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i didnt qualify for A-Level maths

i didnt qualify for a-level maths and the things im looking into (uni courses) mostly require it. I really have no idea what to do. My chosen A-Levels are biology, chemistry, economics and psychology

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Reply 1
Original post by irmxnte
i didnt qualify for a-level maths and the things im looking into (uni courses) mostly require it. I really have no idea what to do. My chosen A-Levels are biology, chemistry, economics and psychology

What do you want to do
Reply 2
Original post by Gone245
What do you want to do

something science related such as biochemistry or medicine... anything to do with science or economics
Reply 3
Original post by irmxnte
something science related such as biochemistry or medicine... anything to do with science or economics

You can do an extended diploma in applied science. You can do biochemistry at almost any university with that (except oxbridge).
What do you mean you didn't qualify? Is it your GCSEs? In which case you can make a case to the school and ask them to allow you to take it. Say some things about how you're confident you can get a good grade and that they can assess your performance in the 1st/2nd term and then decide or something. It's what I did a few years ago when I did my A-levels
Reply 5
Original post by Gatewaymerge
What do you mean you didn't qualify? Is it your GCSEs? In which case you can make a case to the school and ask them to allow you to take it. Say some things about how you're confident you can get a good grade and that they can assess your performance in the 1st/2nd term and then decide or something. It's what I did a few years ago when I did my A-levels

I guess so, i achieved a 5 in my GCSE's but i'm too scared to ask if i can swap.
You dodged a bullet tbh 😂
Reply 7
Original post by OR321
You dodged a bullet tbh 😂

how so? this is honestly just making me panic 😂
Original post by irmxnte
how so? this is honestly just making me panic 😂

Personally I absolutely hated a Level Maths and found it so boring ,but I’m joking, you seem like you’re actually interested in it so you should be fine. My mistake was not fully liking it in the first place and still doing it 😂
Original post by irmxnte
I guess so, i achieved a 5 in my GCSE's but i'm too scared to ask if i can swap.

Honestly, don't worry. There could have been many reasons why you didn't achieve your best grade. As long as you now realise you need Maths to get where you want, let that be your motivation and confidence. Also the brain grows up to around 25 years old, if you're not good at maths now, you may get better later on. If I was you, I'd definitely put a decent case and ask for a swap. If they say no then just go the self-study route.
Original post by irmxnte
something science related such as biochemistry or medicine... anything to do with science or economics

I’m in a similar situation to you ( I got a 6 in maths and my sixth form want a 7) but I’ve not bothered appealing as I’ve seen so many horror stories about how hard it is ( 2019 paper 2).

I want to do something economics/ finance related and I’ve found some Russel group unis (Queen Mary, Southampton ) who don’t require an a level in maths for a degree in finance and accounting
Reply 11
Original post by irmxnte
I guess so, i achieved a 5 in my GCSE's but i'm too scared to ask if i can swap.

Most students who get a 4/5 for GCSE maths struggle at A Level (stats show that the majority get a D or less) so I wouldn't recommend going for it unless there's a specific reason why you think you can improve so much at A Level compared to GCSE. But even then you probably won't have the foundations required to do well at A Level so you're going to find it very tough.
Schools have good reasons for requiring students to get a 6 (or at many schools a 7) at GCSE, which is that A level maths is so much harder than GCSE Maths, and people with below a 6 will often do badly in it, so letting them choose it wouldn't help them in the long run
Reply 13
Original post by Gone245
I’m in a similar situation to you ( I got a 6 in maths and my sixth form want a 7) but I’ve not bothered appealing as I’ve seen so many horror stories about how hard it is ( 2019 paper 2).

This should not be a reason not to do A Level maths since grade boundaries are always adjusted to reflect the difficulty of the exam. Nationally the percentages who achieve each grade are similar every year and in 2019 they were

A*: 16.5
A: 24.5
B: 18.1
C: 16.5
D: 13.2
E: 8.0
Original post by irmxnte
i didnt qualify for a-level maths and the things im looking into (uni courses) mostly require it. I really have no idea what to do. My chosen A-Levels are biology, chemistry, economics and psychology

My teacher said even with a 7 I'd find we'd find it horrific, and he was strongly against taking it with a 6. So with a 5 I without doubt would recommend you not to take it, it would be ludicrous
Reply 15
Original post by OR321
Personally I absolutely hated a Level Maths and found it so boring ,but I’m joking, you seem like you’re actually interested in it so you should be fine. My mistake was not fully liking it in the first place and still doing honese

honestly im not interested either in it but i just want to get into a good uni. im good at maths i just have really bad anxiety problems when it comes to exams and it causes me to panic and then i forget everything, im suprised i even managed to pass.
Reply 16
Original post by Gatewaymerge
Honestly, don't worry. There could have been many reasons why you didn't achieve your best grade. As long as you now realise you need Maths to get where you want, let that be your motivation and confidence. Also the brain grows up to around 25 years old, if you're not good at maths now, you may get better later on. If I was you, I'd definitely put a decent case and ask for a swap. If they say no then just go the self-study route.

I'll ask about it and talk to my head of sixth form and see what he says, and take his advice and try to make my case. Thank you for the help :smile:
Reply 17
Original post by Notnek
Most students who get a 4/5 for GCSE maths struggle at A Level (stats show that the majority get a D or less) so I wouldn't recommend going for it unless there's a specific reason why you think you can improve so much at A Level compared to GCSE. But even then you probably won't have the foundations required to do well at A Level so you're going to find it very tough.

the thing is im good at maths, i got moved up to set 1 in school but when it comes to exams i panic and forget things. im very suprised i managed to even pass with what happened to me in that exam
Reply 18
Original post by irmxnte
the thing is im good at maths, i got moved up to set 1 in school but when it comes to exams i panic and forget things. im very suprised i managed to even pass with what happened to me in that exam

What was your predicted grade?
Original post by irmxnte
honestly im not interested either in it but i just want to get into a good uni. im good at maths i just have really bad anxiety problems when it comes to exams and it causes me to panic and then i forget everything, im suprised i even managed to pass.

Then it wouldn't be right for you to pick it at A level even if your school allowed it. You should pick the subjects you find easiest and enjoy the most, and preferably only 3 of them

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