Ex-polys asking for AAB for biomed.... ???

i got 3 As at A level. I didn't want to go to uni cos a. the price and b. it just wasn't my kind of environment. I know you don't have to pay it back all at once. But seeing my parents in debt, I don't want any hanging over my head at such a young age. And considering my subject, I highly doubt I'd ever make enough to pay it back anyway. OU was a good option for me.

Well, thanks for telling us all...

you're implying that anyone who is put off going to uni because of the fees is stupid/can't read that they don't have to pay it at once.

Locally QUB is a russel group university where the entry grades are ABB while the neighbour expolytech university university of ulster has entry requirements of BB with 280 ucas tarrif points, yet recently more people are placing University of Ulster as their firm even if they are sure to get A*A*A*A* simply because the course has a year in industry and the course structure is seen as better. When the NHS is a potential employer and its a vocational course, students wont get so hung up on russel group status. I think if your university has the same oppertunities the grade increases must seem very appropriate; its a very compettive and well respected course.

To be entirely fair, Northern Ireland is a bit of a special case because if you want to stay in your home country you only have two options, there is still something of a sectarian division (according to my QUB graduate geography teacher who's been researching it) and both universities get very high levels of research funding thanks to central gov't subsidies and economic incentives for companies to invest in NI. QUB and Ulster are also probably closer in ranking than the majority of universities that're in the same city, since QUB is by some measures a weaker Russell Group and Ulster isn't even technically a former poly - it was formed from it's constituent institutions several years before. So there will probably be more exceptions in Northern Ireland to the general rule that the better your university, the better your career prospects. Yes, there are several exceptions, but I'd still say that this remains the case normally, especially in some careers such as Law.

1. How do you know what your current GPs alevels were?
2. If they passed med school then they are good enough to be a doctor.
3. your telling me that if you were bleeding to death and there were 2 doctor one who had AAB at alevel and one who had DEE at alevel but only the one with DEE was able to help you would refuse and go for the useless doctor with AAB on principal? (not saying AAB doctors are useless just creating and example)
4. what has being a doctor dot to do with it? this thread is about biomed.
5.

your be shocked what older doctor grades than

why does it matter about A-level grades, A-levels mean nothing at degree level

That's assuming that everyone who does their A-levels is comfortably in the grade boundary. For someone who got AAA but got 81% in each of their AS modules, it's very easy to drop to AAB or lower, even by slightly messing up one exam.

And yes, some people do get complacent... in which case, they deserve to not get in. Others, however, just miss out because of some tiny part of the exam/examiner's marking style that had huge consequences. From my experience of AS marking, the examiners do sometimes have strange ways of doing things and our school's AS results last year were completely turned around as a result. The very best students appeared to absolutely flunk their exams and the worst ones ended up with the best marks.

^^ That's probably another rant, though. Sorry!

I know, it's true, but if someone has a very low A at AS they might not get predicted an A overall so might not be expecting to make that offer anyway. And it's true, as I said I messed up an AS and got a C whilst people who weren't that good at the subject got great marks, but then I retook the exam in January and my grade improved by 32%, so flunking at AS doesn't necessarily mean that students won't get an A/get a good grade. Although it can. But that just sucks.

T'as tort, mon amie, c'est la guerre.