Masters degree after ACA?

I'm not sure if my situation necessitates me redoing all 3 A-levels. I got a C in English Lit., so would I still be okay if I left with, say AABC with the C being in English?
I'd be alright with a Summer '25 resit.
I know grad schools don't really discriminate vis a vis age, but none of us know which day on Earth will be our last, so I'd like to waste as little time as possible.
I don't wanna insult teachers hahaha, but I am grateful for the breadth of opportunity opened to maths graduates.

I'm not sure if my situation necessitates me redoing all 3 A-levels. I got a C in English Lit., so would I still be okay if I left with, say AABC with the C being in English?
You don't need to resit English if you don't want. You just need the grades you need in the right subjects to get into the degree that you want to do. English isn't a required subject for the degree that you want, so if you do resit it it's purely for yourself. I'm just asking for a different perspectiv.

I'd be alright with a Summer '25 resit.
If you're happy with this, then great. You didn't specify why you got significantly lower grades than what you were predicted. If it was purely because you weren't as prepared for the exams as you should have been but you're fine with the material, then I would have thought you might want to do some of the exams earlier to make thigns easier on yourself. It's up to you though.

by the way, is it worth it to do a foundation year starting September 2024, or is it simply better to resit? Either way I'll be starting my bachelors in September 2025.
If I do resit, is it entirely feasible to do FM in little over a year? Say, if I did CP1 and 2, FM1 and FS1 alongside resitting Maths and Physics.
I'm just considering the harshness of A-level grading these days. Bear in mind I was predicted A*AB in my 3 A-levels, and have never achieved less than a B in any subject (excluding that one time in year 12 when I got a C in my Physics mock). My friends and I were all doing brilliantly before our final exams, and we all flopped on results day, disappointingly (maybe we all just got a little too confident haha).

Hi, I didn't do as well as I could have in my A-levels, and am now in my first year doing a 2 year AAT apprenticeship with a top 25 firm. If all goes well, I will go on to do ACA afterwards. Will all this be enough to compensate for my lack of a bachelors degree in my application to a masters program?
Thanks!

is it worth it to do a foundation year starting September 2024, or is it simply better to resit?
It depends on how you define "worth it" - I hate those sort of questions because the criteria is so vague and that it's usually depend on the individual e.g. worth it in what context? time saved? money saved? convenience? career progression? difficulty? getting into a specific uni?
The main pro of doing a foundation year is if you're accepted, you can progress into your chosen degree without much issue.
The main con is that you're not likely going have an easy time transferring to a different uni if you want to do this. This is because the syllabus for each foundation year is tailored to the specific school/department of the uni i.e. for their specific degrees, and degrees can vary in content from one uni to another and hence varying requirements from each uni. Something standardised like A Levels, IB, BTEC, etc. are easily understandable for every uni, and because they know the specific content you don't need to particularly worry about whether the unis will reject you or not because of the content of your Level 3.
The second con is that you're liable for an extra £9250, which is siginficantly more expensive than resitting your A Levels at about £300 for each subject (exams only though). Barring practicals, even if you lay on the course material at an expensive online college, you only need to pay £1300 at most per subject.
In short, if you want to go for a specific degree at a specific uni and they offer a foundation year where you don't mind having the extra £9250 debt, then yeah. If you want to keep your options open and minimise your student loan debt, then resitting is usually the better option (other than doing something like Access if you haven't done specific subjects before). It's up to you though.

If I do resit, is it entirely feasible to do FM in little over a year?
I imagine doing 4 A Levels in any one academic year over the course of 2 years (no pun intended). If you do 1 single A Level over 1 year, it's like doing 2 A Levels at a time. For me, this is more than doable, but it will depend on your individual circumstances e.g. work, family, commitments, etc.

I'm just considering the harshness of A-level grading these days.
Yeah, it's not going to get any easier. A Level exams have always been subject to harsh marking even before covid. Having said that, A Levels are arguably more difficult than the actual degree according to a number of graduates i.e. it's even harsher than PhDs. I can assume certain reasons to why they make it so unnecessarily difficult, but at the end of the day they're just assumptions.
Would the content in a foundation year be easier? Probably, although I haven't done a foundation year so I can't tell you myself.

