UCAS Q - any answers please?

[JustGettingByMum]

Hi , I have copied this from further ed, as I think there's more traffic here.

DS2 in Y12 got his Jan AS module results back on Thurs.

In C1 (Maths) he got a low A, & wants to resit for more marks.

My question is, does he have to put down his score, or his grade, both, or neither on the UCAS form?
If he only has to put down the Grade then he could wait till Jan next year to re-sit, but if he has to put down his score then he should probably re-sit in May.

Also any advice re the difficulty of the exams, I know a C1 exam should be the same difficulty whenever it's taken, but I read on TSR that Jan exams can be harder. Any views?
TIA

It depends where he applies and what for, JustGettingByMum. Some places insist on having module marks and knowing about all attempts - I believe Imperial is one such, and may set conditions that specify a certain result at the first attempt. Cambridge also ask to see all AS results, which was one reason my son didn't apply there - his AS results were good but not stellar and he thought it might count against him.

His UCAS form (he applied for History in October) showed only GCSE results and predicted A level grades, no AS results at all. We queried this with the school and were assured it was fine. UCL asked him to send in all his module results. The rest, including Oxford, didn't. He got offers from all five, so it must have been OK not to give AS results on the UCAS form in this instance.

If his marks will be overall decent without resorting he might want to think carefully about whether resorting is a good idea. Universities sometimes look down on resits (on the basis that you don't get credit for getting an A unless you did it first time like others will have).

London Mother - that's very interesting, and congrats on your DS offers

The problem will be that we think he is likely to get A* AA offers for Engineering, in which case it would be best to resit the maths module as it will count towards the overall score. He has a low A in the module, so the grade won't change.

Tiago - I hear what you're saying, but I think it very common for students to resit some of their modules, particulary these early ones taken after only a few months of A-level study.

Do universities really look down on resits taken during the 2 year A2 course? (With the exception of Cambridge)

I have heard of students resitting exams after their A2 results come out and then getting higher offers. But I am not aware of universities making higher offers to students on the basis of trying to improve your grades

Justgettingbymum, my DS reckons that the first AS modules seem much easier when you've done the next ones, so that's why his school just do summer exams in Y12. HTH

Thanks for the reassuring responses

I think we will get his paper back to see where he dropped marks and take it forward from there

The myth that A* are impossible without resits are a myth.
If your son applies with predicted grades, ie during y13, no module grades are needed. If he applies with completed A Level, he only has to put the best grade for each module.

It was very common at my son's school to retake C1 at end of A2 year. It felt like doing a GCSE paper at that stage and you maximise marks which go towards final grade. If he needs to show AS grades, I thought you had to, he should retake it in the summer. There is very little revision required for it as most of it is used in C2 if that makes sense. No university I've heard of cares about module resits done during the 2 year course.