The Student Room Group

Applying to uni with bad AS grades?

I got CCD at AS, I'm retaking a paper for each subject (some of them I got a's others I got d's so it pulled me down to a c) :frown: Will this affect my application as im planning on applying to a university with the entry requirements of AAB, I haven't got a problem with my teachers predicting me two A grades for the subjects I got C's in my only problem is the D grade where I think my teacher will only predict me a C I know definitely he wont predict me a B what should I do?
Remember that you apply to 5 universities, so its always wise to apply to ones with a range of entry requirements to try to make sure you get some offers. Also, some universities will give you, say, an AAB offer providing your predicted grades aren't miles off that, and then can be lenient on results day. It really depends on how competitive the course is.
Original post by nayana71
I got CCD at AS, I'm retaking a paper for each subject (some of them I got a's others I got d's so it pulled me down to a c) :frown: Will this affect my application as im planning on applying to a university with the entry requirements of AAB, I haven't got a problem with my teachers predicting me two A grades for the subjects I got C's in my only problem is the D grade where I think my teacher will only predict me a C I know definitely he wont predict me a B what should I do?


If you got CCD and are being predicted AAC, then you aren't going to be in a good position for several reasons, the first being that those aren't realistic predictions and won't look like them to admissions officers. The second is that any university requiring As in their offer won't settle for a C in there too. The third is that you will be competing against many applicants who actually got the grades required at AS and you aren't going to be an attractive candidate.

Some solutions:
Get more realistic predicted grades and apply to places within your range.
Take a gap year and apply with achieved grades, which will take the focus off your AS grades if they are higher.
Apply to universities which make offers in points rather than grades.
Reply 3
Original post by Carnationlilyrose
If you got CCD and are being predicted AAC, then you aren't going to be in a good position for several reasons, the first being that those aren't realistic predictions and won't look like them to admissions officers. The second is that any university requiring As in their offer won't settle for a C in there too. The third is that you will be competing against many applicants who actually got the grades required at AS and you aren't going to be an attractive candidate.

Some solutions:
Get more realistic predicted grades and apply to places within your range.
Take a gap year and apply with achieved grades, which will take the focus off your AS grades if they are higher.
Apply to universities which make offers in points rather than grades.


Actually I think my predicted grades will be accurate, I'm retaking a couple of papers because I made silly mistakes in the exams like writing on the QP instead of the answer sheet or not filling in boxes correctly etc.. :s-smilie: and I know I have the potential my teachers think so too and that I can pull my grades up after the retakes if I work hard enough.

I would consider a gap year but I cant because my sixth form is the only one in my town that does Ethics/philosophy A level and they don't accept any students to stay a third year.
Original post by nayana71
Actually I think my predicted grades will be accurate, I'm retaking a couple of papers because I made silly mistakes in the exams like writing on the QP instead of the answer sheet or not filling in boxes correctly etc.. :s-smilie: and I know I have the potential my teachers think so too and that I can pull my grades up after the retakes if I work hard enough.

I would consider a gap year but I cant because my sixth form is the only one in my town that does Ethics/philosophy A level and they don't accept any students to stay a third year.


Well, you asked whether it would affect your application, and I gave my opinion. To an outsider, which is what admissions tutors are, that's how it looks.
I think apply for one university with AAB, but applying for all five AAB would be silly. AAB universities are not lenient, they are the red brick universities who receive hundreds of applicants with those grades, they don't need to be lenient. And unfortunately, there are no way to hide AS grades (they used to have a system where you only applied with predicts grades, therefore lots of people got offers based on predicted grades despite having poor AS grades)

I think universities more in the range of ABB-BBB would be more safe options and also tend to be more lenient especially universities that require points rather than grades. If you're doing the EPQ this will also work in your favour as universities may let one grade slip for you. But the likes of Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Liverpool, Southampton, Surrey.... they won't particularly like the fact that you'll have three pending grades for AS (as this is what you have to put when resitting papers because you don't know your final AS grade currently).

If its any help I'd say apply for
1 AAB
2 ABB
1 BBB
1 BBC

those would be wise entry requirements to apply for as you'd insure yourself as least two offers so if all else failed you could still attend university.
Reply 6
Original post by francescabonnici
I think apply for one university with AAB, but applying for all five AAB would be silly. AAB universities are not lenient, they are the red brick universities who receive hundreds of applicants with those grades, they don't need to be lenient. And unfortunately, there are no way to hide AS grades (they used to have a system where you only applied with predicts grades, therefore lots of people got offers based on predicted grades despite having poor AS grades)

I think universities more in the range of ABB-BBB would be more safe options and also tend to be more lenient especially universities that require points rather than grades. If you're doing the EPQ this will also work in your favour as universities may let one grade slip for you. But the likes of Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Liverpool, Southampton, Surrey.... they won't particularly like the fact that you'll have three pending grades for AS (as this is what you have to put when resitting papers because you don't know your final AS grade currently).

If its any help I'd say apply for
1 AAB
2 ABB
1 BBB
1 BBC

those would be wise entry requirements to apply for as you'd insure yourself as least two offers so if all else failed you could still attend university.


Thank you very much this was very helpful! Surrey is my dream university and the requirements for my course is AAB :redface: I know I can achieve this it's just what you said about the universities seeing 3 pending grades... I may loose my offer because of that.
Reply 7
Original post by nayana71
I got CCD at AS, I'm retaking a paper for each subject (some of them I got a's others I got d's so it pulled me down to a c) :frown: Will this affect my application as im planning on applying to a university with the entry requirements of AAB, I haven't got a problem with my teachers predicting me two A grades for the subjects I got C's in my only problem is the D grade where I think my teacher will only predict me a C I know definitely he wont predict me a B what should I do?


Honestly, its not safe to apply to 5 universities who want AAB. That being said you didn't do that bad. Although there are people who did better that you, there are also people who did worse. I would apply to a few units who want AAB and maybe a few who want lower, however if your dream is to go to a good uni why not concentrate on your grades and take a gap year, so you can apply with your A levels, rather than predicitons
I need some help here badly. I got CDEE and they were definintely NOT the grades I was hoping for. I was working at a B/C grade student for all of year 12 and I got BBCD in my AS Mocks. I expect my predicted grades will be B/C, C, C/D but I want to do geography at QMUL (300 tariff points). Can anyone help?

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