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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

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Original poster

Should DD re-take A levels or take up Uni place?

61 replies

yesbutnobut · 16/08/2018 09:07

I'd be grateful for thoughts/advice. DD's A level results today (A*, B, C) are below her predicted grades but she's been lucky enough to be accepted onto her insurance university course.

Question I have is how important it is to have good A levels on your CV? So, should she re-take her A levels to hopefully improve her grades (obviously not guaranteed) or just move on and go to university? I'm thinking that for some jobs or careers it's important to have A levels above a certain grade - if she wanted to, say, apply to one of the Big 4 accountancy firms. Or, do people think that once you get your degree, that is more important than your A levels?

OP posts:

shutlingsloe · 16/08/2018 13:47

I got ABBC and have got on fine.

Went to Reading University.

@beefcake. Me too!!!

LIZS · 16/08/2018 13:44

Agree nothing to lose by calling but Warwick is still a great option. The sooner she calls the quicker she can move on.

Original poster

yesbutnobut · 16/08/2018 13:40

Thanks again for the responses. DD needed AAA to get into her chosen science course at Durham. She got A in English, B in biology and C in chemistry. So the A was in a subject unrelated to her degree course. She isn't keen on calling Durham even though she's got nothing to lose - she just thinks her grades are so far off what Durham wanted, and they can fill the course with applicants who met the requirements. They don't have any places in clearing.

Is it worth persevering to try to get her to call Durham, or should she be happy with her insurance (Warwick)? Btw I didn't mean to suggest A*, B and C aren't good grades - it's just that they weren't the grades she needed.

OP posts:

shallichangemyname · 16/08/2018 11:39

This year's A level students are from a low birth rate year. It's worth seeing if first choice will take her anyway.
I was the recruitment partner in a London law firm for a few years. I had to choose candidates for interview and reduce a large pile of applications to a small one. Often there is so little between candidates that you do end up looking at things like A level results, which university, which degree etc. I found it hard myself to get a training contract. Whilst I had a 2.1 from a very good university, my degree choice was looked down upon and I also didn't have fantastic A level results. The way to get around any issue like this is to get work experience and impress, or to take advantage of your parents' contacts. Any candidate who fell into these categories had their application marked with a star and I had to have a good reason to put them in the no pile.

beeefcake · 16/08/2018 11:37

I got ABBC and have got in fine.

Went to Reading University.

What does she want to do OP?

inquiquotiokixul · 16/08/2018 11:34

Those are decent A level results - was the degree subject the A* grade, the B or the C? What were the grades for the firm offer? If the offer was ABB for the firm she might still get accepted if she speaks to the admissions tutor in person (they may require her to take an additional module or do some extra self-study in September if the C grade was a subject directly relevant to the course). Admissions tutors are human beings. It's OK to talk to them. Many would much rather have a place filled by someone who has been committed to that course at that university for months rather than having to recruit a replacement from among those who are using the clearing process to get a better offer.

I wouldn't advise retakes with those grades - any improvement can only be fairly marginal. retakes make sense if you got a bunch of D grades due to but have A grade potential and know what to do differently second time around.

If she can't get the 1st choice place to give her a chance and doesn't like the insurance place she can always shop around in clearing and see what looks more appealing.

starryeyed19 · 16/08/2018 11:25

Also, A*, B and C are good grades!

MrsRubyMonday · 16/08/2018 11:24

I've never been asked for my A-level results, and they were worse than your daughter's despite being predicted As (had some medical issues). Had an unconditional offer for my first choice so went, hasn't caused any problems.

I would say go. As others said, if she later finds its holding her back she could always do an evening course in the one A-level whilst working to bring the grade up.

starryeyed19 · 16/08/2018 11:24

I don't write my A-levels on my CV. They were SHIT but I got into a degree course so that's now my starting point when it comes to qualifications. They don't need to know every single exam result once you have the degree. You'll have needed a certain level to get onto the course in the first place

QuinionsRainbow · 16/08/2018 11:21

Is there any harm done in calling her first choice uni and seing if they can re-consider her on her actual grades rather than her predicted ones? One of our DCs did that, and got lucky!

Original poster

yesbutnobut · 16/08/2018 10:56

Thanks all. I guess I do worry about being judged on her A levels at some stage - particularly the C. But since she's happy with the insurance choice of uni, she's decided to go with that.

OP posts:

Singlenotsingle · 16/08/2018 10:40

No point re-taking "A" levels of what she's got is good enough to get her in. She might not do as well next time.

Biologifemini · 16/08/2018 10:33

It depends what she wants to do. Many city firms get loads of 2:1 applicants so the filter on A levels.
You cannot tell what a candidate is like based on degree grades anymore, due to grade inflation. So A levels and the university is used as a filter........in some industries.
I have used it only to decide between similar candidates.
5 plus years after starting work they are much less importants.

BagelGoesWalking · 16/08/2018 10:19

If she's happy to go to her insurance choice, I'd say go. She got an A, B and C. Those are good results! I'm assuming she wants to study the subject which she got A*?

She could look again at the course modules, the accommodation and city location. If she feels confident that they are something she'd be happy with, I don't think it's worth the angst to retake. You could ask for a re-mark for the C subject.

NerrSnerr · 16/08/2018 10:11

What does she want to do?

tinstar · 16/08/2018 10:09

I would have thought A star, B and C were good grades? Okay, maybe not the C. But she's hardly going to spend a year redoing one A level is she?

senua · 16/08/2018 10:07

You mean there is a place called the University of OnlyOpenedItsDoorsLastWeek?

Sorry to derail thread, OP, you aren't in the mood for japes.

TheWizardofWas · 16/08/2018 09:55

Oh Senua what you don't know ......

senua · 16/08/2018 09:54

senua An Oxbridge third would not get through the first sift!

You have heard of the concept of hyperbole?
Breaking news: there is no such place as the University of OnlyOpenedItsDoorsLastWeek.

senua · 16/08/2018 09:51

Also, you have to remember in these days of mega-data that, if someone is that bothered, they can find out that the A Level results are from different exam sittings and some don't like that, which rather negates the effect of the higher (hopefully) grade.

FrederickCreeding · 16/08/2018 09:50

Your dd's results might be lower than she was predicted, but they are still pretty good!

I'd say go to university now. If she really needs to prove herself in the future, then surely spending the extra time on a post-grad qualification would be more useful than retaking A-Levels.

LIZS · 16/08/2018 09:49

Taking a year out to retake when the longterm outcome may be the same seems futile. Degree will trump A level grades on cv. It probably hurts now but in a year's time she will be settled into something new and have gained a different perspective. Have a look at the apprenticeship entry grades for the big 4 as a comparison.

catslife · 16/08/2018 09:49

I would request copies of the C grade paper back from the exam board and see if it's worth having it remarked (or not).

Aethelthryth · 16/08/2018 09:48

senua An Oxbridge third would not get through the first sift! There's no magic in simply having been there

craftymum01 · 16/08/2018 09:46

I got terrible A levels (DEE) but went to uni and got my degree. I also have 2 post graduates now. I don't write my grades on my CV for A levels or GCSES, I just write 3 A levels and then the subjects. They were passes. No one has every asked. In my line of work my degree and post grad is important. I would say go and work hard at uni. If in the future it is a stumbling block she can always redo once she has completed her degree whilst working. Lots of adult education places offer this.

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