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Advanced Extension Award- what do people think of it?

I had great fun doing the AEA English exam and tbh it was quite easy. It took up a small amount of time (I did 8 practise questions) but I got a Distinction. I know one girl who went to Cambridge to read English with AAA Merit so I'm sure it helps.

Reply 41

Alan Smithee

Angelil

I had great fun doing the AEA English exam and tbh it was quite easy. It took up a small amount of time (I did 8 practise questions) but I got a Distinction. I know one girl who went to Cambridge to read English with AAA Merit so I'm sure it helps.

*Is that a fanfare I hear? No, it's Angelil tooting her own horn again*

Reply 42

yorkshirelass

14

Angelil

I had great fun doing the AEA English exam and tbh it was quite easy. It took up a small amount of time (I did 8 practise questions) but I got a Distinction. I know one girl who went to Cambridge to read English with AAA Merit so I'm sure it helps.

8 practice questions! That's a vast amount of time. I didn't do any practice questions before sitting the exam.

Reply 43

Ronove

18

Practising is for losers.

Losers who actually pass the damn thing.
But still.
Losers.

:aetsch:

Reply 44

Robob

17

Ronove

Practising is for losers.

Losers who actually pass the damn thing.
But still.
Losers.

:aetsch:

I agree! I did the physics AEA.

My preparation involved going out and getting wasted......preparation was fun....

Reply 45

tctc

yeh... playing pool with shots of corkeys... blargh

Reply 46

Angelil

19

Platocrates

*Is that a fanfare I hear? No, it's Angelil tooting her own horn again*

Nope, not 'tooting my own horn' as you so kindly put it...the OP asked what people who had done it thought of it, so... :confused:

Reply 47

imageofreality

rpotter

I agree! I did the physics AEA.

My preparation involved going out and getting wasted......preparation was fun....

lol i did the latin one, but it was so late on everyone else apart from a guy doing STEP maths had finished... so they were all partying... neither of us felt an exam the next morning was an excuse to miss out on the party!

I dont want to say much because i dont have the results yet but the AEA didn't seem much harder than the A-level.... i was slightly fluky tho for i had already translated one of the pieces in a lesson... muwhahaha... :biggrin:

Reply 48

Bluefairy

11

Do you think missing out 2/3 questions has cost me? lol

Reply 49

Angelil

19

Err...how can I put this delicately...yes....lol...

Reply 50

Bluefairy

11

O well it doesn't count for anything.

Reply 51

DavidAntoni

Personally I think they're a waste of time.

I'm sure you've all heard of the whole exam reform thing that only ever seems to come to light in mid-august, and am sure you all know why. All thse politicians we hear about are constantly trying to draft up new assessment schemes, or add to old ones, i.e. the over-arching diploma and extra optional questions/5000-word-essays/reduction from 6 to 4 modules/presentations/access to modular grades for A-levels, respectively, and they seem to overlook that AEAs exist. I'm not so sure of the consequences, but wouldn't making AEAs a compulsory part for entrance to Oxbridge, ICL etc etc be a quick achievable solution for the current education exam system shambles?

The fact that AEAs do not serve this purpose, and that they don't count for university entrance anyway, in my opinion shows their uselessness. I am aware that Oxbridge occasionally make offers on AEAs but I applied to Trinity for entrance 2006 and was made a conditional offer with no AEAs attached. Whether this was because my school doesnt offer AEA exams, or that it is not Trinity's policy to make offers on AEAs, I don't know.

Reply 52

Trolley

4

It is the simplest solution, I agree. This 'exams are too easy' thing could easily be solved by making the AEA compulsory at oxford/cambridge, because in the subjects which I do, and for which I have seen ox/cam entrance tests, the AEA tests are considerably harder.

A solution it may be, but I would have shat myself if I had received an offer including merit/distinction at AEA.

Reply 53

Angelil

19

Yes, some Ox/Cam offers do include it - it's just that they can't include it in all offers atm because not all schools are able to offer it, or that some schools are able to offer extra coaching where others aren't.

