What did you get for your A Levels (if you did them)? (Trigger warning - a levels 💐🫂)

I’m a great advocate that for most people, A Levels don’t actually matter. Of course it’s good to do well, especially if you have specific career aims like medicine or engineering. But it’s not the end of the world.

I got DEE.

I worked for a year, got into university based on work experience, got a 1st.

I am now in a senior leadership position - very comfortable lifestyle.

I was gutted by my A Level results (esp after 9x A and A* at GCSE).

A - English Lit
B - Geography
B - Design Tech
C - Ancient History

B- Biology
C -Sociology
C -English Language
E -General studies . This was 1990, no A stars then. Went on to do my nurse training where no one else in my class of 30 had a single A level, then a health related degree in 1996 and got a first. So redeemed myself somewhat!

More employers nowadays (including at least two of the Big Four, many very well respected international law firms, a lot of the insurance, banking, and pensions industry, the civil service, and all kinds of employers between and beyond) now use contextual grading, anyway - no longer sole focus on your degree grade, more rigorous insight into who a candidate is and what challenges they might have faced in life and education which meant they didn’t get the ‘A’ but are bright and clever and persevering.

If you think “feeling sad” is worthy of a trigger warning I don’t think you truly understand the reasons for a trigger warning.
And your using it as you have is negating the value of a genuine reason to use the phrase. It’s not a bit of a joke, ha ha smiley faces.

We were forced to take General Studies and had no classes to prepare for the exams. It strongly favoured the maths/science/language students who all did far better than those of us who took arts courses. Not that I’m still bitter about it or anything…

Thanks. ❤️ I feel you did slightly better lol

ABB - English, History and Sociology.

We all went to the pub after picking up our results and my friend was sick in my Dads car after driving pints of cider and black 🤣

Thanks.
I have always wondered how university grading worked.

I got c in law, b in government and politics and a in sociology. I did fail an AS in english lit but it did give me the kick up the backside that i needed. I was a people pleaser and i only studied english lit to please my mum. When i failed my english lit AS my dm was extremely angry.

It's like getting a C.

A first would be an A; a 2:1 would be like a B; a 2:2 a C; and a third a D

Five A's! All downhill from then though. And we will ignore that one of them was General Studies which was not really a proper one. In our family there is an inverse relationship between grades at A level and salary so at the end of the day there is a lot more to life than good or bad grades. Still proud of my A's though.

ABD. Was capable of higher but family shit, abuse and the fact my mum didn't think girls should be educated because it would put men off so even doing GCSEs had been a bit of a battle.

Went on to get a first class degree and a masters 👍🏻

Oh ok.
(I don't really know what 2.2 actually means. I know it's the way university degrees are given but is it good or bad?)

BBC and a U in French. Served me right, I had insisted against all advice on switching from Sociology to French half way through the first year of A Levels, because our Sociology teacher was either absent, late or distracted. Then I thought merely having a French pen friend would get me through . The arrogance of youth! I got to study English pre student loans though, so I guess I’m lucky!

DD sociology and Gen studies but I sat them in a year at 20 so I was not too bothered, gained a 2:1 from uni at 25 and a PG Dip at 26 and got my first job at 26 (first professional job) - still with the same LA 30 years later but the job has changed beyond recognition!

Mine were in the days before a*s and we did AS levels and then A2s.

I got A: Sociology, A: Government and Politics, A: History. A: Biology

I got an A in my AS level of English lit, but that was the one I dropped.

Then I was merrily off to university. 21 years this September since my freshers week! 🤯

AAA before the A* grade became a thing. I was the last to show up to collect my results on results day, the school was empty 😅

Came here to say the same. I'm not a 6 figure earner (could be if i pushed myself), but got my 1st house and paid my mortgage off far sooner than my degree peers. I didn't even do a-levels, but i have a professional career.

My son is an engineering apprentice, he did do a-levels and advanced maths at college, but he got an advanced btec whilst earning. He can now be put forwards for the engineering degree whilst working (and hopefully buying his own home).

I got AAC and needed three Bs to go to LSE. They wouldn't let me in (even though my C was in a totally unrelated subject to the degree I wanted to do). The bastards. I still feel resentful although I enjoyed my second choice uni and the course I ended up doing led to a postgrad that set me up for life.

Trigger - A levels? Get a grip

BBC in Economics, History and Irish. I was capable of getting at least one A but I lost motivation for school in my AS year and spent most of my A2 year doing resits.
Still got enough to get into my first choice university though.

@hotmumshit What's a "desmond" ?