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Bad AS results to great A2/A-levels results - success stories?

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I got CCDE in my first year, worked my ass off all year and, despite having some problems at home around the time of my exams, i thought I did pretty well. I've dropped the E subject and hoping to raise my A2 grades to BBC next year :tongue: ALevels are seriously the hardest thing I've ever done
After receiving my year 12 exam results I thought to myself that I will never get the grades to do Biomedical Science, the grades I got were DDEUU ( Biology, Psychology, General studies, Chemistry and Maths in this order ).So I decided to retake Maths and carry on with Biology, Psychology and General studies for A2, during the year I work so hard but still keep on getting low grades in mocks etc but I didn't give up tho.I applied to do Biomedical science at Queen Mary ( foundation year ), Middlesex ( My firm ), UEL ( Insurance ), Kingston, and Canterbury Christ Church. Queen Mary was the first to turn me down even tho the grade required was only 240 UCAS point compared to 280 UCAS Point for Middlesex, Kingston and Canterbury. At that point I thought to myself what's the point of even trying, but then a few days later the offer started coming in.So I got turned down from QMUL but got the rest.Kept on working hard through out the year and it did actually work.I went from DDEUU to BBCC !!!!, it may not seem high but when I say D or E I meant I literally just got those grades. To push my grades up that high I had to retake BIOL2 and PSYA1 as well as getting A's in A2 units. I will be starting university this October doing what I really wanted to do, this wouldn't have been possible with out the tears and hard work
I got ABBBD at AS where the A was border line, I worked my ass off and came out with A* A B however the only thing stopping the A to an A* and the B to an A was school moderation going to rubbish which has really annoyed me regardless. I had to repeat all my AS art work which was so difficult and time consuming. At the end of the day it is possible to achieve anything you want, it just depends on how much you want it! Good Luck :smile:
(edited 3 years ago)
I went from BBDD at AS, to A*AB. Lancaster actually gave me a conditional offer (AAB) for English Language and Linguistics even after seeing those AS grades, so it's definitely possible. If you're going into A2 with AS results that you're less than happy with, don't give up. My advice would be for you to get started ASAP on your personal statement and make it the absolute the best you can. In terms of work though, all you need to do is keep moving - try not to let the work pile up, especially if you're retaking modules. Apart from that, try your best and persevere, that's all you can do. Good luck :smile:
Reply 764
Original post by GeoffreyW
After receiving my year 12 exam results I thought to myself that I will never get the grades to do Biomedical Science, the grades I got were DDEUU ( Biology, Psychology, General studies, Chemistry and Maths in this order ).So I decided to retake Maths and carry on with Biology, Psychology and General studies for A2, during the year I work so hard but still keep on getting low grades in mocks etc but I didn't give up tho.I applied to do Biomedical science at Queen Mary ( foundation year ), Middlesex ( My firm ), UEL ( Insurance ), Kingston, and Canterbury Christ Church. Queen Mary was the first to turn me down even tho the grade required was only 240 UCAS point compared to 280 UCAS Point for Middlesex, Kingston and Canterbury. At that point I thought to myself what's the point of even trying, but then a few days later the offer started coming in.So I got turned down from QMUL but got the rest.Kept on working hard through out the year and it did actually work.I went from DDEUU to BBCC !!!!, it may not seem high but when I say D or E I meant I literally just got those grades. To push my grades up that high I had to retake BIOL2 and PSYA1 as well as getting A's in A2 units. I will be starting university this October doing what I really wanted to do, this wouldn't have been possible with out the tears and hard work


Do you think it's worth applying to Middlesex university with AS Grades BDE when there requirements are BBB. Hoping to do better in A2. Only the B counts towards A level, the D and E are linear so have to sit AS and A2 next year. Will they offer a place with an E?
Reply 765
I got CDE Biology, Chemistry, and Economics in my first year in AS, retook the whole year got BBC in Biology Chemistry and Media Studies, after in A2 I end up getting BBB. I didn't get the entry requirements (AAB) but my university accepted me anyway! So life is good and remember never give up! :biggrin:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by kk5
Do you think it's worth applying to Middlesex university with AS Grades BDE when there requirements are BBB. Hoping to do better in A2. Only the B counts towards A level, the D and E are linear so have to sit AS and A2 next year. Will they offer a place with an E?


