A levels and IB/PE firms etc.

Hey,

So basically this is my situation:

I applied to study chemistry last year for deferred entry and got an offer from oxford and warwick, thus I firmed oxford and put warwick as my insurance. However to my dismay, I slipped up on my maths exam and missed out on an A by 1 mark, ending up with AAB at A level in chemistry, biology and maths,respectively.

Now, I have just returned from my travel and started thinking about my career path after my chemistry degree. At the moment I do not want to rule out the possibility of entering the financial industry, however as I heard IB is very competitive, I am thinking should I retake a maths module to get the A grade?

So I want to ask, is AAB at A levels and an A at AS in physics sufficient for IB? Also if I retake maths to get the A, it would mean I have taken three years to complete my A levels compare to the normal of two, would this put me at a disadvantage?

Issac Lovren

Can't see it causing a massive issue. Banks only use grades as a filter so as long as you meet the minimum UCAS points it should be okay, regardless of subject. Obviously, the higher, the better though. But you could make it up with your degree.

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Thanks for the reply, so completing A levels over three years in oppose to the normal two won't disadvantage me if i were to resit?

Also do you have an idea of the minimum UCAS points for most grads schemes?

To be honest, most only accept your first attempt anyway. For most investment banks it is 340 I believe, with 320 for a few of them. Varies between divisions.

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What do you do/studied, if you don't mind me asking? Also is the 340 including AS as well just on the three A level?

At A Level or Undergraduate?

From your top three A Levels.

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undergraduate and I guess AAB just makes the cut

Yeah - it shouldn't hold you back as long as you tick all the other boxes.

First year at Cass studying Banking & International Finance.

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Hey,

So basically this is my situation:

I applied to study chemistry last year for deferred entry and got an offer from oxford and warwick, thus I firmed oxford and put warwick as my insurance. However to my dismay, I slipped up on my maths exam and missed out on an A by 1 mark, ending up with AAB at A level in chemistry, biology and maths,respectively.

Now, I have just returned from my travel and started thinking about my career path after my chemistry degree. At the moment I do not want to rule out the possibility of entering the financial industry, however as I heard IB is very competitive, I am thinking should I retake a maths module to get the A grade?

So I want to ask, is AAB at A levels and an A at AS in physics sufficient for IB? Also if I retake maths to get the A, it would mean I have taken three years to complete my A levels compare to the normal of two, would this put me at a disadvantage?

Issac Lovren

Only banks I know of which want 340 UCAS points (AAB) are HSBC and Rothschild

MS, JPM, BAML and Citi are 320 (ABB). UBS, Barclays, Deutsche Bank are 300-320 I think. GS don't have a UCAS tarriff

A lot of strategy consultancies such as McKinsey, BCG, Booz, OC&C want AAB

I doubt that the firms will count your retake mark. However if you do a completely new A level and get an A grade then that will count as you technically did not retake it. (I asked PwC, KPMG and Booz about this).

However, if I were you I wouldn't bother about A levels. AAB is enough, you're not barred from any notable companies, so just focus on your degree now.

Thanks for the reply, I forgot to ask in the opening post, but does GCSE matter? Also what do you study/do, if you don't mind me asking.

Don't think they would but can't imagine it'd be anything more than a B in Maths and English Lit if such criteria did exist.

I'm studying A+F

Yeah, I've got 7A*,2A and 3B; 2 of the Bs was only a mark or two of an A as well. Just thought not having straight A*/As would of been a problem.

Hey,

So basically this is my situation:

I applied to study chemistry last year for deferred entry and got an offer from oxford and warwick, thus I firmed oxford and put warwick as my insurance. However to my dismay, I slipped up on my maths exam and missed out on an A by 1 mark, ending up with AAB at A level in chemistry, biology and maths,respectively.

Now, I have just returned from my travel and started thinking about my career path after my chemistry degree. At the moment I do not want to rule out the possibility of entering the financial industry, however as I heard IB is very competitive, I am thinking should I retake a maths module to get the A grade?

So I want to ask, is AAB at A levels and an A at AS in physics sufficient for IB? Also if I retake maths to get the A, it would mean I have taken three years to complete my A levels compare to the normal of two, would this put me at a disadvantage?

Issac Lovren

So are you going to Warwick?

Those GCSEs will be fine; they're really good! Only a really sly person would ask for a subject breakdown of them, haha.

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