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Bad AS results to great A2/A-levels results - success stories?

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****, how did that happen? That's amazing.

What are you going to study at LSE?

Got pretty good gcse's and really didn't try hard enough/care enough for my first year. My AS Results really hit me hard and I told myself I'd change. Pretty much dedicated the next 2 years to doing the best I can, went from a U in maths to a 96% average overall, and got into LSE for straight econ (didn't apply to oxbridge, sorta regret it).
So yeah it was ALOT of hard work, but in the end totally worth it.

Reply 21

Billy_nguyen

Hi guys , I REALLY need advices. I'm international student and i got bad As result yesterday which were lower than i expected . I really put lots of effort this year. CCD which is really bad . Can i progress to A2 ? And should I ? What is maximum i can get for A2 ?. Thank you guys in advance.

Reply 22

AidenBains

At AS I took History, Maths, Physics and Computing and got ACCC respectively.

For A2 I dropped Computing and put in far more work, ending up with AAB and got into the University of Bath (my first choice)

If anyone felt they did badly at AS and took four subjects I cannot encourage you enough to drop one and focus on three.

Reply 23

ItsJustMe17

Original post by AidenBains

Hey

What did your teachers predict you? Because I got ABCD and idk how that'll affect where I can apply if I don't get predicted AAB/ABB

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 24

T_x

Original post by im so academic

Anyone have any success stories of getting bad at AS, but actually improving at lot in the A2 year?

How hard did you have to work for them?

I wouldn't say these AS results were exactly 'bad,' but I got AAAB in AS (low As) and A*A*A*A at A2.

Reply 25

LazyTobi

For my January year 12 results I got DDCA, one of the Ds being in chemistry. The A-Levels I achieved as of yesterday are A*AA, the A* is chemistry.

It's definitely possible to make a complete u-turn. Another example, the C I got barely improved at all until this June in which I retook 3 of my 4 physics exams and got an A overall.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 26

CEKTOP

AAC at AS.
A*A*AA got me into LSE yesterday.
I can't say that I worked hard.

Reply 27

ItsJustMe17

Original post by LazyTobi

Hey what did your teachers predict you? :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 28

Chezsa

Well my grades were kind of average during first year but one subject in particular, Sociology I got an E overall and I was sure to drop it but I ended up taking it to A2 and having to retake both AS units.

I was so determined to get a B that I worked my butt off and in a way, it was easier because I was already familiar with some of the concepts and how to answer the questions. So I worked really hard and went from an E D in the first AS modules to a B B after retake. Overall I was really happy because my teachers gave me low predicted grades for sociology. Came out with an overall B.

Got BBB overall and into my firm choice. If you put in the hours and effort, believe you me it really pays off. Revise a week or two before or even a bit earlier if you need to. It pays off :smile:

And yes I know it's not A or A* but B's cool too.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 29

snewlan

1st year - I took subjects which I thought would look 'good' and I achieved well at GCSE as opposed to what I really enjoyed. History, English Literature, Biology and Chemistry. I dropped Chemistry after one lesson and achieved BCE at AS level. Subsequently dropped biology as I wasn't able to continue to A2 (and didn't want to!)

2nd year - I thought 'oh s**t, how am I going to get into uni now?!' I took up Sociology and Politics and thoroughly enjoyed them alongside History. English was a bore and I didn't enjoy and therefore didn't do well. I applied to university anyway and come results day got into Swansea Uni achieving BDab. I declined this and thought 'bugger it, I'm good at Politics and Sociology I'll do a 3rd year at college!'

3rd year - I continued with Politics and Sociology. Resat my English Lit A2 exam to bring the D up to a C and I managed it! I applied to Reading, Cardiff, Surrey, Oxford Brookes and Exeter and received 5 conditional offers.

Yesterday I got into Exeter University with the overall grades of ABBC which to TSR is not a high standard but I'm so proud of what I've achieved after thinking I'd completely flopped.

With a lot of hard work and determination it is possible :smile:

Reply 30

rakusmaximus

After AS year I had BCCD, I just finished 2nd year with ABB, only around 8/9 UMS off AAA.
i underestimated how hard the first exams would be after GCSE, so did badly at first, then really started to work, and this June i did 9 exams and ended up with 8 A's and a B.
it is possible!

Reply 31

JoshG273

I was lazy as hell in my AS year and did no revision for my june exams whatsoever (after doing the same at GCSE and getting 5 A*s 6 As 1 B), and then ended up with a B in maths, D in futher maths and chemistry, and an E in physics. Really hit me hard and contemplated resitting the year, but had got As and Bs in half the modules and my coursework so planned to resit the other half in january. Really pulled my socks up for A2 and kept at the grindstone all year. Convinced my teachers I was much better than BDDE, and once I'd shown how hard I was willing to work at the start of the year they agreed to predict me ABBC for UCAS. I applied to Loughborough as firm for BEng Civil Engineering, but I was bricking it because I had to put down my AS grades. Ended up getting the offer for ABB about three days after submitting my application! Worked really hard in the run up to exams, and yesterday ended up with an A in physics and maths, a B in chemistry and a C in further maths. Loughborough then accepted me and bumped me up to MEng because I got the two As.

Moral of the story - if you believe in yourself (cliche I know but it's never been truer for me) and have the right mental attitude and willpower to do well, anything is possible!!

Now looking forward to freshers and hoping my application for accommodation comes back with an offer with an en-suite :colone:

Reply 32

staruwinga

Original post by Dursty

Retook a year to go from CCEU to A*AAab at LSE

Thats great and well done! how did you manage to do that??!

Reply 33

DolSnow

Original post by PythianLegume

Well getting an A* from a B is no harder than getting it from an A at AS. At least not mathematically.

I've never heard of anyone going from a C to an A*, but I'm sure it's happened and C to A must be fairly common, especially with retakes.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought to get an A* at A2 you need an A at AS level plus over 90% in all your modules but you say people went C/B to A*. What's the A* requirement again? :colondollar:

Reply 34

Sherlockedd

ABCC to AAA. It's a lot of hard work, and bearing in mind you don't have Jan exams anymore. But it's definitely doable

Reply 35

so123

Hey guys,
In As mathematics I got both A's in C1 and C2 but in statistics i got a D so it all added up to a B. Do you think i should resit statistics to achieve an A?

Reply 36

username878045

Original post by DolSnow

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought to get an A* at A2 you need an A at AS level plus over 90% in all your modules but you say people went C/B to A*. What's the A* requirement again? :colondollar:

I think what you've described is for some exam boards, like CIE. However, for the 3 biggest exam boards OCR, AQA and Edexcel, you just need 80% overall and 90% across the A2 modules.

Reply 37

DolSnow

Original post by PythianLegume

I think what you've described is for some exam boards, like CIE. However, for the 3 biggest exam boards OCR, AQA and Edexcel, you just need 80% overall and 90% across the A2 modules.

Ohh okay, thanks for clearing that up! :wink:

Reply 38

RSmith1007

Original post by so123

Hey guys,
In As mathematics I got both A's in C1 and C2 but in statistics i got a D so it all added up to a B. Do you think i should resit statistics to achieve an A?

I would if I were you but it depends whether you think you can still get an A overall at the end of A2 without a resit. If you think your D was nowhere near what you were capable of then I some its best to resit and it shouldn't take away from revision for you A levels too much if you believe you are capable of much more than a D