Private Candidate UCAS.

I was planning to take AS levels this summer as a private candidate (but COVID) to give Unis a hint of my ability. I now have tutors predicting my grades and I’ll be taking A-Levels in 2021. Do I still need to take the AS’? Will it make my application stronger?

It’s probably a waste of money to do AS. Unless you want to use it for ucas points or something. Unis look at your GCSEs and predicted grades.

So did you already pay? Are you getting a refund? In principle, they would have to look at them as actual grades but in practice, they probably won't take much notice because you didn't actually achieve them so they're not much better than predicted grades. And since you're a private candidate the standardisation won't have done much if anything.

Oh right. If you want why not? Its practice and if you get worse you don't have to declare that on your UCAS application. But depending on where you apply the exams are in October and I think the results will be in December. So if you're early entry then probably don't bother. If you're not going for very competitive unis say in the top 10 possibly don't bother unless you think your teachers will horribly underpredict you. Its really about if you feel up to it or not but if you have good predicted grades I don't think you have to.

If anything tutors know you better but they could, of course, be biased.

Just to confirm you are taking your whole A levels as a private candidate right? Or were you just doing AS as a private candidate?

If you don't have anything else to do like a personal statement or mocks then I guess you have nothing to lose because if you don't do well in those exams you don't have to put them. If you do you can and it will be good practice. What do you think you'll get and where do you plan to apply?

So have you haven't paid for them? If that's the case then don't bother. I was under the impression that you have paid because I thought the deadline would have been a while ago to enter for AS or A level exams since I had to register some privately.

I’m doing full A-Levels privately. I’m currently working on my personal statement - it’s just it costs quite a lot to sit 3 AS’s so if they’re not needed I don’t want to sit them.

I would sit them so that you have some objective evidence of your ability.

It's depressing to think about but say there was another coronavirus spike and the A level exams got cancelled next year again? Then unis would use your AS level grades as the basis of making you offers and in any case, seeing as you won't be doing mocks in September like pupils at school, it will be very good exam practice for you. Although be aware that unlike what someone said above, you will need to declare the grades you achieve to UCAS.

The only problem here is that results aren't released until Christmas time and I wanted to get my application off in September because when I spoke to the Unis they said the earlier the better.

I would sit them so that you have some objective evidence of your ability.

It's depressing to think about but say there was another coronavirus spike and the A level exams got cancelled next year again? Then unis would use your AS level grades as the basis of making you offers and in any case, seeing as you won't be doing mocks in September like pupils at school, it will be very good exam practice for you. Although be aware that unlike what someone said above, you will need to declare the grades you achieve to UCAS.

I would sit them so that you have some objective evidence of your ability.

It's depressing to think about but say there was another coronavirus spike and the A level exams got cancelled next year again? Then unis would use your AS level grades as the basis of making you offers and in any case, seeing as you won't be doing mocks in September like pupils at school, it will be very good exam practice for you. Although be aware that unlike what someone said above, you will need to declare the grades you achieve to UCAS.

I have but I can get refunded until Sept 5

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896446/Autumn_Series_2020_Consultation_Decisions_300620.pdf
Yeah, they said that they will issue replacement certificates to show the higher of your summer and autumn grades. Which suggests that you do not have to declare the results you achieve if they are lower than your summer calculated grades.

In this document it says that :
"We invited views in the consultation on our proposal that we should allow an exam
board, if it wished, to issue a replacement certificate to a student who wanted only
the higher of the summer calculated grade and the autumn exam grade recorded on
1 Exam boards believe they will be able to issue A level results before Christmas if the exams are held
in October.
their certificate(s) but that we should not require an exam board to do this because of
the potentially disproportionate costs to them of doing so. (Question 21)
Sixty-one per cent agreed or strongly agreed with this proposal and 19% disagreed
or strongly disagreed.
Comments opposing the proposal included a preference for exam boards to be
required rather than allowed to issue replacement certificates and a preference for
no certificates to be issued for the summer series until the results of the autumn
series were known so just one certificate could be issued recording the higher of the
grades. In contrast, others argued against any approach that would delay the issue
of certificates for the summer or that would suggest the autumn grades were more
authentic than the summer grades.
Having considered the arguments put forward in the consultation responses,
we have decided not to adopt our original proposal. We will instead require the
exam boards to issue to any student who requests one, a replacement
certificate to show the higher of their summer and autumn grades. We will not
prevent exam boards from charging an additional fee for this."

OP will have to declare them if they take AS levels because they won't be retaking the AS exams - the next exams they sit will be A levels. What you are talking about applies to people affected by the lack of exams this June - they can take A levels exams this October if they aren't happy with the grades they are allocated and it won't count as "resits" since they technically didn't sit the A level exams in June but got given grades anyway.

Unis will make offers based on predicted A level results but OP would still need to declare the results of any exams they have taken before their A level exams including GCSEs and AS levels.

I don't understand what you are saying? Are you saying this only applies to those doing A levels and not AS? Doesn't the lack of exams this summer apply to AS as well?

I am talking about satsuns situation as they started the thread.

@satsun will have to declare it if they sit AS level exams in October unless a school/college has given them grades which they are receiving this August. Many private candidates do not have a school/college to predict their grades so they will not be getting grades this August.

He has tutors giving him grades so will that not be equivalent to the teacher given grades?

I wouldn’t have thought so but that is something he needs to check out if he is getting AS grades this August at all which is not clear to me