Applied Ict A-level???
Is APPLIED ICT @ A-Level any good or does the fact that it is an applied subject (vocational) ruin the subject. Also what do university's think of it??
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It depends entirely on the uni and which modules you take.
I didnt do the newer applied ICT but I did the double AVCE ICT, which was very similar. However this course was retired and replaced with applied ICT which, as I have said is very similar.
In the opinion of the ICT department at my 6th form the applied course is far more challenging than the non-applied version, or even A level computing. This was coming from teachers which had experience in teaching a wide range of A level courses including the ones mentioned above. It is also more suited to the sort of work which you will do at uni especially if you take a programming module as one of your options, assuming you get a choice on which ones to take. In addition it really helps to prepare you for long projects, assuming you put the work in as I know many who didnt and failed because of it. I did 500A4 pages over the 2 years.
A mate of mine did the exact same course as me and came out with AA. When he visited unis, which included Nottingham and one other uni which was fairly high in the league tables but the name escapes me at the moment, he was told that the course was indeed suitable for entry. At the second uni, not Nottingham, he was told that he could even do Comp Sci there, instead of ICT, and an exception would be made so that he wouldnt need AS or A2 maths because he had done the vocational course with a programming module.
When I applied to Reading to do chemistry, with an A in chemistry and a B in biology, my ICT grades were never brought up as an issue in any way and I was even awarded a scholarship based on my chemistry and ICT grades.
You may get some problems with some unis. However if you pick the harder modules just phone them and explain what you have chosen and also get the school to confirm this. They may change their mind.
I didnt do the newer applied ICT but I did the double AVCE ICT, which was very similar. However this course was retired and replaced with applied ICT which, as I have said is very similar.
In the opinion of the ICT department at my 6th form the applied course is far more challenging than the non-applied version, or even A level computing. This was coming from teachers which had experience in teaching a wide range of A level courses including the ones mentioned above. It is also more suited to the sort of work which you will do at uni especially if you take a programming module as one of your options, assuming you get a choice on which ones to take. In addition it really helps to prepare you for long projects, assuming you put the work in as I know many who didnt and failed because of it. I did 500A4 pages over the 2 years.
A mate of mine did the exact same course as me and came out with AA. When he visited unis, which included Nottingham and one other uni which was fairly high in the league tables but the name escapes me at the moment, he was told that the course was indeed suitable for entry. At the second uni, not Nottingham, he was told that he could even do Comp Sci there, instead of ICT, and an exception would be made so that he wouldnt need AS or A2 maths because he had done the vocational course with a programming module.
When I applied to Reading to do chemistry, with an A in chemistry and a B in biology, my ICT grades were never brought up as an issue in any way and I was even awarded a scholarship based on my chemistry and ICT grades.
You may get some problems with some unis. However if you pick the harder modules just phone them and explain what you have chosen and also get the school to confirm this. They may change their mind.
![Avatar for charlie[]](https://static.thestudentroom.co.uk/forum/customavatars/avatar166892_2.gif){kind=avatar}
all the uni's i applied to didnt seem the mind seing as i got all my offers, (one uni being in the top 5 (proving good uni's are open to it)). But i dont recommend doing it as the the subject is very poor. lots of problems with exam board and marking quality. people being predicted A overall and getting U's in the exam ... dont touch the subject.!
[QUOTE='charlie[]']all the uni's i applied to didnt seem the mind seing as i got all my offers, (one uni being in the top 5 (proving good uni's are open to it)). But i dont recommend doing it as the the subject is very poor. lots of problems with exam board and marking quality. people being predicted A overall and getting U's in the exam ... dont touch the subject.!
Can I ask when you did the subject?
I only ask as it is a very new qualification - my year was the last year to be allowed to take the previous version of the course so the first year of a new course is always plagued with problems like those you have said.
I did mine in 2004 - 2006 so the new course was bought in in 2005 I think.
Can I ask when you did the subject?
I only ask as it is a very new qualification - my year was the last year to be allowed to take the previous version of the course so the first year of a new course is always plagued with problems like those you have said.
I did mine in 2004 - 2006 so the new course was bought in in 2005 I think.
I would stay away to be honest, its the most boring subject and in my case the most time consuming. I just managed to achieve an A at AS by 2 marks but i was the only one in my class to do so and many others who were predicted A/Bs ended up with C/Ds, many "smarter" people than me achieved a much lower grade which i believe shows it doesn't depend on how good you are or how much you know. If you're a good academic and could do something else more worthwhile, do so and stay the hell away!
