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Dear TeamLiquid,
So today i got my AS level results.
I was hoping for AAAB
I got ABBC.
Oh Crap.
(AS levels count for 50% of A2 results and universities base their offers on them. This means i will be able to apply to unis with ~abb requests. The universities I like are aab.)
The subjects i am doing for A2 are ABC (i dropped physics) and I have already chosen this so no going back and taking ABB. It is expected that results will go up by a grade max so i have a few choices which i will try to explain
-If i retake then I wont get the grades in time for university offers, but i can take a gap year and get work experience before applying to the uni i want which may strengthen the chances of getting in and will prove useful in the future
- Retake, hope i get an offer (which is unlikely but if i do then it saves a year of my time) but if i dont then i wont have any jobs/work experience prepared
- Dont retake, go to another uni which is worse. The university wont be too much worse but i wont have looked around it so it might not be as enjoyable as otherwise
- Dont retake, go straight into work. This will save around £36000 but could hurt my chances of getting a well paid job in the future and if i cant get a good job them I will be screwed
- Other - any other ideas that i could do
Poll: what should i do?Retake, take a gap year, go to preffered uni (31) 57% Dont retake, go to another uni (15) 28% Dont retake, dont go to uni (Straight into work) (5) 9% Other (explain) (2) 4% Retake, dont take a gap year, hope i get an offer (1) 2% 54 total votes Your vote: what should i do? (Vote): Retake, take a gap year, go to preffered uni
(Vote): Retake, dont take a gap year, hope i get an offer
(Vote): Dont retake, go to another uni
(Vote): Dont retake, dont go to uni (Straight into work)
(Vote): Other (explain)
Thanks for reading =]
 
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All those choices are pretty much equal. Just do what you think will please you the most. It's not like anyone on some forum could make a huge decision like that for you.
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If i may ask, is AS level difficult?
I just received my results for IGCSE and they were good.
I'm just curious how much harder AS is... =P
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This is your life and future you're talking about, while it's no end-all, you should REALLY consult your School's guidance/admissions officer for advice rather than an Internet poll.
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Try not to worry too much about it, back in the day I got BBBC I think for my AS results, worked a bit harder, resat a couple of papers and ended up with AAB in A2's the next year so its not the end of the world.
You can still apply for AAB based off your teachers recommendations can you not?
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Ultimately you have to be realistic about your limits.
Despite the fact you hoped for AAAB, was this a realistic expectation?
Is meeting AAB realistic?
If you really want to go to university, (which you should since you're clearly intelligent and it'd be worth your time) then you should considering retaking exams in which you would like to improve and apply to your preferred universities this year. If this year doesn't work out then you can always resit specific areas and reapply the next year.
Basically I was in a similar position to you with my AS results. I initially got ABDD but needed AAB to go to the university of my choice. When university applications came around, I still applied to the university asking for AAB and received an offer despite my underwhelming results.
I had chosen to retake one exam and that is represented in your university application.
In short:
Resitting is nearly always worth it.
Apply to universities you want to go to this year and remember to have security choices.
AAB is, at least judging by your grades, not unrealistic for you at A2.
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Unless you are going to a stable top university, or you want to study in a redbrick one (Leeds, Manchester etc), it is almost pointless to retake or go straight to employment.
As an almost 30 y.o. with a BA and a MA just take it from me, employers dont give a rats ass where you graduated from unless we are talking about Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial and maybe a couple of others which always flactuate.
Whether you want to retake is up to you, a year lost is nothing. But I would strongly advise against going straight to employment. This would be a big mistake, if you are already sure what you want to study.
Believe me mate, the truth is that university degrees are overrated. Sure they help to gain entry to a company but unfortunately whether you have graduated from a #15 uni or a #50 uni means almost nothing to employers (again, I'm not counting the usual top 5 universities of course). Nowadays, a university degree is a tool to basically leap over the giant mass of people without degrees but it really is nothing more mainly because there are so many graduates out there.
