How will universities assess ucas applications during the A Level change over?

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School is trying to tell me that for 2017 entry universities will just look at GCSE results and not any AS results a student may have because otherwise it wouldn't be fair on those year 12 students who aren't doing many or any AS exams this summer. Does anyone know if that is likely to be correct?

That is interesting. I am guessing that 50% of subjects are old system so the 14% drop is caused by the 50% of subjects which are new system and if everyone dropped AS the drop would be 50% overall. So about a third have dropped AS in new subjects on my quick maths here.

In my view it keeps the boys (all boys at my chidlren's school) concentrating and actually doing some work given how many of them only get on with any learning and hard work when an exam is coming although I suppose they do work for tests; secondly their older siblings did AS; thirdly at least you bank that exam for employers, UCAS points or whatever even if you have a disastrous upper sixth or drop out. The arguments against from my son is his friends in a schooll not doing them have just got on with work and not had this long break of study leave and revision; secondly some of his work for A2 is quite different from AS so t
the AS was a waste of time in parts - I think he said the way of doing the exam or structure and exam technique he learned for AS will not be that useful for A2. I cannot remember all his arguments but he's just about finished the AS exams now so I doubt it will have had a big impact. Actually they are choosing which 3 to keep on on the basis in part of their results in August so it might help them think about what they are good at and not so they make better A level choices.

OB, thanks for that on including them on UCAS forms. There will be no hiding in that case. My son wasn't sure and neither of us had bothered to look it up.

I think they both did okay so it won't matter although one AS economics paper was awful one said which is a shame as it's one of his best subjects. He said it was not like the sample paper. In fact he says most of the sample papers he's seen for the new system AS have been a lot easier than what was used in the real exam (Economics moved to the new system in 2015).