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I didn’t do very well at my GCSEs does this mean IamnotgoingtodoverywellatA-Level?

I didn’t do very well at my GCSEs as I didn’t finish many exam papers and I didn’t start revising early enough but does this mean I am not going to do very well at A-Level as well and get no grades above a C or do you think I could still get a B or A or A* at A-Level if I didn’t do very well at GCSEs? I haven’t had any tests in my subjects yet so I still have no idea of my predicted grades.

I need 112 UCAS points to get onto my course at my top university and this means two A*s or two Bs and a Merit or an A and a C and a Merit or an A* and a D and a Merit. My top University is DMU and the course I want to do is Accounting and Finance. I have thought of three other universities that I could go to which are Leicester, Nottingham, Loughborough or Worcester but not really sure how to choose between these two.

I am doing Business Studies and Economics A-Levels and BTEC Applied Law at A-Level. I am also considering doing an EPQ but it is not compulsory at my college. I have other options such as the AAT courses at my college and retaking GCSE Maths to do A-Level Maths and possibly A-Level Accountancy at the same time or a gap year to do some travelling or something else that I may think of.

As you may of guessed I want to become an accountant in the future and I need to know if this is possible or not ASAP. I want to do well but I don’t think it could happen considering that I didn’t do very well in my GCSEs. I have had one test in Economics but I haven’t got it back yet so I still have no idea of what my predicted grades are. I hope you have all had a good first month and a bit of A-Levels. Thanks and Best wishes From Michael.

Reply 1

Ðeggs

If you didn’t get above a grade C at gcse then I won’t lie to you, A levels will be a struggle. What I think needs to change is your commitment and dedication to your a levels. If studying finance and accounting at DMU is your dream, then work little and often towards it, keep the dream of you going there in your mind and hopefully it will motivate you. You’ll need to reflect on what you did at GCSE, and how you can change to cope with the demands at a level.

Reply 2

mjhmichael18

Original post by Deggs_14

I know what I need to do now because the truth is that the highest grade I got at GCSE was a new 5 which is a high C - low B.

I got:
Geography- 2
History-2
English Literature-3
RE-3
Psychology-3
Biology-3
French-1st time high 3 - 2nd time low 3
WJEC GCSE Film Studies-4
English Language GCSE-1st time 2 - 2nd time 4
Maths-1st time low 5 - 2nd time middle 5
Combined Science-5-5 (counts as 2 GCSEs)

If I was to retake GCSE Maths, I would want a 6 or 7 next time round.

If I was to retake GCSE French and do Higher Tier, I would want at least a 4 if not a higher grade than that.

I am thinking about possibly doing those two things but I am not sure of the chances of the grade increases as they would both be second time retakes so third time altogether.

I hope to do well in these A-Levels.

I have now had my test back in Economics but I didn’t do very well, I got 11/45 which is 24% which was a U.

This is mainly because I didn’t revise for it until the morning of the day because I kept forgetting about it even though I was told about it a week before it happened.

In my other subjects, I still haven’t had any tests so I don’t know my predicted grades.

I hope you have had a good first five or six weeks of A-Levels.

Thanks and Best wishes From Michael.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 3

Ðeggs

Original post by mjhmichael18

I know what I need to do now because the truth is that the highest grade I got at GCSE was a new 5 which is a high C - low B.

I got:
Geography- 2
History-2
English Literature-3
RE-3
Psychology-3
Biology-3
French-1st time high 3 - 2nd time low 3
WJEC GCSE Film Studies-4
English Language GCSE-1st time 2 - 2nd time 4
Maths-5
Combined Science-5-5 (counts as 2 GCSEs)

If I was to retake GCSE Maths, I would want a 6 or 7 next time round.

If I was to retake GCSE French and do Higher Tier, I would want at least a 4 if not a higher grade than that.

I am thinking about possibly doing those two things but I am not sure of the chances of the grade increases as they would both be second time retakes so third time altogether.

I hope to do well in these A-Levels.

I have now had my test back in Economics but I didn’t do very well, I got 11/45 which is 24% which was a U.

This is mainly because I didn’t revise for it until the morning of the day because I kept forgetting about it even though I was told about it a week before it happened.

In my other subjects, I still haven’t had any tests so I don’t know my predicted grades.

I hope you have had a good first five or six weeks of A-Levels.

Thanks and Best wishes From Michael.

Oh dear those are disappointing grades... did you think about redoing year 11? Either way, make sure your work on your approach and consistency to studying and revision. Make sure you understand the new year 12 content in preparation for your year 12 tests, and make sure you can apply the content. I’m also in year 13 not year 12.

Reply 4

mjhmichael18

Original post by Deggs_14

I retook some of my original GCSEs and did some completely new ones last year so that was really my Year 11 and a half or Year 11.2.

I have also been possibly thinking about resitting all my original GCSEs that I didn’t get a grade 4 or above in in about 20 years’ time but it may not be necessary and I may not necessarily do it as I have had second thoughts about this.

There were some GCSEs such as Latin and Statistics and Physics that I wanted to do but didn’t do them because they didn’t do them at my old school or my current college.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 5

EmilyMHaworth

Honestly, if you're wanting to do A levels it's not so much about what you got at GCSE, it's /why/ you got those grades. You say you started revision too late - there is no room for cramming revision in the week before your exams, you will have to be revising constantly throughout the year to keep up with content as well as learning extra outside lessons (eg research that will look good on a personal statement). Think about whether you're prepared to put the work in, and if you aren't then maybe you would be better in an apprenticeship because you may be a lot happier outside a school environment and will actually get a wage (at least £2.73 per hour) alongside some study time. It's up to you but I am in year 13 now and so far I've seen about 20 students who were in your position drop out after year 12 because they weren't getting any passing grades and they weren't motivated enough to change their ways.

Reply 6

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Hello Michael,
Following on what the others have said, I understand what you said about your GCSEs. But I shouldn't worry too much about it having any affect on your A-Levels. As long as you study hard and stay well motivated, you should be fine.
Best of luck.

Kind Regards,
Jon

Reply 7

username4499734

It’s definitely doable. I was the complete opposite tbh 😂. Got all A*-B at GCSE then got BCD at A Level

Reply 8

1st superstar

Original post by mjhmichael18

idk if they would let you do economics after that U... :creep:

but still good luck :console:

Reply 9

timif1

One of my really good friends from primary I believe got something like 10 A’s at GCSE then proceeded to get EEE or DEE or something. The opposite can happen as well.

A lot of people who don’t do ‘that well’ in GCSE still can end up doing really well in A level (like me)