Have poor GCSE'S, will universities let me explain why??

Im currently studying AS level Chemistry,Biology,Philosophy and Ethics.Im predicting my self to get 3A's but my GCSE'S are averaging B's and i want to apply for Veterinary medicine. I want to explain to the universities that during my GCSE's my school went down hill with the head teacher being kicked, Ofsted saying the school was "inadequate", and most of my teachers leaving. Veterinary Medicine is my dream and i just want to know if uni's would take me into consideration. I have also currently got 3 months worth of experience with animals in different areas to show my willingness.

Reply 1

squeakysquirrel

Original post by djhodnett

DO you know what I would do - get your A levels - and make sure they are A* then apply with some more animal practice experience.

Reply 2

Jamerson

Your teacher who is writing your UCAS reference will make a point of highlighting that, and if your A-levels are good, it will make you look even more attractive to universities, for the sheer effort you put in.
For example, the first paragraph of my reference was:

"(Jamerson) studied for his GCSEs at __________ , a school put into special measures by OFSTED as he completed his GCSEs. By 2013 (Jamerson) had joined __________ School to achieve the highest grade of any student in his year group and was the only student to achieve 100% in his A2 Philosophy of Religion examination. I have worked at _______ School for six years and in this time encountered a number of highly able students, even amongst this elite group (Jamerson) stands out. It was not just that (Jamerson) read widely, which he did, regularly drawing upon the works David Harvey, Owen Jones, Noam Chomsky and Charles Hartshorne to name but a few, but it was the way that (Jamerson) used the ideas of these thinkers that makes him the most talented student I have taught. He was able to draw upon arguments from disparate fields of study to produce engaging, controversial and yet persuasive arguments."

Reply 3

Inazuma

You can get your reference to mention this, but it's not extenuating circumstances and you can't really waste space mentioning it yourself. Kinda the best you can do. I would keep in mind, they may just think you could have self taught to get better.
Also, you really want to try to get better than 3 As at AS, especially as you are only doing 3 subjects..
Would do more work exp as much as you can handle also. More than you have now really.

Reply 4

User995789

Original post by Jamerson

This

Reply 5

djhodnett

ah ok thanks and i know this is often asked but how many hours should you be putting in each day for those top grades, is it worth giving up a few hours of sleep each night?

Reply 6

Inazuma

Original post by djhodnett

ah ok thanks and i know this is often asked but how many hours should you be putting in each day for those top grades, is it worth giving up a few hours of sleep each night?

Please don't :-)
Sleep deprivation really will make you lose concentration, and even if you use caffeine/pro plus whatever to keep you alert, the sleep you lose will catch up to you.
Although I was always terrible at revising, I would either make a timetable or do what I did at GCSE (such a silly thing I made up but if you want to laugh at me check out the info here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Best-revision-method-ever/116551565021610?fref=ts)
Also, don't revise till you drop, space it out with lots of breaks to keep you fresh :-)
How many hours depends - I could spend a whole day but with many short breaks. But some people do long concentrated hours but it really depends on you.

Reply 7

JD95

To be honest, unless it's a really competitive course or like a top top university there's a good chance they won't really care, unless it's a grade that you've not got at GCSE that they need for the entry requirements.