Likelihood of an offer with a D in an AS exam

Asking on behalf of my son who is very keen to study International Relations at Loughborough. He is currently predicted A- Geography, A- Government & Politics, B - Business Studies, but was shocked to get D in his recent AS Business exam. No AS exam in the other subjects. Will this D impact his chances of an offer which would be devastating for him? Also contemplating switching to BTEC Business in one year - would this be advisable? Please can you advise? Thanks!

3 years ago I got BDD at AS but had similar predicted grades due to my GCSE’s being strong. Even with these grades I still managed to get offers from Nottingham and Leeds because I wrote a good personal statement and showed that I really wanted to study my subject. My suggestion is that he find things he can do in the summer related to the course he wants for example it could be going to a few open lectures at universities about international relations. This is important because he will have to write a personal statement in his application and filling it with things that show your commitment or interest in the course is the best thing you can do. I don’t know about changing to btec business as I did not do it myself so I can’t help with that I’m afraid. He should not worry, provided he does this he should have no problems getting offers. Besides I don’t think the entry grades are higher than AAB for that subject at loughborough and if it is it is only by 1 grade which is more than acceptable.

Asking on behalf of my son who is very keen to study International Relations at Loughborough. He is currently predicted A- Geography, A- Government & Politics, B - Business Studies, but was shocked to get D in his recent AS Business exam. No AS exam in the other subjects. Will this D impact his chances of an offer which would be devastating for him? Also contemplating switching to BTEC Business in one year - would this be advisable? Please can you advise? Thanks!

Hiya, I’m due to start at Loughborough in 3 weeks.
I had originally gone to sixth form to study business, ict and maths but really struggled with my mental health and ended up getting a,c,u in my as for the 3 respectively. I switched to btec business (I would recommend doing the two year course instead of the one) and got d*d*d*, my offer for Loughborough was only ddd to study management. I received offers from all 5 of my universities including Loughborough and 2 Russell Group unis. I think as long as you have good GCSEs, it is seen as more of a blip. I went from a* in gcse maths to u at as due to not having a teacher for half a year and being severely depressed. I wouldn’t worry too much about the D grade. I would definitely look at doing the extended btec level 3, it’s a 2 year course but will make applying to university so much easier. I am really glad that I have had the extra year to mature and save a wee bit more money.

Hi Thanks so much for replying. Do hope you are now well and well done on your results and good luck at Loughborough! It is definitely food for thought - Thank you. The option he has now been given is to drop an A level and cover the BTEC intensively in one year - 2 yr not an option. I think he is opting towards working hard at all his A levels instead as he really likes his other subjects and has been getting good grades, (so makes the decision even harder if he had to choose to drop one) But pleased to hear you feel GCSE results are taken into account and maybe the D will be overlooked and with a good personal statement he'll get offers... - Hopefully to Loughborough! Thanks again for posting.

Hi @Rosicle

We're delighted to hear that your son is interested in studying at Loughborough University. As well as ensuring that he works hard for his A-Levels, I would also advise that he puts a lot of effort into applying with a good personal statement! Here is a link to some advice we have given on writing a good personal statement. https://www.lboro.ac.uk/media/wwwlboroacuk/external/content/studywithus/schoolandcollegeliaisons/downloads/personal-statement.pdf

All the best!
Tendo

Thanks so much for your reply. He is working hard and has made a good start on his personal statement - So keeping everything crossed! Thanks again.