Completely failed a-levels!! help!
I originally applied to do Criminology at Leicester uni and had my heart set on it. I needed ABB but when I got my results back I only got DDD 
in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:
-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
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Grimsby university college will take you on your current grades, so will Harrogate college , hull, leeds metropolitan and Leeds city college. Don't give up!
(edited 9 years ago)
I don't really want to apply to any of those unis as I really had my heart set on Leicester... i'm only considering applying to Solent because of the foundation year. I'm worried that I'll hate it there and I've heard the teaching is not the best :/ and it's so late now I'm worried that I'll be put in a student flat.
If I resit I'm definitely determined to revise earlier and keep studying, but I definitely want to do it as an external student and not back at the college I just eft (I didn't really like the teachers too much, and I don't wanna sit through another year of the same thing).
Has anyone resat Biology? How would I submit the coursework from home? (It needs to be marked by a teacher).
Has anyone transferred from a foundation year at a "bad" uni to first year at a 'better' uni with bad a-level results but good foundation year results?
i'm only considering applying to Solent because of the foundation year. I'm worried that I'll hate it there and I've heard the teaching is not the best :/ and it's so late now I'm worried that I'll be put in a student flat. If I resit I'm definitely determined to revise earlier and keep studying, but I definitely want to do it as an external student and not back at the college I just eft (I didn't really like the teachers too much, and I don't wanna sit through another year of the same thing).
Has anyone resat Biology? How would I submit the coursework from home? (It needs to be marked by a teacher).
Has anyone transferred from a foundation year at a "bad" uni to first year at a 'better' uni with bad a-level results but good foundation year results?
Its very rare you can transfer doing a foundation degree in one uni and go to another uni I'm afraid as the foundation degree isn't a proper qualification
Original post by rachrl03
................
What are you going to do with at least £30k of debt and a degree in criminology from Leicester? You need to think longer term than 'my heart [is set] on Leicester when your starting point is 'completely failed a-levels'. You need to review all options, the primary one being 'can I get to where I want to be professionally without going to University?'.
Original post by rachrl03
I originally applied to do Criminology at Leicester uni and had my heart set on it. I needed ABB but when I got my results back I only got DDD in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:
-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
I done exactly that. I done a foundation year at UEL (Lower then solent) and was offered places to southampton, kent, essex and city after that year. (I did pass my foundation year with a 78% average though so bare in mind if you chose that route you will have to work hard)
Original post by SophieLaw_
Its very rare you can transfer doing a foundation degree in one uni and go to another uni I'm afraid as the foundation degree isn't a proper qualification
This isn't actually true.
A Foundation DEGREE is a 'proper qualification', and many Unis will accept you from another Uni's course.
A Foundation COURSE is a one year course designed usually for International students to sort out their English skills and ease them into the UK Uni system. This isn't worth a great deal.
You are much better off resitting your A2 year if you ask me, even if you didn't like it that much. You are there to learn and you've already covered it once before. An extra year will help you decide what you want to do. I resat my AS year and it helped me a lot. You could always apply to another college for your A2 year if they offer the same subjects and if your AS subjects can be combined with their A2 of the same subject (if it is a different board, that is something you'd need to look into. I had my general studies from one AS board added to the A2 of another board to make a complete A Level for example.)
Original post by returnmigrant
This isn't actually true.
A Foundation DEGREE is a 'proper qualification', and many Unis will accept you from another Uni's course.
A Foundation COURSE is a one year course designed usually for International students to sort out their English skills and ease them into the UK Uni system. This isn't worth a great deal.
A Foundation DEGREE is a 'proper qualification', and many Unis will accept you from another Uni's course.
A Foundation COURSE is a one year course designed usually for International students to sort out their English skills and ease them into the UK Uni system. This isn't worth a great deal.
Most Unis who do foundation degrees state that their degree is only applicable to their University, I know people who done their FD at the University of Liverpool and other Universities who contacted other unis to change and said its not possible.
Original post by rachrl03
..
You are clearly reasonably bright and you've just had a big wake-up call that you were not working hard enough/at the right level. Retake your A levels or switch to subjects you feel you could get high grades in on a 1 year course.
A Foundation course in a Humanities or Soc Sci course probably isnt the answer. Much of the syllabus will be be a bit frustrating as you can clearly work well above this level.
My advice (as an academic) would be to retake your A levels - cut out all the distractions and work hard. And apply to some better Unis than somewhere like S'ton Solent - they really are the lowest possible and a degree from there really isn't worth the paper its written on.
Original post by Hannahmay01
Grimsby university
No such University. You mean University Centre Grimsby, which is an HE/FE college. They can't validate their own degrees (they have no Royal Charter) and their degrees aren't worth having. Even London Met would be a better option than that.