Dstbgre
Can I ask when you did the subject?
I only ask as it is a very new qualification - my year was the last year to be allowed to take the previous version of the course so the first year of a new course is always plagued with problems like those you have said.
I did mine in 2004 - 2006 so the new course was bought in in 2005 I think.
I only ask as it is a very new qualification - my year was the last year to be allowed to take the previous version of the course so the first year of a new course is always plagued with problems like those you have said.
I did mine in 2004 - 2006 so the new course was bought in in 2005 I think.
just finished it this year. got a C in it in the end but i had high A's in AS c/w and B quality coursework in A2. and in exams i got a U!!!!??? i mean its as if i didnt go the exam and then i got a D in the last exam which is worked bloody hard for. absolute shocker of a subject.. should be binned.
[QUOTE='charlie[]']just finished it this year. got a C in it in the end but i had high A's in AS c/w and B quality coursework in A2. and in exams i got a U!!!!??? i mean its as if i didnt go the exam and then i got a D in the last exam which is worked bloody hard for. absolute shocker of a subject.. should be binned.
Thats really bad. Im sorry to hear that happened to you.
Did you have pre-release material for those exams?
Did your school/collage/6th form appeal the results for you?
Thats really bad. Im sorry to hear that happened to you.
Did you have pre-release material for those exams?
Did your school/collage/6th form appeal the results for you?
tommm
It depends. What other A-levels are you taking, what do you want to do at university, how high are you aiming in terms of universities?
I'm aiming towards an accounting and finance degree at a decent uni and am probably taking Maths, Physics, Business + either App. ICT or Further Maths.
Dstbgre
Thats really bad. Im sorry to hear that happened to you.
Did you have pre-release material for those exams?
Did your school/collage/6th form appeal the results for you?
Did you have pre-release material for those exams?
Did your school/collage/6th form appeal the results for you?
meh , cant do much about it but luckily it didnt affect me getting into uni. pre-release material as in the exam paper??/ yeh you do for all of it really. last exam i finished c/w way ahead of time and constantly got my teacher to check my "investigation material report" (half marks for the exam) i could not of done anymore to it and still did not achieve a good mark.
dont think the college did anything. Mum rang up the other day actually as she saw a tv/news programme about it and she basically rang up to see if the college were even aware etc.
I did Edexcel Applied ICT at double award and media studies and got offers from all five unis. Offers were from unis such as reading (where I am now going to) kent, brunel, brookes and westminster. ICT is not much of a problem especially in concern with univeristy admissions even if it is your primary subject, like me.
[QUOTE='charlie[]']meh , cant do much about it but luckily it didnt affect me getting into uni. pre-release material as in the exam paper??/ yeh you do for all of it really. last exam i finished c/w way ahead of time and constantly got my teacher to check my "investigation material report" (half marks for the exam) i could not of done anymore to it and still did not achieve a good mark.
dont think the college did anything. Mum rang up the other day actually as she saw a tv/news programme about it and she basically rang up to see if the college were even aware etc.
Yeah I only asked about the prerelease material for the exams as we had a problem with one of ours in that the teacher had misinterpreted what was expected in the material and as a result everyone in the class missed out on one of the E grade criteria which meant that we couldnt pass. As the course hadnt been running that long its possible that happened to you and if it did then an appeal should sort it out because it wasnt your fault it was your teachers/collage.
dont think the college did anything. Mum rang up the other day actually as she saw a tv/news programme about it and she basically rang up to see if the college were even aware etc.
Yeah I only asked about the prerelease material for the exams as we had a problem with one of ours in that the teacher had misinterpreted what was expected in the material and as a result everyone in the class missed out on one of the E grade criteria which meant that we couldnt pass. As the course hadnt been running that long its possible that happened to you and if it did then an appeal should sort it out because it wasnt your fault it was your teachers/collage.
hi everyone i am currently studying A2 applied ict, i got an A in AS applied ict (80.6%) and i was marked down by 5% by the exam board OCR for some reason. It is a good a-level to have as in the current world having good ICT skills and using software packages is important and applied ict prepares you for uni as in uni you learn more practical skills taught by applied ict rather than purely knowledge so yes it is a good a-level and hard to get an A as out of 45 people in AS i was the only one to get a weak A
Oh god.... Don't even talk about A-Level Applied ICT! Im with OCR and AS last year for ICT nearly killed me. I got a B in the exam in Jan, an A in one of my coursework modules and a C in the other module. Ended up with just about getting an overall B for AS. Now i'm in my A2 year, the course ahead sounds so much more difficult. I don't know how i'm going to cope, because I want an A as im putting Computer and Information Technology at Queen's University Belfast as my first choice. It being such a prestigious University and all, its near essential for me to get an A! HELP! Lol
At the moment, i'm at the beginning of making a website in Frontpage. I have no experience with this piece of software watsoever. Then the other module is something to with working to a brief for a client and creating a 10-page document using publishing software.
