Do A2 grades matter beyond undergraduate entry?

Well since you need AAA to get into medical school, surely this questions a bit... pointless? Since everyone will pretty much have the same grades. Although I would imagine after 5 years of training they'd have something more to go on than irrelevant A levels.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 5

navarre

20

Nope. They won't give a flying anything when you're looking for a job in medicine over a levels. They have nothing to do with anything you will practise as a doctor.

Reply 6

Renal

17

Original post by wabbajack123

Well since you need AAA to get into medical school, surely this questions a bit... pointless?

What about those of us who didn't?

Reply 7

Original post by Renal

What about those of us who didn't?

I suppose he's asking for his year group though? In which case they've all got AAB or higher.

Reply 8

Becca-Sarah

19

I just applied for an intercalated degree and had to list my A Levels on my application form, and was asked (very briefly) about them at interview. I realise you're talking more about post grad situations, but this is an example of my grades counting beyond getting into medical school.

Reply 9

Original post by wabbajack123

I suppose he's asking for his year group though? In which case they've all got AAB or higher.

Quite a difference (visually at least, I'd dispute academically) between AAB and A*A*A* though.

Reply 10

Original post by chloemo14

Quite a difference (visually at least, I'd dispute academically) between AAB and A*A*A* though.

I suppose to quite a few people that would look like quite a difference! However everyone should realise that the difference between an A and an A* is tiny and hardly based on academic merit! Congrats on your offers btw :smile:

are you firming UCL or Bristol?

Reply 11

Beska

21

Original post by wabbajack123

However everyone should realise that the difference between an A and an A* is tiny and hardly based on academic merit!

I humbly disagree with that. There is a massive chasm of difference between an A and an A*, extremely different grades. But I agree that it's not based on academic merit.

Reply 12

Original post by Beska

I humbly disagree with that. There is a massive chasm of difference between an A and an A*, extremely different grades. But I agree that it's not based on academic merit.

Sorry that's what I was going for :tongue:

there is a huge difference, but it's hardly like the difference between a B and an A where you actually have to know the stuff. Rather you just have to know the mark schemes in a obsessive like way :/ It doesn't really seem to be based on how well you know the subject (queue OCR biology :tongue:

)

Wow! quoted by renal and beska in less than 24 hours! I'm rather proud of this :biggrin:

man I need to get out more...

Reply 13

Beska

21

Original post by wabbajack123

Sorry that's what I was going for :tongue:

there is a huge difference, but it's hardly like the difference between a B and an A where you actually have to know the stuff. Rather you just have to know the mark schemes in a obsessive like way :/ It doesn't really seem to be based on how well you know the subject (queue OCR biology :tongue:

)

Wow! quoted by renal and beska in less than 24 hours! I'm rather proud of this :biggrin:

man I need to get out more...

Ha yeh, I agree with you completely then! :p:

Reply 14

Original post by Beska

I humbly disagree with that. There is a massive chasm of difference between an A and an A*, extremely different grades. But I agree that it's not based on academic merit.

Depends on how well you've done at AS - for me in Latin the difference is 30% which admittedly is a bit of a chasm, but in Chemistry where my UMS weren't great it only comes down to 10% which could easily go either way depending on the exam :dontknow:

Reply 15

Original post by wabbajack123

I suppose to quite a few people that would look like quite a difference! However everyone should realise that the difference between an A and an A* is tiny and hardly based on academic merit! Congrats on your offers btw :smile:

are you firming UCL or Bristol?

Thanks! 90% sure I'll end up firming Bristol although my love for UCL possibly inches it out minimally, but finances and realism sadly are at the front of my mind :tongue:

Are you applying this cycle?

Reply 16

Beska

21

Original post by chloemo14

Depends on how well you've done at AS - for me in Latin the difference is 30% which admittedly is a bit of a chasm, but in Chemistry where my UMS weren't great it only comes down to 10% which could easily go either way depending on the exam :dontknow:

Well the A* grade only really cares about your A2 marks and in my experience once you start getting 87%, 88%, etc. it gets exponentially harder to gain extra marks and push through that glass ceiling of 90%. I put it down to the fact that for the first 85%~ you can get your marks from 'new' questions: so you can get 2/3 marks on a question relatively easily, but getting the final mark (so 3/3) is a lot more difficult, so pushing up above 90% is really difficult. All imo obviously!

Reply 17

Original post by Beska

Well the A* grade only really cares about your A2 marks and in my experience once you start getting 87%, 88%, etc. it gets exponentially harder to gain extra marks and push through that glass ceiling of 90%. I put it down to the fact that for the first 85%~ you can get your marks from 'new' questions: so you can get 2/3 marks on a question relatively easily, but getting the final mark (so 3/3) is a lot more difficult, so pushing up above 90% is really difficult. All imo obviously!

Oh I know it's based on the aggregate of your A2 module marks, I just meant that the % difference between an A and an A* is based on your performance at AS :smile:

But yes, I would definitely agree with that - and that's where being a slave to the mark scheme comes in I guess, given that often getting the final mark(s) on a question is just a case of reading it in the way they intended and framing your answer thus - in science subjects anyway. I think it probably has more value in arts.

Reply 18