Go to uni or get another A Level?

I didn't do too well in my exams last year, I came out with BCD. I have resat two of the exams this year, hoping to boost the grades to ABD, and then I can do another A level and if all goes well I'd end up with AAB or ABB. That was the original plan. At the moment I'm not sure that one of my resits has boosted my grade enough, so atm I think my grades will end up being BBD. I'm not sure whether I want to go down the path of doing another A level, however. I might be better just going to uni this year with whatever my current grades turn out to be when I get my results.

I want to do Politics + International Relations, and my eventual career path I'm unsure of but at the moment I'm liking the idea of journalism. The reason I was going to do another A Level was because (1) it would potentially give me another A or B so I could get into places that I want to like York, Warwick, St. Andrews, (2) I didn't want to go to university yet (I'm enjoying my job and time at home and with friends).

Regarding (1), that's the main purpose of this thread: for what I want to do, will going to a university that will accept my (possible) BBD be worse than going to one like St. Andrews? And will me gaining another A level even help in that regard, or won't they see that as a weakness? I was actually considering Aberystwyth since I found out that their IR department was the first in the country.

Regarding (2), I really don't mind any more. I don't mind whether I stay at home for another couple of years or whether I go to university this year.



Any advice?

They could have changed their stance but back in 2011 when some of us emailed universities to ask their opinion about taking a third year of A-Levels St Andrews said they would only count results after 2 years. York are more lenient though.

Well I mean I've already had a year off and the other A level would take another 2 years, and it's not as if my time off would be solely for that. I'd essentially have had three years off before university (but I'd still be one year under applying as a "mature" student where the A levels are less relevant).

Well I mean I've already had a year off and the other A level would take another 2 years, and it's not as if my time off would be solely for that. I'd essentially have had three years off before university (but I'd still be one year under applying as a "mature" student where the A levels are less relevant).

As I said certainly a couple of years ago St Andrews wouldn't have accepted you but its worth emailing again to see if their stance has changed.

You need to be realistic here. Even without the issues of timing, if you have BBD + any other grade at all, St Andrews and Warwick are not going to give you the time of day for a course in which the standard offer is AAA. Even with ABD, they will not be interested as they get hundreds of applications from students with AAA predictions. You have more chance with Aberystwyth, who require 300 points and are less picky about resits, but even there you are going to need another 40 points if you get BBD, as you predict, and still another 20 if you get your higher estimate of ABD. If it takes you this many goes to not reach the entry requirements, you are unlikely to be regarded as a candidate who can cope with the course. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but these universities do not need to be kind to anyone, especially for a course which is one of the most popular subjects there is. I suggest you take what university your grades this summer will admit you to, if you really want to go to university.

Alright thanks for the help


Thanks for being honest. I ****ed up my grades so much it hurts. I know I could have had As or A*s if I put more effort in, but I didn't. I suppose that's what they'll read into it too, and is why they likely won't want me as a candidate. I just listed those universities as an example, I was thinking of going to universities that accept ABB offers, if I do another A level and get an A/B.

I'm not entirely sure what I want my eventual career path to be, but I know I want it to involve politics. I'm strongly considering trying to become a journalist. How much difference will it make on my likelihood of becoming a journalist (for example) if I go to one of the universities that will accept my (probable) BBD, as opposed to one that would accept an AAB/ABB?

A lot of journalists haven't even been to university. Charlie Brooker famously went to the University of Westminster in its days as the Polytechnic of Central London. What makes you a journalist is doing journalism, so wherever you go, get working on the student newspaper, websites, whatever you can find and learn by doing.

That's a little relieving to hear. Christopher Hitchens is probably my biggest idol/influence, and in his memoir he explained how difficult it was for him to get into the journalism business back then (even with him doing PPE at Oxford). Maybe it's different now though. I do still really want to go to university, partly because I want to learn about politics + IR in that setting and partly for the experience, and also partly because I may decide upon a different career path than journalist (though I doubt it; I've been set on this for about a year and a half now).

Obviously no university is "bad", but I have friends who say things like there's no point going to university unless it's Oxford/Cambridge or a Russell group one, and things like that have made me want to do another A level and try to get into one of those universities rather than just going to whichever I can get into at the moment.

Would you say it's not worth me going to university and doing Politics + IR then? They're subjects that I'm really interested in, and I'm not sure whether I'd want to do journalism unless it was something to do with foreign affairs etc. I've even bought a load of books off a friend that did IR at university (they're books that Birmingham uni issues for their courses) and am in the process of reading them.

Journalists write about things they know about. If pol and IR are what interests you, then you will do better in them than another subject you don't care about.

Hmmm alright. I think I'll have a look into which universities will accept my current grades.

How many UCAS points does each grade get? I've looked online but I don't know the name of the grading system for A levels.

[edit]
ah right I have 260, I used an online calculator.