Original post by returnmigrant
No such University. You mean University Centre Grimsby, which is an HE/FE college. They can't validate their own degrees (they have no Royal Charter) and their degrees aren't worth having. Even London Met would be a better option than that.
Unless you want to work in refrigeration where it is the place to go.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Tkenson
If you do resit, as long as the grades are much better you're all good. I suggest going to a private exam, register with them, go to the exam and receive results next August, some exam centres have coursework options.
Thank you! I'll look into private centres
Original post by rachrl03
I originally applied to do Criminology at Leicester uni and had my heart set on it. I needed ABB but when I got my results back I only got DDD in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:
-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
If you WANTED to move away, I would recommend ringing Sunderland uni. They still have places on the Criminology course and I think they are accepting anyone now
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Original post by returnmigrant
You are clearly reasonably bright and you've just had a big wake-up call that you were not working hard enough/at the right level. Retake your A levels or switch to subjects you feel you could get high grades in on a 1 year course.
A Foundation course in a Humanities or Soc Sci course probably isnt the answer. Much of the syllabus will be be a bit frustrating as you can clearly work well above this level.
My advice (as an academic) would be to retake your A levels - cut out all the distractions and work hard. And apply to some better Unis than somewhere like S'ton Solent - they really are the lowest possible and a degree from there really isn't worth the paper its written on.
A Foundation course in a Humanities or Soc Sci course probably isnt the answer. Much of the syllabus will be be a bit frustrating as you can clearly work well above this level.
My advice (as an academic) would be to retake your A levels - cut out all the distractions and work hard. And apply to some better Unis than somewhere like S'ton Solent - they really are the lowest possible and a degree from there really isn't worth the paper its written on.
I definitely didn't work hard enough, that and the fact that I had some health issues so ended up taking quite a lot of time off are probably the reasons I didn't do so well.
My results were upper D's, only 2 or 3 marks off of C's so I think with more work I could do a lot better. I'm considering taking up another as-level, or learning a language in which would probably make my UCAS application look better
Thank you for your reply it was very helpful!
Original post by Amyleigh95x
they are accepting anyone now
Which probably tells you all you need to know about Sunderland.
Original post by returnmigrant
Which probably tells you all you need to know about Sunderland.
Urm no, it isn't a popular course there. All of their other other courses are full. Keep your opinions to yourself. I'm trying to help someone
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by rachrl03
I originally applied to do Criminology at Leicester uni and had my heart set on it. I needed ABB but when I got my results back I only got DDD in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:
-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
in psychology, biology and religious studies. My results were mainly E's and U's, with a few C's. I got BCC in my first year so that brought my grades up slightly :/ I still want to do criminology at uni so here are my options:-Re-take my a2 year. I have no idea how I would even go about sorting this out with my college to be honest and I didn't really enjoy it or like my teachers.
-Take a gap year to work and then resit my exams in the summer. I'm not sure how I would resit my Biology a-level because theres coursework that needs to be done and marked by a teacher?? also I'm worried that I will still not be able to get my grades up because of my as results.
-Do a foundation year at uni. Keele was my second choice uni and they're a fairly decent uni and they offer a foundation year for social sciences. I've emailed them and there are no spaces available for this year. so I could work for a year then start the foundation year?
-Do a foundation year at a worse uni. Southampton Solent has a law and criminology foundation year available to start this year, (I need to speak with them and check) but it's not as great of a uni as other places.
Would there be any chance of me doing the foundation year at Solent and then applying to another place like Leicester or Keele? Or would they see my a-level results and run? Please help I really can't decide what would be the best option!
I was in a similar experience and ended up at Durham, I wrote about it http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2055250
Original post by returnmigrant
This isn't actually true.
A Foundation DEGREE is a 'proper qualification', and many Unis will accept you from another Uni's course.
A Foundation COURSE is a one year course designed usually for International students to sort out their English skills and ease them into the UK Uni system. This isn't worth a great deal.
A Foundation DEGREE is a 'proper qualification', and many Unis will accept you from another Uni's course.
A Foundation COURSE is a one year course designed usually for International students to sort out their English skills and ease them into the UK Uni system. This isn't worth a great deal.
A foundation course gives progression into the university you take the course at, it is not just designed for internationals. The one I took at Loughborough was probably 85% national students. A foundation degree gives a qualification and doesnt provide the assumption you will continue studying at that university. You treat foundation courses as an integrated year.
In my case Oxford, Durham, Manchester, Bristol, Warwick would all consider my foundation course as a method to apply to with.
(edited 9 years ago)
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