At the moment, i'm at the beginning of making a website in Frontpage. I have no experience with this piece of software watsoever. Then the other module is something to with working to a brief for a client and creating a 10-page document using publishing software.
Original post by Irishmonkey1992
Oh god.... Don't even talk about A-Level Applied ICT! Im with OCR and AS last year for ICT nearly killed me. I got a B in the exam in Jan, an A in one of my coursework modules and a C in the other module. Ended up with just about getting an overall B for AS. Now i'm in my A2 year, the course ahead sounds so much more difficult. I don't know how i'm going to cope, because I want an A as im putting Computer and Information Technology at Queen's University Belfast as my first choice. It being such a prestigious University and all, its near essential for me to get an A! HELP! Lol
At the moment, i'm at the beginning of making a website in Frontpage. I have no experience with this piece of software watsoever. Then the other module is something to with working to a brief for a client and creating a 10-page document using publishing software.
At the moment, i'm at the beginning of making a website in Frontpage. I have no experience with this piece of software watsoever. Then the other module is something to with working to a brief for a client and creating a 10-page document using publishing software.
A little tip, scrap the frontpage idea, im sure by now you have an idea of what your webstie and publications look like, download the adobe creative suite and abuse it as much as you can. without pro software theres no chance of geting it done.
im retaking a few modules now and have to hand in my work in about 3 hours, i look like count fukin dracula and havent slept in 30 hours! THE WORST SUBJECT IN THE WORLD!!! but dont panic, i got the highest marks in my college and came out with a C! 24 page website, 12 page publication, had predicted As and the sample work that got sent off was marked down by up to 25%. ow and unit 9 is not as scary as it seems, make the gantt chart VERY detailed (im talking 250 fields +) and just write as much as you can in the diary, forget about making the user guide.. 100 pages for 4 marks? uh no. anyways good luck and try not to fall behind, hope this helps Zzzzzzzzz...
Original post by flubadiblam
A little tip, scrap the frontpage idea, im sure by now you have an idea of what your webstie and publications look like, download the adobe creative suite and abuse it as much as you can. without pro software theres no chance of geting it done.
im retaking a few modules now and have to hand in my work in about 3 hours, i look like count fukin dracula and havent slept in 30 hours! THE WORST SUBJECT IN THE WORLD!!! but dont panic, i got the highest marks in my college and came out with a C! 24 page website, 12 page publication, had predicted As and the sample work that got sent off was marked down by up to 25%. ow and unit 9 is not as scary as it seems, make the gantt chart VERY detailed (im talking 250 fields +) and just write as much as you can in the diary, forget about making the user guide.. 100 pages for 4 marks? uh no. anyways good luck and try not to fall behind, hope this helps Zzzzzzzzz...
im retaking a few modules now and have to hand in my work in about 3 hours, i look like count fukin dracula and havent slept in 30 hours! THE WORST SUBJECT IN THE WORLD!!! but dont panic, i got the highest marks in my college and came out with a C! 24 page website, 12 page publication, had predicted As and the sample work that got sent off was marked down by up to 25%. ow and unit 9 is not as scary as it seems, make the gantt chart VERY detailed (im talking 250 fields +) and just write as much as you can in the diary, forget about making the user guide.. 100 pages for 4 marks? uh no. anyways good luck and try not to fall behind, hope this helps Zzzzzzzzz...
Hey thanks for the advice! Just finished unit 14 of creating a website. Got 47/50 so thats an A, I'm so pleased as I really worked hard on it. Done plenty of all nighters trying to meet deadlines
251 pages in total. My teacher said that my work is of such a high standard that I could achieve an A* if I get the same mark for unit 9 and unit 12. I heard our teacher talking about the Gant Chart and describing were the most marks are rewarding for unit 9. Although, when he went to check the specification online, they had changed the weighing of the marks, making it slightly harder :/ I'm terrified of my publishing unit! It's gonna be a hard 4 months left of A-Level, look at an average of 600 pages in total - 200 for one piece of ICT c/w, 200 for the other piece of ICT c/w, 100 for my business c/w and another 100 for the other business c/w. Arghhh im gonna cry lol
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