Is the requirement actually BBB or 300 ucas point ? I would try anyway if you think you can get BBB., i think it also depends on the report your school give you.
I am in the exact same position, I'm not sure if it's worth applying to uni's such as Durham where it's AAA, are you thinking of going to uni? If so where? Also mine were in History, Geography and politics all exams which i was very confident in:frown:
6 hours a day! I am not back at school yet (first day back is monday) but I am starting the revision as soon as I get the stuff needed. Hopefully my predicted grades are AAA I got 1A*7As 2Bs at GCSE with minimal work and after hearing horror stories I started revising months before my exams. It's just annoying that when I actually tried I did poorly especially when it mattered. I plan on working in my free periods and after college but I get home at 5 every college day I don't think I can do 6 hours a day maybe 3.
I ALSO FELL SHORT IN UNIT 2 politics it sucks as politics was easily my best subject and It's all I do/want to do. I'm AQA politics but they are basically the same syllabus just different length of questions. I'm excited to do USA and ideologies this year not sure if that's similar? I am going to put the work in after reading success stories with worse grades than me pulling up Cs to As and Bs to A*s anything is possible if you work hard. I'm going to work even harder being disappointed in august would crush me I have no idea what I'd do next honestly.
Best of luck to you to especially for Oxford!
I went from DEU in math, econ and sociology to AAB within a year. Im sure you can do it :-)
Reply 772
Original post by Shivanixxoxoox
I went from DEU in math, econ and sociology to AAB within a year. Im sure you can do it :-)


That's brilliant. I got BDE for AS and applying for Unis this year with these AS results. Do you think the Unis will give me any conditional offers seeing the E? I was thinking of just applying for middle range unis. Hopefully do better next year.
I know someone who got ABBC for AS which isn't bad, but they managed to get into LSE for law and the entry requirement was A*AA so I assume that's what they achieved !
Hi, I did my AS exams last summer, didn't get the grades I wanted (D in Chemistry and a B in DT product design).
Generally, when it always come to exams, I never really perform well due to anxiety and I really want to perform well this year as this is my final year; please could someone give me advice on how to overcome my anxiety and exam pressures.

Although, chemistry is a new spec due to the reform, that grade I got for AS will be considered as scarp so I have another chance of hopefully getting a B or above in chemistry.
Original post by Shivanixxoxoox
I went from DEU in math, econ and sociology to AAB within a year. Im sure you can do it :-)


Wow, that is really impressive, how did you turn it around if you don't mind me asking?
Original post by ALI_123
Wow, that is really impressive, how did you turn it around if you don't mind me asking?

Well i left in year 12 and self taught myself in year 13. I took a few lessons from a tutor when needed for maths, but mainly learnt from the book. In econ and socio i learnt the content and went crazy on inproving my exam skills. I also made a timetable so i spent my time wisely, i did 3 hours of math, 2 hours of econ and socio a day. But tbh the main thing is understanding the content over the quanity of hours you put in.
Original post by kk5
That's brilliant. I got BDE for AS and applying for Unis this year with these AS results. Do you think the Unis will give me any conditional offers seeing the E? I was thinking of just applying for middle range unis. Hopefully do better next year.

Beg your teachers to predict you higher!x
The sad thing about this thread is that even if i work hard at a A2 but did badly in AS my teachers are not going to give me high A2 predictions (obviously) - because of the new a level course :frown:
Original post by Shivanixxoxoox
Well i left in year 12 and self taught myself in year 13. I took a few lessons from a tutor when needed for maths, but mainly learnt from the book. In econ and socio i learnt the content and went crazy on inproving my exam skills. I also made a timetable so i spent my time wisely, i did 3 hours of math, 2 hours of econ and socio a day. But tbh the main thing is understanding the content over the quanity of hours you put in.


Wow, that's amazing, thanks for the info, hopefully this year I get the grades I want-thanks for the inspiration and motivation.

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