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HELP ME

Hi, just received my AS - results. To be direct, they were not great. I put in a huge amount of effort but I didn't get the grades I wanted.
I'm worried that because of that my chances of getting into a really good university in London is very low, as my predicted grades will not be where I want them to be. Is it still possible to manage to get into a good university in London if I bang out A-Levels? What are my options? And what else can I do to improve my chances of getting into a good university in central London?
Original post by aryzexx
Hi, just received my AS - results. To be direct, they were not great. I put in a huge amount of effort but I didn't get the grades I wanted.
I'm worried that because of that my chances of getting into a really good university in London is very low, as my predicted grades will not be where I want them to be. Is it still possible to manage to get into a good university in London if I bang out A-Levels? What are my options? And what else can I do to improve my chances of getting into a good university in central London?

Hi, sorry to hear your AS's aren't as good as you hoped. What are you hoping to apply for?
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aryzexx
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Original post by Harrybeld
Hi, sorry to hear your AS's aren't as good as you hoped. What are you hoping to apply for?

Hi, thanks for the quick reply! I was hoping to apply to Imperial College London for Computing(Security and Reliability), to University College London for Astrophysics, to UCFB for Football Coaching and Management and to City, the University of London for Computer Science with Cyber Security. I still have one university I can apply to.
Original post by aryzexx
Hi, thanks for the quick reply! I was hoping to apply to Imperial College London for Computing(Security and Reliability), to University College London for Astrophysics, to UCFB for Football Coaching and Management and to City, the University of London for Computer Science with Cyber Security. I still have one university I can apply to.

I'm also applying to imperial college and I know they require at least AAA whatever course and UCL is fairly competitive. Be careful as well I'm not able to apply to UCL as I don't have an MFL at GCSE so make sure you have that before applying or an alternative. What sort of grades do you think you'll get predicted? Other extra-curricular activities you can do are things that relate to your interest in the course, so maybe a physics club or society if that's what you're into? Maybe consider some volunteering. It may not seem relevant but It's a great way to show you team work skills, initiative and your dedication to something.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by Harrybeld
I'm also applying to imperial college and I know they require at least AAA whatever course and UCL is fairly competitive. Be careful as well I'm not able to apply to UCL as I don't have an MFL at GCSE so make sure you have that before applying. What sort of grades do you think you'll get predicted? Other extra-curricular activities you can do are things that relate to your interest in the course, so maybe a physics club or society if that's what you're into? Maybe consider some volunteering. It may not seem relevant but It's a great way to show you team work skills, initiative and your dedication to something.

Your comment regarding foreign language is not correct. UCL do not reject you for not having one. They make other arrangement such as you staying there and studying it during the summer or taking it through the year.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/study/modules/courses-and-applying/ucl-modern-foreign-language-requirement

As far as OP is concerned getting into a leading university with low GCSE grades is unlikely. Imperial in particular requires very high grades and UCL require very high grades as well. Kings require high grades. Your best option might be Queen Mary or City, You dont say how low your grade is but I suspect if it is lower than a B you will struggle to get in to leading universities in London or outside.
Original post by swanseajack1
Your comment regarding foreign language is not correct. UCL do not reject you for not having one. They make other arrangement such as you staying there and studying it during the summer or taking it through the year.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/study/modules/courses-and-applying/ucl-modern-foreign-language-requirement

As far as OP is concerned getting into a leading university with low GCSE grades is unlikely. Imperial in particular requires very high grades and UCL require very high grades as well. Kings require high grades. Your best option might be Queen Mary or City, You dont say how low your grade is but I suspect if it is lower than a B you will struggle to get in to leading universities in London or outside.

I don't think they're worried about their GCSE grades they explicitly said that it's there A level grades they're concerned about? Furthermore, just because I said I'm not applying to UCL because I don't have an MFL doesn't mean that there's not obviously ways round it! Better for them to be aware of the MFL requirements there.
Original post by aryzexx
Hi, thanks for the quick reply! I was hoping to apply to Imperial College London for Computing(Security and Reliability), to University College London for Astrophysics, to UCFB for Football Coaching and Management and to City, the University of London for Computer Science with Cyber Security. I still have one university I can apply to.


You need to work out which subject you want to do - you can't write one PS that will cover all these disparate courses.

And then you need to pull your finger out and do some work.
Reply 7
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aryzexx
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Original post by Harrybeld
I'm also applying to imperial college and I know they require at least AAA whatever course and UCL is fairly competitive. Be careful as well I'm not able to apply to UCL as I don't have an MFL at GCSE so make sure you have that before applying or an alternative. What sort of grades do you think you'll get predicted? Other extra-curricular activities you can do are things that relate to your interest in the course, so maybe a physics club or society if that's what you're into? Maybe consider some volunteering. It may not seem relevant but It's a great way to show you team work skills, initiative and your dedication to something.

