Am I being too ambitious about universities?

I really want to apply to Russell group universities, however, I feel as though my A level choices and GCSE grades limits me, especially since I want to apply to the likes of Durham/Oxford, Exeter and Kings/UCL.

At GCSE, I got A*A*A*A*A*, Distinction*, Double Merit, AAAABBB. A*A* in English Lit/ Lan and A in maths. I feel like the Bs limit me immediately. At A-Levels, Im taking Math, English Lit, ICT and Psychology (dropping ICT at A2).

Am I being too over ambitious?

(edited 10 years ago)

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Reply 1

Goods

It would help if you were applying for a course rather than just to a university...

Reply 2

MEPS1996

This is your first post!

Reply 3

Lute

I want to apply for Law at university. :smile:

Reply 4

jackf1337

Wow, 3 B's at GCSE- that's so terrible.

In all seriousness, please stop bragging about your grades by making them sound bad. Instead, tell us your A level predicted grades and the courses you'd like to study.

Edit: Why didn't you take politics or philosophy or something?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 5

username1118458

Your grades are fine, if not perfect. They usually don't mind the odd B grade at GCSE unless it's a core subject such as Maths, English or Science or very closely related to the course you want to do.

Not too sure about your actual A-Level choices suiting your preference to choose Law though. English Literature and Psychology sort of make sense but Maths and ICT just come out of nowhere. They're good A-Level choices but not for Law. Why didn't you decide to do History, Politics or Law A-Level?

Reply 6

Octohedral

No you're not being too ambitious. :smile:

Russel group universities will see those as very good grades. You might have trouble with the Bs at the very top end, like Oxford, particularly since when you apply you will only have AS results, but they by no means discount you, and with good A-levels and extras you have a decent chance.

What do you want to apply for? In terms of choices, Psychology and ICT aren't the strongest choices, but they are perfectly good, and Maths and English Lit are very strong.

In short: there will be a lot of applicants with better grades, because that's the nature of those universities, but with good a-levels you are definitely in the running, and should certainly be aiming for high Russel group or equivalent.

Reply 7

Lute

My predicted are BBB for AS. And, My subjects were generally chosen to show versatility. I did get told that A-level math was a generally accepted subject in many courses as a "hard subject". ICT I plan to drop this year.

Generally, I chose Psychology over History / other written subjects as Psych appealed more. Law AS had mixed opinions as to whether they were liked in University or not. Taking politics at uni does not interest me, but Philosopy is a subject which sounds interesting, but I like the idea of aiding people in Law more :smile:

Reply 8

username944192

Nope.

I got A*A*A*AAAAABBBB at GCSE and I had offers from UCL, Warwick, York, Southampton and Nottingham for law. Not too ambitious at all as long as your AS grades are good - all of mine were over 90% and I feel this may have made up for the Bs I got at GCSE. Plus LNAT result.

Reply 9

MomtaajRahman

There are no compulsory A Levels that you need to take in order to study Law at university. There are however subjects that are often seen as highly desirable - many Law hopefuls choose to do History and English Literature. ICT is a little random and is seen as a limited subject. Also, you may need to re-think your university choices: although as amazing as it seems to apply to all the universities of your initial choice, they are all relatively high risk so it's plausible to have one medium risk and one low risk choice. That being said, you have yet to do your A Levels and you may change your mind.

Reply 10

bubzi1412

You spelled "Aren't my GCSE grades so good?" wrong.
You have a pretty good chance so far...keep it up for A Levels.

Reply 11

jacketpotato

Sounds like you go to a very high achieving school and lack perspective on what "good" grades actually mean. 99% of people think your grades are amazing.

Reply 12

ThatRandomGuy

There's a person on here called tooambitious. I'm sure she'll be able to tell you.

Reply 13

Appeal to reason

Original post by jacketpotato

Sounds like you go to a very high achieving school and lack perspective on what "good" grades actually mean. 99% of people think your grades are amazing.

Either that or OP has been lurking on TSR too long.

Reply 14

ed-

Original post by Lute

I don't think so.

I got offers from Russell Groups (Exeter and York) with 2As 4Bs and 3Cs at GCSE and AAB at AS level - but predicted AAA.
As long as you have a good personal statement I think you'll get offers.

Reply 15

ed-

Original post by jacketpotato

Sounds like you go to a very high achieving school and lack perspective on what "good" grades actually mean. 99% of people think your grades are amazing.

You can never aim to high, surely

Reply 16

Kitty Pimms

Original post by Lute

Your predictions are far more likely to be a problem than your attained grades - having a smattering of Bs at GCSE is essentially normal. However, if you apply for law with all B predictions for A2 you will have a problem, so focus on your exams and do your best to convince your teachers that you will smash it at A2. You can't change your GCSEs now, so there is little point worrying about them - but you *can* change your A Level results, and that will have a real impact on the likely success of your applications.

Reply 17

eggfriedrice

If you get B's at A level then it might be ambitious, but GCSEs are fine as long as it's not medicine.

I got 8A* and 4A at GCSE, but in my first year AS I got AABB, the Bs were a few UMS off As but still not great.
I applied to Bath and UCL who wanted A*AA for my course and received offers from both. I've firmed Bath who gave me an additional offer of AAAA so I guess it worked out for me.

Tbh, whether it's ambitious or not is up to you. If you think you can do it, then do it.

Reply 18

crayfishy

They barely take into consideration the grades you got at GCSE.. have you looked at any of the University Websites? They tell you the grade requirements for Alevels as well as for GCSE
(eg. Typical Offer: AAB with a pass at an AS subject and a B or higher in English and Maths at GCSE) Or something like that