs where the grades have been certificated. If they have not, you put it down as pending even if you are not taking it on to A2.

You do not have to enter individual module grades, only the overall grade.

Thanks, I think I've finally got it! So, do university admissions tutors attach more importance to a) GCSE grades b) AS /module grades or c) predicted grades ?
I got really good GCSE grades especially in the subjects I am taking at A level, but I'm feeling really worried about my AS grades. I got an A in Geography GCSE, and a D in my first AS module! I've retaken, and also module 2 was better anyway, but I'm still not feeling very confident. What I do feel though is that if I retake again, I would do even better, now that I know what's required. But would a uni admissions tutor think that I was an underachiever if my performance had declined between GCSE & AS?