My friends and I were all doing brilliantly before our final exams, and we all flopped on results day, disappointingly (maybe we all just got a little too confident haha).
Yeah, that's one life lesson people should take on. Never be complacent or overconfident, never underestimate, and always be prepared. A little anxiety tends to make you perform better than overconfidence (unless it's people skills or selling to people).
One of the things that made me think was whether your past papers were based on the 2020-2021 exams. If so, the marking might have been more lenient than usual. You want papers that were older than those years, and ideally anything based on last academic year's or later.

Hi there, long time no see! Sorry for the sudden silence; work and study have been catching up to me.
I spoke with my parents a lot and came to a conclusion. They don't mind me going to university, but they want me to at least complete my AAT first. So that's 2 years of accounting + at least 1 year of A-level study then I go to uni aged 21 going on 22.
BSc is 3 years (or 4 years for an MMath) so I'll be 25 when I finish my masters. I plan on going abroad for my PhD to Japan where the length of a PhD is 3 years (they have some top research facilities in pure mathematics). Also I speak Japanese so that's not an issue, but even if I didn't many of their higher ranking unis offer rather prestigious PhD programs in various fields (Pure/Applied Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Economics, etc.) conducted entirely in English.
Anyway that'd make me 28 when I finish my doctorate and start hunting for a postdoc (or get bored and go into industry). Not sure how bad that is, age-wise.

Anyway, I'd rather only spend a year studying A-levels after my AAT so that I don't start uni too late.
I'm just wondering how I can sit A-levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics AND Physics in a single year without feeling, without being too delicate, stressed out of my mind.
Either way I'd be treating A-levels like a full time job, studying full time in preparation.

Thanks!

Also I speak Japanese so that's not an issue, but even if I didn't many of their higher ranking unis offer rather prestigious PhD programs in various fields (Pure/Applied Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Economics, etc.) conducted entirely in English.
Nice. Have you looked into the JPLT?

Anyway that'd make me 28 when I finish my doctorate and start hunting for a postdoc (or get bored and go into industry). Not sure how bad that is, age-wise.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you what other people will think. However, it's said that you produce your best work in your early 20s as a mathematician. Of course, that doesn't mean that you can't get a Field's Medal after your mid-20s (a number of people have).

I'm just wondering how I can sit A-levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics AND Physics in a single year without feeling, without being too delicate, stressed out of my mind.
I did A Level Maths in one year. It wasn't comfortable, but it's doable. I would say doing all 3 subjects is going to really stretch it (2 would still be manageable).
Personally, I would do one A Level alongside your AAT since they take roughly the same amount of time. Unless the specific uni that you want to apply for specifically requires you to do all your A Levels at the same time, then I would plan otherwise.

Either way I'd be treating A-levels like a full time job, studying full time in preparation.
As you should be. I wish you luck on this.

Hey, thanks for getting back to me.

I've been studying for JLPT from day 1, despite never officially doing any of the tests. I'm planning on just sitting N2 when I'm at uni instead of wasting time on lower level tests (N5, N4 and N3). N1 will definitely be a trek so I'll probably sit it during my PhD.

I might do A-level Maths while doing my AAT, but we'll have to see.
I officially start college-based study for AAT tomorrow, so we'll see how hard it turns out to be and how well I do in exams before I throw in another qualification.

I know June Huh was a bit of a late bloomer and won a field's medal in his late 30s, so I guess I should never give up hope!

Thank you for all your help!

I officially start college-based study for AAT tomorrow, so we'll see how hard it turns out to be and how well I do in exams before I throw in another qualification.
AAT Level 3 shouldn't be that much of a stretch if you did A Level Maths.
It will take some time to get your head around the double entry bookkeeping, but it's not going to be that difficult if you work on i

Good luck