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Low GCSE grades, what to do?

I am writing as I am very worried for my daughter and her further progression.
Her GCSE grades are:
Maths - 5
English Literature - 4
English Language - 4
History - 4
Combined Science - 5
Spanish - 5
Re - 6
My daughter wants career in Law but I am worried her grades are not good enough.
Her high school Sixth form options are 6 and above core law A level subjects. She had options only for : Film, Drama and Photography.
Non of these subjects are core subjects for Law universities.
Please advice in this situation what are her options? What we did so far is: we applied in two colleges with admissions criteria with grades 4 but chances are very low.
We also requested both English exams to be reviewed hopefully for higher grades.
Any advice will be very much appreciated.

Thanks
Anna
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

Original post
by Herinkata
I am writing as I am very worried for my daughter and her further progression.
Her GCSE grades are:
Maths - 5
English Literature - 4
English Language - 4
History - 4
Combined Science - 5
Spanish - 5
Re - 6
My daughter wants career in Law but I am worried her grades are not good enough.
Her high school Sixth form options are 6 and above core law A level subjects. She had options only for : Film, Drama and Photography.
Non of these subjects are core subjects for Law universities.
Please advice in this situation what are her options? What we did so far is: we applied in two colleges with admissions criteria with grades 4 but chances are very low.
We also requested both English exams to be reviewed hopefully for higher grades.
Any advice will be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Anna


Most unis don’t ask for any specific subjects to do law at uni, it’s still possible for her to do a law degree with A levels that aren’t law related. While it may be harder as perhaps other people with law related A levels will have applied, if she gets some good grades at A level and puts together a strong application there is no reason why she couldn’t do law. Many law unis ask for a 4 in maths and English, which she has.

Reply 2

Original post
by Txylorrr123
Most unis don’t ask for any specific subjects to do law at uni, it’s still possible for her to do a law degree with A levels that aren’t law related. While it may be harder as perhaps other people with law related A levels will have applied, if she gets some good grades at A level and puts together a strong application there is no reason why she couldn’t do law. Many law unis ask for a 4 in maths and English, which she has.

Thank you for the positive response.

Reply 3

Original post
by Herinkata
I am writing as I am very worried for my daughter and her further progression.
Her GCSE grades are:
Maths - 5
English Literature - 4
English Language - 4
History - 4
Combined Science - 5
Spanish - 5
Re - 6
My daughter wants career in Law but I am worried her grades are not good enough.
Her high school Sixth form options are 6 and above core law A level subjects. She had options only for : Film, Drama and Photography.
Non of these subjects are core subjects for Law universities.
Please advice in this situation what are her options? What we did so far is: we applied in two colleges with admissions criteria with grades 4 but chances are very low.
We also requested both English exams to be reviewed hopefully for higher grades.
Any advice will be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Anna

Hey - she should still be okay! She’s still passed which means most universities will still accept her. Similarly the majority don’t ask for specific subjects when applying for law!

The only thing I will mention is she might not be successful with applications to the most prestigious law universities (like the top Russell groups) as they often have recommended/ required subjects and prefer candidates with ‘perfect’ academic profiles. However if her A-level results, LNAT (if applicable) and personal statement are strong then she may still stand a chance of being successful. There are some Russell group unis with lower requirements though so they aren’t completely out the picture, and will still be an option to her. Even then, most of these universities offer foundation years which could be something you could look into as a back up option.

I think she should still be able to pursue her dream of a law career! Just advise her to sign up for as many opportunities as possible to help boost her applications.

Best wishes :smile:

Reply 4

Original post
by KK_
Hey - she should still be okay! She’s still passed which means most universities will still accept her. Similarly the majority don’t ask for specific subjects when applying for law!
The only thing I will mention is she might not be successful with applications to the most prestigious law universities (like the top Russell groups) as they often have recommended/ required subjects and prefer candidates with ‘perfect’ academic profiles. However if her A-level results, LNAT (if applicable) and personal statement are strong then she may still stand a chance of being successful. There are some Russell group unis with lower requirements though so they aren’t completely out the picture, and will still be an option to her. Even then, most of these universities offer foundation years which could be something you could look into as a back up option.
I think she should still be able to pursue her dream of a law career! Just advise her to sign up for as many opportunities as possible to help boost her applications.
Best wishes :smile:

Thank you, so much for your advice!

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