(I have graduated from a top uni btw. and have worked for a university)
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its misleading to say top unis base their offers on your AS Results
you can go to any top uni you like and they will say the same thing if u had ddd or aaa AS results, our conditional offer is if you get aab, now its up to you.
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First of all, please remember it is not the end of the world, you can bounce back from this. I know had my fair share of academic mishaps along the way.
On August 18 2011 19:18 henbobble wrote:
- Retake, hope i get an offer (which is unlikely but if i do then it saves a year of my time) but if i dont then i wont have any jobs/work experience prepared
What kind of offer are you referring to?
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Those results are still good, just go to a slightly lower uni, when you're there you uni will be the last thing you care about anyway.
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Really?
Wise up. Many people would have begged for those results.
I got CCCC this morning and im sitting dissapointed and your sitting on results like those?
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United Kingdom10823 Posts
Check with Clearing, there may already be an opening for you.
Always worth a try. I got into Southampton through clearing
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On August 18 2011 23:15 pStar wrote:
Really?
Wise up. Many people would have begged for those results.
I got CCCC this morning and im sitting dissapointed and your sitting on results like those?
Perhaps the reason he is doing so well is that he isn't happy with mediocrity. Why would you want to settle for anything less than your best?
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Either retake or apply and hope for the best. I wouldn't take a gap year.
An extra year isn't bad; I had to re-take a year of university, but thankfully that was already at the university of my choice. The thing is though that in Canada some high-end universities reject you because you took an extra year of high school to improve your marks. I've seen it happen.
If no one is going to care that you went to Cardiff (or w/e - I don't know British schools), then just get educated. The education puts you above everyone else, while the school only puts you above other people of the same level. Unless you're planning on going to a name brand school (a name that will get you employed, I mean), you should just go to a decent school of slightly less quality.
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On August 18 2011 23:25 lolsixtynine wrote:Show nested quote +On August 18 2011 23:15 pStar wrote:
Really?
Wise up. Many people would have begged for those results.
I got CCCC this morning and im sitting dissapointed and your sitting on results like those? Perhaps the reason he is doing so well is that he isn't happy with mediocrity. Why would you want to settle for anything less than your best?
getting a-level results isn't saying you cant live a mediocre life, anyone so focused on these results probably is living a mediocre life.
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just retake it if you really want to go to your preffered uni, one year is nothing
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On August 18 2011 23:31 Zurles wrote:Show nested quote +On August 18 2011 23:25 lolsixtynine wrote:On August 18 2011 23:15 pStar wrote:
Really?
Wise up. Many people would have begged for those results.
I got CCCC this morning and im sitting dissapointed and your sitting on results like those? Perhaps the reason he is doing so well is that he isn't happy with mediocrity. Why would you want to settle for anything less than your best? getting a-level results isn't saying you cant live a mediocre life, anyone so focused on these results probably is living a mediocre life.
Mediocre is relative... If the results are below your expectations or what you want, of course you'd be disappointed.
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On August 18 2011 23:25 lolsixtynine wrote:
Why would you want to settle for anything less than your best?
Just saw this. This is the sole driving factor of my existence in this world.
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On August 18 2011 23:43 taldarimAltar wrote:Show nested quote +On August 18 2011 23:31 Zurles wrote:On August 18 2011 23:25 lolsixtynine wrote:On August 18 2011 23:15 pStar wrote:
Really?
Wise up. Many people would have begged for those results.
I got CCCC this morning and im sitting dissapointed and your sitting on results like those? Perhaps the reason he is doing so well is that he isn't happy with mediocrity. Why would you want to settle for anything less than your best? getting a-level results isn't saying you cant live a mediocre life, anyone so focused on these results probably is living a mediocre life. Mediocre is relative... If the results are below your expectations or what you want, of course you'd be disappointed.
I'm just saying if you don't want to live a mediocre life worrying about results probably isn't the number 1 thing you should be thinking about.
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Oops and I thought you REALLY messed it up :p
you got higher score than me when I had mine, I got ABCC and same for my A2
got into uni of sheffield for a degree that I liked.
then got visa problem and had to another country to study.
