What will happen if I get a bad grade at AS?

I took French at AS level which was a big mistake and I hate it so much and I know I might scrape a C, probably going to get a D or something though. Definitely not going to resit it.

With that being said, what should I do at A2? Should I take another AS? Will this look alright on UCAS? I really want to get into a Russell Group uni so will they take my AS French grade into account if I get good other grades at AS that are more suited to the degree I want to do (Geography)?

Thanks for any help!

Reply 1

Comeback

14

Try your hardest now - for all you know you could still get a good grade (B+) and end up wanting to continue it.

You won't need to retake it or take a new AS. UCL, for example, often ask for a pass (E) in a fourth subject (e.g. AAAe) but most other Russell Groups only ask based on 3 A2s.

I wouldn't recommend applying for Oxbridge though if you did end up with a D/E/U (unless you got AAAd/AABd and were willing to accept the low odds for interview).

Reply 2

harry1232123

5

Unfortunately, as I found, AS grades are really important now that there are no January exams. They're what your predicted grades are based on, so your Uni offer will depend on them. Before if you messed up in January, you could just retake in the summer and have your predicted grade based on that, but now you've only got one shot. I would just try really hard for this exam, and talk to a careers advisor at you college/6th form. I didn't want to see the careers advisor at first but it was actually extremely helpful after I messed up my Uni chances at AS. So long as your predicted grades are at the entry requirements for geography, you should still get offers, but I would speak with a careers advisor anyway.

I wouldn't recommend taking up an extra AS though unless your college suggests it, as it would be a lot more work, especially as the jump from AS to A2 can be quite big! Good luck :smile:

Reply 3

Comeback

14

& they won't mind for Geography. If it were something closely related (Biology, possibly Maths) it might matter slightly more but not enough to be a dealbreaker.

Reply 4

steakfan

1

Firstly, it's about getting the offer, not getting in (whether you get in really depends on your work in year 13, but the offer is subject to how well you do in year 12).

Now, I'd say it depends on what you want to study. Some courses (very, very few) (i.e. economics at Warwick, or another EXTREMELY competative course) will ask for 4 A level grades - and would probably still ask for just a higher grade in the 3 A levels (i.e. A*A*A instead of A*AAA), but otherwise you should be fine.

In regards to flunking one AS and doing well in the rest? A friend 2 years above me got an Oxford offer for French and Spanish, having gotten a U in chemistry AS (and promptly dropping it) - that was because of her other three grades.
(This is because you have the choice to omit any grade you got on your UCAS application, ranging from A right down to U)

I'd say work hard to try and get that C, but honestly, don't stress yourself out too much. If trying to get a B / A will be detremental to your other subjects, then don't do it, and try and spread your time how you see fit.

Like someone said, French isn't particularly related to geography, so I'm sure they'd be ok.

(Also, got an offer from all the Russel group Unis I applied to, having gotten a U at AS chemistry, but an A at AS French - the subject I'm hoping to study)

The point of this long winding text is: you'll be fine

Reply 5

chlo_evans

OP

5

Original post by Comeback

Try your hardest now - for all you know you could still get a good grade (B+) and end up wanting to continue it.

You won't need to retake it or take a new AS. UCL, for example, often ask for a pass (E) in a fourth subject (e.g. AAAe) but most other Russell Groups only ask based on 3 A2s.

I wouldn't recommend applying for Oxbridge though if you did end up with a D/E/U (unless you got AAAd/AABd and were willing to accept the low odds for interview).

Original post by Comeback

Try your hardest now - for all you know you could still get a good grade (B+) and end up wanting to continue it.

You won't need to retake it or take a new AS. UCL, for example, often ask for a pass (E) in a fourth subject (e.g. AAAe) but most other Russell Groups only ask based on 3 A2s.

I wouldn't recommend applying for Oxbridge though if you did end up with a D/E/U (unless you got AAAd/AABd and were willing to accept the low odds for interview).

Original post by harry1232123

Unfortunately, as I found, AS grades are really important now that there are no January exams. They're what your predicted grades are based on, so your Uni offer will depend on them. Before if you messed up in January, you could just retake in the summer and have your predicted grade based on that, but now you've only got one shot. I would just try really hard for this exam, and talk to a careers advisor at you college/6th form. I didn't want to see the careers advisor at first but it was actually extremely helpful after I messed up my Uni chances at AS. So long as your predicted grades are at the entry requirements for geography, you should still get offers, but I would speak with a careers advisor anyway.

I wouldn't recommend taking up an extra AS though unless your college suggests it, as it would be a lot more work, especially as the jump from AS to A2 can be quite big! Good luck :smile:

Original post by steakfan

Firstly, it's about getting the offer, not getting in (whether you get in really depends on your work in year 13, but the offer is subject to how well you do in year 12).

Now, I'd say it depends on what you want to study. Some courses (very, very few) (i.e. economics at Warwick, or another EXTREMELY competative course) will ask for 4 A level grades - and would probably still ask for just a higher grade in the 3 A levels (i.e. A*A*A instead of A*AAA), but otherwise you should be fine.

In regards to flunking one AS and doing well in the rest? A friend 2 years above me got an Oxford offer for French and Spanish, having gotten a U in chemistry AS (and promptly dropping it) - that was because of her other three grades.
(This is because you have the choice to omit any grade you got on your UCAS application, ranging from A right down to U)

I'd say work hard to try and get that C, but honestly, don't stress yourself out too much. If trying to get a B / A will be detremental to your other subjects, then don't do it, and try and spread your time how you see fit.

Like someone said, French isn't particularly related to geography, so I'm sure they'd be ok.

(Also, got an offer from all the Russel group Unis I applied to, having gotten a U at AS chemistry, but an A at AS French - the subject I'm hoping to study)

The point of this long winding text is: you'll be fine