I knew one girl at school who went to read English at Cam with AAA Merit.

Reply 54

CamSPSer

Angelil

Yes, some Ox/Cam offers do include it - it's just that they can't include it in all offers atm because not all schools are able to offer it, or that some schools are able to offer extra coaching where others aren't.

I knew one girl at school who went to read English at Cam with AAA Merit.

All schools are able to offer it, and some schools coach for oxbridge interviews others don't. And I would iamgine that a lot more offers will be made on it next year. Some colleges will be testing them this year ie christs and I expect that with the excception of Maths (STEP) History (HAT) Law Medicine (BMAT) AEAs will be rather more common next year in a lot of subjects

Reply 55

Ronove

18

DavidAntoni

Personally I think they're a waste of time.

I'm sure you've all heard of the whole exam reform thing that only ever seems to come to light in mid-august, and am sure you all know why. All thse politicians we hear about are constantly trying to draft up new assessment schemes, or add to old ones, i.e. the over-arching diploma and extra optional questions/5000-word-essays/reduction from 6 to 4 modules/presentations/access to modular grades for A-levels, respectively, and they seem to overlook that AEAs exist. I'm not so sure of the consequences, but wouldn't making AEAs a compulsory part for entrance to Oxbridge, ICL etc etc be a quick achievable solution for the current education exam system shambles?

The fact that AEAs do not serve this purpose, and that they don't count for university entrance anyway, in my opinion shows their uselessness. I am aware that Oxbridge occasionally make offers on AEAs but I applied to Trinity for entrance 2006 and was made a conditional offer with no AEAs attached. Whether this was because my school doesnt offer AEA exams, or that it is not Trinity's policy to make offers on AEAs, I don't know.

They do count, you put them down in UCAS Apply or on your personal statement when you apply and if you pass them they count for points on the UCAS Tariff. I don't doubt that the fact that you're going to take one looks good to admissions tutors before you've passed or failed it, either.
At Cambridge at the moment only some colleges seem to be using them in offers for some subjects. That will be why you did not have one as part of your offer. Anyway, why make them compulsory? If they like someone enough, why shouldn't they just be able to set AAA conditions? AEAs could be used a lot more to stretch the people they're less sure about though.
Only some schools "offer" the exams. AEAs are available to all schools though, and if you ask to be put in for one (and most likely explain at length what they're all about first) they should let you sit it. I believe that AEAs were brought in to replace S papers, because they weren't available to everyone and people at top private schools were put in for them as a matter of routine and were made much more aware of them, and also could be coached for them. AEAs are going to completely miss the point if people don't 'spread the word', as it were. However, I don't see how people won't just be coached for these ones as well.
Still, it will differentiate between candidates. I may or may not pass my German AEA, but I am very very sure that my classmate wouldn't have stood a chance. And she got an offer from Oxford for a degree with German in it.

Reply 56

Mata

16

About 13 girls from my school took English AEA. It's part of my offer (merit, Peterhouse) so... I think a lot of it, pretty much. Preparation was just getting together in a group every thursday, reading a couple of poems/articles and arguing very loudly about poetic interpretation.

I have no idea how I did. I could have aced it and got a distinction, or I could have written utter crap and failed. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

But still, I think that everyone who has the ability to take an AEA should be given the opportunity. Nobody I know regrets taking it, and everyone went to the sessions/took the exam/quite enjoyed it. Even though I was the only one who needed it, everyone else got just as much out of it as I did.

Reply 57

IseethroughWalls

Simply, AEAs are hugely biased towards those from a top Independent/Public school background.

Reply 58

Ronove

18

IseethroughWalls

Simply, AEAs are hugely biased towards those from a top Independent/Public school background.

Care to back that up?

Reply 59

Angelil

19

IseethroughWalls

Simply, AEAs are hugely biased towards those from a top Independent/Public school background.

Not at all, I did mine at an all-girls' bog-standard comp in 2004, and my sis (at the same school) will be taking her Biology one next year.

Your point is?

Advanced Extension Award- what do people think of it?

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