But trust me, grades don't matter.
If you go to uni, job interview won't really ask how you did in college at all.
Just try to get into the best uni you can, an ok-ish result at good uni is better than first honor from a lesser university.
Try to get into a position as a committee for something and that is what boost your CV the most.
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On August 19 2011 00:25 Zurles wrote:Show nested quote +On August 18 2011 23:43 taldarimAltar wrote:On August 18 2011 23:31 Zurles wrote:On August 18 2011 23:25 lolsixtynine wrote:On August 18 2011 23:15 pStar wrote:
Really?
Wise up. Many people would have begged for those results.
I got CCCC this morning and im sitting dissapointed and your sitting on results like those? Perhaps the reason he is doing so well is that he isn't happy with mediocrity. Why would you want to settle for anything less than your best? getting a-level results isn't saying you cant live a mediocre life, anyone so focused on these results probably is living a mediocre life. Mediocre is relative... If the results are below your expectations or what you want, of course you'd be disappointed. I'm just saying if you don't want to live a mediocre life worrying about results probably isn't the number 1 thing you should be thinking about.
It's helpful though. Being able to excel at academia isn't the most important thing you could do, but it's a great challenge to your self-discipline and capacity to understand new concepts. If instead of doing well at exams, you are devoting yourself to something truly extraordinary, then fair play. Generally though, I've found few people are pursuing an extraordinary alternative - they're just making excuses for not facing a valuable test.
In answer to the op, when I took my A-levels the universities looked at your predicted grades and made an offer, so you should be able to do retakes and carry on as planned. Having said that, gap years are really great 
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How does transfering universities work in UK?
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TLADT24920 Posts
I think you should retake and go for a gap year. Save up the money, gain experience then go into the university you want 
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Retake and get into where you want. then you will have no regrets. If you retake and fail again go with other options, but at least you know that you wouldn't have made it in anyways.
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Don't know how relevant this is... but I took my A levels before A stars were invented.
Basically, I needed AAB to get into Leeds to do Maths. I was doing four A levels, and due to my general utter fucking laziness I came out with ABBC (Maths, Computing, Classics & Physics). Leeds accepted me anyway, I got the letter through the post the morning as I went to pick up my results. Probably a combination of 4 A2s instead of 3, and the fact that no one in their right minds wants to do Maths so places are abundant.
As for advice? I gather that you are at the end of your first year? Do the resits, you should be able to do them in January and it won't slow you down. Always worth resitting if you can heheh.
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For those who were asking I found them far harder than gcse. I got 5a* 5a 2b at gcse.
I think that aab might be achievable but I wonder if I should settle and look for abb unis to make sure I don't aim too high. I would aim to go to Nottingham/york/Exeter/sheffield which are aab-abb
The Job I would be aiming to go into is law however which i think would be hard to go straight into employment. So I think resisting and maybe missing a year will be the best option for me
Thanks for all the positive responses ^_^ have realised that I just have to give it my best and take the results. Hope you all got the results you were looking for <3
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So you're doing a Law degree? Definitely worth making sure you get the best grades you possibly can, that's a very popular degree!
It's still a case (after applying for five initially) of "firmly" accepting one offer, then accepting a second choice as an "insurance offer"?
If so then you've got the right idea, looking at slightly less demanding institutions. Put down a Russell group university as your firm choice and then somewhere else that requires slightly less as an insurance. I put the University of East Anglia down as mine, and I think I would've actually been quite happy there too Can't remember what they wanted, ABC or something.
Having said that, don't go too far down the scale! It's clear from your GCSEs that you're not polytechnic material 
EDIT: Although I clearly am, confusing your and you're!
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CA10829 Posts
i don't have anything useful to say since i'm not from the UK, but i must say that your system of college application/entrance exams is fascinating to me as an outsider lol
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retake. I have a few friends there who went through the same thing you are. They all seem pretty happy but they put a lot of work into making sure it didnt happen again. So be prepared to work harder than before!
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EPT
