Three Years of A Level

Generally most unis will want all three A-levels to be sat in the same sitting. This would certainly be the case for Law at KCL which is fairly competitive. The only reason a uni might accept A-levels taken over a longer period would be due to compelling circumstances such as serious illness.

Also, KCL require A*AA for Law. From what you have said, this may be challenging for you in Drama.

I know, I really don't want to complete the whole A-Level in Drama. I'm currently achieving As in both English and German so I would hope to be able to boost at least one of those to an A*, but I expect then they still won't value these grades if I don't complete all my A-Levels over 2 years.

Hi,
So I am currently taking AS Levels in Drama, English Lang/Lit and German, but unfortunately am really not enjoying Drama at all. It's such a challenging course (even more so than my other two), I have a bad history with my teacher and I just really dislike the course. Granted, I am still doing alright grades-wise (B/C), but I really just do not want to do it for another year.
So I have spoken with my Head of Sixth Form and form tutor whom have both advised me to complete a new A-Level next year. However, I want to go to King's College London and complete a Law degree there but they do not accept resit students. So my question is do I really count as a resit student, and will my a-levels be less valued? I will be carrying on English and German and completing them next year, but will be picking up Philosophy and Ethics next year and carrying that onto year 14.
Any input would be really helpful as I am really unsure of what to do about this.
Thanks

Best to do A-levels over two years unless you have a good reason (such as illness). Otherwise, I am afraid they will give preference to other candidates. Like I said, Law at KCL is rather competitive.

Alternatively, you could sit your A-levels over three years and apply to less prestigious/ competitive unis?

Hi,
So I am currently taking AS Levels in Drama, English Lang/Lit and German, but unfortunately am really not enjoying Drama at all. It's such a challenging course (even more so than my other two), I have a bad history with my teacher and I just really dislike the course. Granted, I am still doing alright grades-wise (B/C), but I really just do not want to do it for another year.
So I have spoken with my Head of Sixth Form and form tutor whom have both advised me to complete a new A-Level next year. However, I want to go to King's College London and complete a Law degree there but they do not accept resit students. So my question is do I really count as a resit student, and will my a-levels be less valued? I will be carrying on English and German and completing them next year, but will be picking up Philosophy and Ethics next year and carrying that onto year 14.
Any input would be really helpful as I am really unsure of what to do about this.
Thanks

Heya, Have you phoned KCL to ask about what they think about A levels taken over a few years? Unfortunately more Unis want grades from one sitting now :/ Also, quick thing on the 3 yrs at 6th form. I did 3 yrs at 6th form, I'm in my 3rd year now and really unless you are absolutely sure that you want to drop back a year and have a really strong target for completing, i wouldn't recommend it. Its definitely a hard thing to do and it shouldn't be underestimated. If you're sure about it and know exactly why you're doing it you should be okay but don't do it lightly. Sorry for sounding so dramatic but in my year 8 people dropped back there are only 3 of us sticking it to the end of 6th form.

My heart is definitely set on attending a University in London. I've looked at the other options, but again I'm still concerned they won't accept resits.

Do you reckon I would potentially be accepted for an English course at KCL? Then after completing that degree I could carry out a conversion course to Law for a further year following this. I really don't know much about these conversion courses, but I have heard a few people who have done these and are now quite successful lawyers?

If you're currently just an AS student, it shouldn't be a problem just to fast-track a third A level next year - i.e. continue with English and German, but then pick up another subject too and do AS and A2 in the same year That way, you'll still get 3 A2s but in just two years

No, I haven't, I think I will though. Maybe expressing my eagerness to attend there could at least create a good initial impression.

And I won't be actually retaking any exams; just starting a new A-level. That's the thing you see, I'm not actually retaking anything, I'm just picking up a new AS thus increasing the time it takes me to complete three full A-Levels. And the targets my school have set me are all As and, at least at the moment, I'm not particularly struggling with the courses at all. They're challenging, just by the nature of advanced level work, but I don't think it is anything I can't overcome with a bit of extra work and commitment. And as for the reasoning behind this, I really do despise Drama, both the course and my teacher. I just think life is too short to spend a whole year being anxious and stressed over just one lesson; I don't want to have to continue attending these lessons feeling sick to my stomach. Trust me, I have exhausted all my other options. I just feel that extending my time at sixth form is the best option for me right now.

No see, I'm currently doing German, English and Drama. Dropping Drama at the end of this year so I get an AS level in that, then I pick up a new A-level next year and continue English and German. Finish English and German at the end of that year, then carry on my new one for a final year. I will only have one subject for that year though, so I will do some work experience and volunteering alongside this. So I complete all my A-levels still over 2 years, but just different 2 years. (It seems a lot more complicated when I write it out like this)

I seriously doubt LSE and UCL would accept you as they are statistically the two most competitive Law schools. The are noitorious for rejecting people who far surpass the entry requirements.

As per KCL's website:

"King's usually expects A-level applicants to have taken four AS-level subjects with three of these continued to A2-level. Most of our conditional offers are based on three A-level subjects, but some will ask for a 'fourth' subject at AS-level. If your school or college does not permit you to take a 'fourth' AS-level, they should ideally mention this in the opening paragraph of their academic reference.

The majority of our programmes require three A2s to be taken together in one sitting. High achievement in the ‘fourth’ AS-level subject may compensate for an applicant who narrowly fails to achieve the A-level offer."

Basically, almost all applicants should have sat all their A-level so in one sitting. You could try emailing the the admissions team and seeing what they say about your situation and what they can advise.

You can take the other route which is the GDL (the conversion course). Approximately 50% of lawyers today have done this. But there's no guarantee you'd get a place for English at KCL with A-levels over three sittings. If you have done A-levels over three years without mitigating circumstances, it is unlikely you will get into a competitive course as a competitive uni.

I think you have two choices:
1) Follow your current path and apply to less competive universities/ courses.

2) Do a full A-level in year 13, thereby keeping all three in the same sitting. Although, predicted grades for this may be difficult (unis do want predicted grades stated btw).

You also have the potential issue of only offering two AS levels. During admissions, the normal number is four.

But you've been studying English and German from 2016-18, then subject 3 from 2017-19, so overall you've been studying A levels from 2016-19, that's studying over three years in total...

You'd have to discuss with each university whether they would accept you with such a situation - yes, it's not as bad as studying the same subjects for three years because of needing to retake, but still it took you a year longer than their other applicants to get the same qualifications.

What I'm suggesting is:
Summer 2017 - sit exams in AS Drama, English and German
Summer 2018 - sit exams in A2 English, A2 german, and AS + A2 of subject 3

It's only the equivalent of one extra subject of work for your second year of sixth form, but means you have definitely met every university's definition of "three A2 subjects in two years"

You can still take a gap year afterwards for volunteering and all that - but having your grades already completed means that university applications that year would be much less stressful

I don't think my school would allow me to do that though, they won't even let me try and catch up a new AS for this year and they've only done just over a term, let alone a whole year. They get very funny about that sort of thing.

Well, if you explain to them that doing it their way will make it very challenging for you to go to university (best to call up some universities first to get their opinion on it too), thus affecting their "X% of our students went to top universities" statistics, they might understand why you are keen to do it this way. Also, if you can demonstrate this year that you are a very hard worker and can get excellent grades in your current subjects they will be able to see that you can cope with the higher workload next year You can also allocate time over the summer to start doing work towards your third subject, so that there is less pressure in class next year.

In my school, plenty of students were able to fast-track A levels in this way - it's definitely possible

I'll speak to my school about it on Monday. I think I should probably try and discuss all my options then before committing myself to this course of action.