Will as bio hold me back?

I’m in year 13 and studying A levels econ geography and bio. I want to study something finance/ econ related in uni. I get As and Bs in both geo and econ, but bio I get very low. My school is suggesting (forcing) me to do AS biology instead of the whole a level. I don’t know what my best option is, aim for a D in a level bio and sacrifice time revising the other 2 subjects or stick the AS and only leave with 2 levels and an AS. I want to go to uni but I can only find bad unis that would accept me, what are my options and what do you suggest?
Also would clearance courses be an option??
Thanks

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Having 2 A-levels and 1 AS level will severely limit your options for any degree. You should aim to do 3 full A-levels - I would suggest if you are struggling with biology to discuss with your school if it would be possible to do a full A-level in one year while carrying on with the other two subjects you're doing better in, so you finish with 3 A-levels done over two years.

Barring that you may need to look at swapping bio to take a new subject and do your A-levels over 3 years as a result (i.e. geog/econ in y12/13 and new subject in y13/14) if permitted by your school. Note that doing your A-levels over 3 years like this may limit a few options for you, but mainly at e.g. Oxbridge and similar type unis which may not be something you're considering anyway (thus no real great loss).

Applying through clearing doesn't change the entry standards of the course and not having 3 A-levels is likely to be a limitation in that frame as well.

Reply 2

valid-stab

Original post by artful_lounger

Having 2 A-levels and 1 AS level will severely limit your options for any degree. You should aim to do 3 full A-levels - I would suggest if you are struggling with biology to discuss with your school if it would be possible to do a full A-level in one year while carrying on with the other two subjects you're doing better in, so you finish with 3 A-levels done over two years.
Barring that you may need to look at swapping bio to take a new subject and do your A-levels over 3 years as a result (i.e. geog/econ in y12/13 and new subject in y13/14) if permitted by your school. Note that doing your A-levels over 3 years like this may limit a few options for you, but mainly at e.g. Oxbridge and similar type unis which may not be something you're considering anyway (thus no real great loss).
Applying through clearing doesn't change the entry standards of the course and not having 3 A-levels is likely to be a limitation in that frame as well.

Thanks for the response, just to clarify I am in yesr 13 currently and am sitting my exams in 2 months. I’m not really aspiring to go to oxbridge level unis, russel groups in general- just aiming for average unis like city/ Aston. Also my school won’t offer me an extra year as it’s a sixth form so they don’t allow over 18s to mix with the below 18s. What do you suggest now?

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by valid-stab

If you're due to sit the exams in 2 months presumably your school has already entered you for one qualification or the other? You may need to confirm that to start with.

If you've already applied to uni and your school has now entered you for the AS qualification instead of the A-level qualification you will also need to notify UCAS to update your application to reflect the change in qualifications being sat, and contact the unis you've applied to and notify them as well.

I think it's all a bit too late in the day to make any major changes now, I'd focus on thinking about what you're going to do next year - doing a fast-track A-level in a year somewhere, some other qualification, or something else. Uni-wise even through clearing I think your options are going to be limited - maybe some courses with a foundation year may be an option however.

You might also alternately consider the OU since it doesn't normally require formal qualifications - this could also allow you to work and earn while you're studying for your degree :smile:

Reply 4

valid-stab

Thank you for taking the time to reply!!
What they’ve done is a double entry as they’re trying to decide between as/ a level for me. There are university options with AS that allow me to study my econ course but my concern was will the quality of the uni have any detrimental effect, in the long run…
Thank you very much