But if I get predicted bad grades because of my poor AS results, and then get the entry requirements for these top universities, will I still have a chance? Also, I have German as an MFL at GCSE. I think I'll need to work on getting into other extra-curricular activities, but I have no idea whatsoever. Volunteering is something I'm considering to do in school, so thanks for that.
Reply 8
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aryzexx
OP
9
Original post by swanseajack1
Your comment regarding foreign language is not correct. UCL do not reject you for not having one. They make other arrangement such as you staying there and studying it during the summer or taking it through the year.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/study/modules/courses-and-applying/ucl-modern-foreign-language-requirement

As far as OP is concerned getting into a leading university with low GCSE grades is unlikely. Imperial in particular requires very high grades and UCL require very high grades as well. Kings require high grades. Your best option might be Queen Mary or City, You dont say how low your grade is but I suspect if it is lower than a B you will struggle to get in to leading universities in London or outside.

Hi Jack. So you're saying that I need to get B or higher at my A-levels if I want to have a shot at applying to these top universities? I can work at that level. I just had a bad day during my exams and therefore messed them up. So if I get excellent grades at A level, can I get into leading universities in London?
Reply 9
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aryzexx
OP
9
Original post by swanseajack1
Your comment regarding foreign language is not correct. UCL do not reject you for not having one. They make other arrangement such as you staying there and studying it during the summer or taking it through the year.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/study/modules/courses-and-applying/ucl-modern-foreign-language-requirement

As far as OP is concerned getting into a leading university with low GCSE grades is unlikely. Imperial in particular requires very high grades and UCL require very high grades as well. Kings require high grades. Your best option might be Queen Mary or City, You dont say how low your grade is but I suspect if it is lower than a B you will struggle to get in to leading universities in London or outside.

Also, what is OP?
Reply 10
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aryzexx
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Original post by returnmigrant
You need to work out which subject you want to do - you can't write one PS that will cover all these disparate courses.

And then you need to pull your finger out and do some work.

Oh cool, thanks! I will try and decide but I just want a clarity on my chances
Only advice I can give, which my physics teacher her gave me is if you are not sure about your chances of getting in or know that you didn't meet the required grades then email and ask what else you could do to improve to your chances. A girl at my school last year got rejected by St Andrews but then emailed them and they suggested she do a summer school then try for clearing and she got in. I will also be emailing St Andrews this year for Astrophysics.

Good luck, whatever you do and I hope all goes well.
Reply 12
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aryzexx
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Original post by laura10203
Only advice I can give, which my physics teacher her gave me is if you are not sure about your chances of getting in or know that you didn't meet the required grades then email and ask what else you could do to improve to your chances. A girl at my school last year got rejected by St Andrews but then emailed them and they suggested she do a summer school then try for clearing and she got in. I will also be emailing St Andrews this year for Astrophysics.

Good luck, whatever you do and I hope all goes well.

Oh my god. Thanks for this piece of advice! I will definitely email the respective universities. Thank you so much, Laura! And good luck to you too!!
Original post by aryzexx
Hi Jack. So you're saying that I need to get B or higher at my A-levels if I want to have a shot at applying to these top universities? I can work at that level. I just had a bad day during my exams and therefore messed them up. So if I get excellent grades at A level, can I get into leading universities in London?

Just as an example Imperial wants A* A* A for your course and for Computing is heavily oversubscibed. UCL will be similar possibly slighty lower and Kings probably around AAA.It is possible Queen Mary or City might be lower but are unlikely to be lower than a B. It depends on your predicted grades it is unlikely you will be made an offer with a Cor D. OP refers to opening poster the person who raised the issue ie you
Reply 14
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aryzexx
OP
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Original post by swanseajack1
Just as an example Imperial wants A* A* A for your course and for Computing is heavily oversubscibed. UCL will be similar possibly slighty lower and Kings probably around AAA.It is possible Queen Mary or City might be lower but are unlikely to be lower than a B. It depends on your predicted grades it is unlikely you will be made an offer with a Cor D. OP refers to opening poster the person who raised the issue ie you

Oh cool, now its more clear for me, thanks! Will clearing be of any assistance then? next year? because I think im going to be predicted Bs and Cs because of having a bad week. Smh. Anyways thanks.
Original post by aryzexx
Oh cool, now its more clear for me, thanks! Will clearing be of any assistance then? next year? because I think im going to be predicted Bs and Cs because of having a bad week. Smh. Anyways thanks.


Imperial and UCL dont normally enter clearing. Possibility with the other universities although unless you get high grades you are not likely to get into top universities. To be honest the likes of Imperial reject far more applicants than they take and people with A*A*A will be getting rejected. Unless your grades end up really high your best options might be City or Queen Mary or somewhere like Brunel or Royal Holloway which are on the outskirts. The further you prepared to travel the better your options will be particularly in clearing.

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