Droppind an A/S level mid term-help please.

[ladybyron]

My Ds has been advised that he should drop one of his 4 a/s subjects as they feel he is really struggling with it, plus the coursework demands of it seem to be having a negative effect on his other subjects. The subject is English Lit and it would be his choice to drop it for upper sixth. I'm just worried how this will seem on his UCAS application. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Apologies I should have typed 'dropping'

Its very late to be dropping it now, he must almost be finished the syllabus.

Check the UCAS website because depending on what your son wants to study and where, it could make a difference. Some universities do ask for 4AS and 3A2s. They often state this as 3.5 A2s. But I don'tknow if all do. Does he know what he wants to study at university? (hopefully not English

My friend's DS has just been allowed to drop Biology AS. He got a dire result in the January module he took and the fact that he was struggling so much was having damaging effect on all his other work. He has a new lease of enthusiasm now and is happier and working much harder. I did wonder whether it would disadvantage him only having three subjects but I think its ok for the courses/universities he's considering

Does he know where and what he wants to study at university? It will have a bearing on which courses/universities are open to him, but it really depends on what he wants to study.

The UCAS website has a list of all universities and their requirements for the courses.

Sometimes, students are advised to drop an AS subject.

When they enter sixth form, they tend to take on the full load, ie 4 subjects, perhaps 5. Everyone is given the benefit of the doubt that they can rise to the occasion.

If they can't take on the full load, then it is better to give up sooner than later. I imagine the trigger is the recent module results. He may well have given it his best shot.

University entrance is based on doing 3 A2s, so doing your best in those three subjects is what is important. A lot of mid-table univerisities select on UCAS points, so lots of subjects with low grades can still be worthwhile, but an E at AS is not going to add a lot to the mix. It is a very tactical process to negotiate.

If your DS was only planning on taking English Literature for AS, then there is not a great deal of harm in dropping it now. UCAS need never know it was ever on the cards. The last thing he wants to do is jeopardise his main three subjects.

Thanks for all your responses. He's probably going down the History/politics route for uni.
But now the situation has changed again. The school is saying that he must continue with all four otherwise he must leave after A/S.
So even if he does the 3 and regardless of the results he will not be able to continue it to A2! I feel this is very harsh. He has had problems with the workload with alot of essay based subjects but this seems illogical and draconian. They say that if he cannot cope with four A/S's he will not be able to cope with the demands of A2's.

So the school is saying that he must both drop one, and continue with all?

What is their rationale for sticking with four subjects?

Universities only ever specify 3 A2s. The AS is a bonus, but not used for many university courses (unless a university that offers based on UCAS points).

I think you need to speak directly to the head of sixth form to get it straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.

Realistically, if he is going to apply for History at a good university, he will be in direct competition with students with 3 A2s and 1 AS, some with 4 A2s. He will also be needing high grades.

Mmeblackberry-this is is now the head of sixth views, that whereas they were initially giving him the option to drop english, now if he does that they will not let him continue for A2's.
Loungelizard,that is a really good point and we have all been hearing this week how the competition for uni places has intensified.
I think he's just going to have to grit his teeth and just get on with it. I kept telling him pre his A/S option choices that english is very heavy weight subject but of course teenage boys won't be told anything, especially by their dinosaur mums!!

I don't know if 3 A2s and an AS is better or worse than 3 slightly better A2s with no AS, or if it will be easier to get offers with 3 better ASs or 4 slightly less good ones. I suppose the only way to find out is to call a few universities and ask.

BUT, the ruling that he can't go into yr 13 unless he does 4ASs seems very arbitrary and I would be suspicious that it might be more to do with league table positions than the best interest of your ds. I would ask some searching questions as to quite why this is.

I would say that top band universities are more interested in the 3 good A2s, and don't really care about anything else. They do like to see a large number of A* at GCSE, though.

If it is a university that selects based on points, then you can do the maths. I think it will work out better to have 3 better A2s, than an E or U at AS. An E at AS is worth 20 points, which is also the difference between grades at A2. So, if he drops the AS subject and one of his A2 subject goes up a grade, then he has broken even. If more than one A2 grades goes up, the gamble has paid off.

The main criterion is the method of selection of his chosen universities - grades or points.

Yes, you really need to look at the entrance requirements for the universities to which he may apply (remember many state the minimum). Depending on where he wants to go, he may have an idea about that, they may require an AS and three A2s, eg when my DS1 applied, his offer from Warwick required AAB at A2 (I think, can't quite remember now) AND a C in the AS he dropped before A2s. Not all do this but definitely some do.

The less 'prestigious' universities tend to work on points rather than actual A level grades, in which case it won't matter (I think I am talking sense....).

I think that saying he can't continue to do A2s at the school without 4AS is very harsh. What sort of school is he at. The UCAS website will tell you the minimum requirements for each course at each university. I'm sure he can find some pretty good universities which are not going to mind about 3AS.

Where do the school think he is going to go to take his A2s. He needs to continue with the same boards. Threads on here are showing that more and nore schools are chucking out kids that work hard and want to do well, but are just finding it hard going.Most of which is the fault of the huge jump between piss easy GCSEs and A levels.

LMoT, you can take AS and A2s with different boards. It's not ideal, but definitely possible.

It's not always possible MmnBlueberry. You have to apply to do it and if the boards are too incompatible they say no. Also you cannot retake any AS modules if they do allow it, so as you say not ideal.

I really think the school isn't acting with the students best interest if they make such a blanket rule and I'm tending to agree with LMOTS although there always was a big jump between O levels/GCSEs and A levels to be fair.