Will I get into competitive UK unis?

Hey All!

I'm an international student from South America. Recently, I got AAB for my A-Levels (A for Econ, A for Business & B for Math). My AS grades are all As for the same subjects. I completed 22 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) level where I gained 21 Grade 1s (Econ, Math & Business included) and a Grade 2 in art. I wanted to apply to LSE, Oxford, Edinburgh, Bristol & UCL. However, I doubt with my recent A level grades that I will be able to get in since most of these universities require A*AA with A* in Math. Let me know if it's worth it.

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by ok.saskia

I think your conclusion is a valid one. Applying for courses which want A*AA (with an A* in Maths) when you have AAB (with a B in Maths) is very unlikely to result in an offer.

You get to apply for five courses / universities, so if you want to put one such option down, then go for it. But the others should have expectations which better align with your results.

Reply 2

BenRyan99

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by ok.saskia

Hey All!
I'm an international student from South America. Recently, I got AAB for my A-Levels (A for Econ, A for Business & B for Math). My AS grades are all As for the same subjects. I completed 22 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) level where I gained 21 Grade 1s (Econ, Math & Business included) and a Grade 2 in art. I wanted to apply to LSE, Oxford, Edinburgh, Bristol & UCL. However, I doubt with my recent A level grades that I will be able to get in since most of these universities require A*AA with A* in Math. Let me know if it's worth it.

Beyond the helpful response from the previous poster, it's also worth remembering that universities generally state the minimum entry requirements rather than the average grade which a successful applicant obtains. Usually, the students that get offers have predicted/obtained grades exceeding the minimum requirements.

At most I'd recommend applying to one of the listed courses, and here bristol would probably make the most sense even if getting an offer is still unlikely. But there are still some decent unis for economics in the AAA-AAB range which you can (and should) target instead of these A*AA (and beyond) courses.