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Will my bad A levels prevent me from becoming an Accountant in the future?

I got ACD last year. My friend died, I got depressed and I stupidly ****ed up my life last year.

I’m resitting Chemistry (D grade) this year though, and i’m on the track to get a B worst case or an A best case. But I saw that accounting firm grad schemes will only accept first-sit grades.

How likely is my current A level grade going to hinder me from becoming an accountant? Should I just give up? Or is there things I can do to make up for it?
(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

Original post by dday23
I got ACD last year. My friend died, I got depressed and I stupidly ****ed up my life last year.
I’m resitting Chemistry (D grade) this year though, and i’m on the track to get a B worst case or an A best case. But I saw that accounting firm grad schemes will only accept first-sit grades.
How likely is my current A level grade going to hinder me from becoming an accountant? Should I just give up? Or is there things I can do to make up for it?

Whilst some grad schemes have UCAS Point requirements for your A-level grades, some don't.
Look at degree apprenticeships requirements for the top 10 firms in the country, they will net you the work experience and qualifications needed without taking on student debt.

This is a link to deloittes programs, reference to the tabs for Brightstart higher apprenticeship scheme and graduate scheme, they seem to have removed requirements for A-Level grade for the grad scheme but your first attempt grades fit the requirements for the brightstart apprenticeship program:
https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/careers/early-careers/early-careers-application.html

Chin up, apply for the roles even if your grades are sub-par provided you are able to clarify the extenuating circumstances around your first attempt grades, the hiring teams are human and will listen and are able to make a special case to allow your application to be considered.
I got my grades during covid so I never really sat the exam, the computer assessed grades gave me similar grades but Im now 6 months into a mid-tier grad scheme and have accepted a Big4 offer for September start this year (to be qualified in 2 years time) so there is still a path.

Reply 2

Whilst some grad schemes have UCAS Point requirements for your A-level grades, some don't.
Look at degree apprenticeships requirements for the top 10 firms in the country, they will net you the work experience and qualifications needed without taking on student debt.
This is a link to deloittes programs, reference to the tabs for Brightstart higher apprenticeship scheme and graduate scheme, they seem to have removed requirements for A-Level grade for the grad scheme but your first attempt grades fit the requirements for the brightstart apprenticeship program:
https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/careers/early-careers/early-careers-application.html
Chin up, apply for the roles even if your grades are sub-par provided you are able to clarify the extenuating circumstances around your first attempt grades, the hiring teams are human and will listen and are able to make a special case to allow your application to be considered.
I got my grades during covid so I never really sat the exam, the computer assessed grades gave me similar grades but Im now 6 months into a mid-tier grad scheme and have accepted a Big4 offer for September start this year (to be qualified in 2 years time) so there is still a path.


You don’t know how much clarity and extra motivation this has just given me, tysm and really congrats on your hard work too! You’ve done good for yourself.

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