Classical Civilisation

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Alex
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Location: Lincolnshire

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Alex »

DD did Chemistry, Biology, Maths and History at AS and dropped the Maths for A2. These subjects did not seem to be a problem for getting into Med School. Class Civ seems to be regarded as being as demanding as History in her previous school.

My feeling is that 5 AS levels is a terribly high workload and may be counterproductive. As others have said Music is notorious for "strange" marking which would put me off and there are plenty of opportunities to develop and demonstrate musicianship out of school so it can become a plus for the personal statement.

The other thing you need to do a bit of research on is finding out how the unis decide what offer to send. Some of those we or friends visited said that, for example, if a student was predicted 3xAs at A level, that was their minimum requirement and that was the offer they would send; but if the student was predicted an A* or two or three they might then make an offer that included at least one A* and similarly if a student was taking 4 A levels to A2 they might make an offer of 4 As whilst making 3 As offers to students only doing 3 A levels. This was a bit of a surprise to us who had assumed that the better the predictions and the greater the number of subjects the better the chance of getting in, but it seems that for many courses you can get in with your straight 3xA predictions and having more than that actually raises the bar and makes you more vulnerable to missing out by dropping a grade.
Looking for help
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Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Looking for help »

That is very interesting, Alex. Thank you.

I hadn't thought about it like that, but it is certainly something to consider.

I'm not in favour of doing the 5 AS's, and am looking for reasons to explain to him why not to. This sounds like another one :D

Although he really enjoys music. Aargh it is very difficult to advise. I am going to tell him to stop thinking about it for now, and concentrate on the coming year and exams and see where we are nearer the time.
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Amber »

Alex wrote:The other thing you need to do a bit of research on is finding out how the unis decide what offer to send. Some of those we or friends visited said that, for example, if a student was predicted 3xAs at A level, that was their minimum requirement and that was the offer they would send; but if the student was predicted an A* or two or three they might then make an offer that included at least one A* and similarly if a student was taking 4 A levels to A2 they might make an offer of 4 As whilst making 3 As offers to students only doing 3 A levels. This was a bit of a surprise to us who had assumed that the better the predictions and the greater the number of subjects the better the chance of getting in, but it seems that for many courses you can get in with your straight 3xA predictions and having more than that actually raises the bar and makes you more vulnerable to missing out by dropping a grade.
Which universities and courses were these Alex? DD is concerned about this as she does have high grade predictions, but the universities we've visited seem to have standard offers, usually AAA, with no mention of them being raised, only lowered if you looked totally wonderful. I have only heard of Cambridge asking for an A* in your 'off the wall' subject when 4 were taken, plus actually a Vet Med course which specified an A* in Art for someone who had taken A level Maths a year early. It was almost a signal of disapproval.

In other words, I have heard of unis appearing to penalise someone for taking more than 3 A levels, but not for having high grade predictions if they are just taking 3, so would be interested if you could expand that, please.
Marylou
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Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Marylou »

Amber wrote:a Vet Med course which specified an A* in Art for someone who had taken A level Maths a year early.
:shock: How mean!
Marylou
dyslexichelpneeded
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Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:39 am

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by dyslexichelpneeded »

Amber wrote:
Alex wrote:The other thing you need to do a bit of research on is finding out how the unis decide what offer to send. Some of those we or friends visited said that, for example, if a student was predicted 3xAs at A level, that was their minimum requirement and that was the offer they would send; but if the student was predicted an A* or two or three they might then make an offer that included at least one A* and similarly if a student was taking 4 A levels to A2 they might make an offer of 4 As whilst making 3 As offers to students only doing 3 A levels. This was a bit of a surprise to us who had assumed that the better the predictions and the greater the number of subjects the better the chance of getting in, but it seems that for many courses you can get in with your straight 3xA predictions and having more than that actually raises the bar and makes you more vulnerable to missing out by dropping a grade.
Which universities and courses were these Alex? DD is concerned about this as she does have high grade predictions, but the universities we've visited seem to have standard offers, usually AAA, with no mention of them being raised, only lowered if you looked totally wonderful. I have only heard of Cambridge asking for an A* in your 'off the wall' subject when 4 were taken, plus actually a Vet Med course which specified an A* in Art for someone who had taken A level Maths a year early. It was almost a signal of disapproval.

In other words, I have heard of unis appearing to penalise someone for taking more than 3 A levels, but not for having high grade predictions if they are just taking 3, so would be interested if you could expand that, please.
I too am interested in this. My DD is applying to Oxford, and needs (I assume?) highest possible predictions. She has been predicted two A*s and an A - ironically, the A in her highest scoring AS level, which is one of her uni subjects. She only has one other university - Exeter - that has a course she is interested in (her third choice having just withdrawn her chosen course), so it's somewhat critical that she gets a decent offer from her second choice, which may be her only choice! I spoke to a tutor at Exeter the other day on an unrelated matter, and he told me that Exeter don't pay any attention to the personal statement, but make offers based on grades and predicted grades. So is it worth pursuing the extra A* prediction, I wonder?
solimum
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Joined: Wed May 09, 2007 3:09 pm
Location: Solihull, West Midlands

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by solimum »

Alex wrote: The other thing you need to do a bit of research on is finding out how the unis decide what offer to send. Some of those we or friends visited said that, for example, if a student was predicted 3xAs at A level, that was their minimum requirement and that was the offer they would send; but if the student was predicted an A* or two or three they might then make an offer that included at least one A* and similarly if a student was taking 4 A levels to A2 they might make an offer of 4 As whilst making 3 As offers to students only doing 3 A levels. This was a bit of a surprise to us who had assumed that the better the predictions and the greater the number of subjects the better the chance of getting in, but it seems that for many courses you can get in with your straight 3xA predictions and having more than that actually raises the bar and makes you more vulnerable to missing out by dropping a grade.
Definitely heard this at Manchester. DD applied to do Biochemistry and was predicted AAA, and that was her offer. A classmate predicted AAB was given that as an offer. The justification given (this was explained to the parents at the interview day ) was that the candidates invited for interview were pretty much guaranteed an offer (the interview being really to confirm that they had actually written their own personal statements and could talk about their interests genuinely etc) but that they would make an offer based on their predicted grades to encourage them to continue working at their best. However those who put Manchester as their first choice would, they said,also be very likely (they may have even said "guaranteed" but from 2 years ago can't be sure) to still get the place if they slipped up by one grade.

This would have meant a dilemma if DD had also been offered an Oxford place (which would also have been AAA) as she could not safely have used Manchester as a back-up. In the end she much preferred Manchester anyway (which may have come across in her Oxford interviews, though she didn't regret applying) , got her AAA and has just moved in for year 2 (specialising in Pharmacology)

(Incidentally DD's subjects were Maths, Biology & Chemiistry: AS German proved a real struggle so she was going to drop it even before getting a D! Huge jump from GCSE for those who aren't natural linguists. Perhaps Physics/Geography/Music might have been a better option? Too late to speculate now!)
Alex
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:10 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Alex »

I am afraid I am somewhat racking my brains two years on to remember who said what where and which friends we compared notes with and where they had been but here's a stab at it:
DD was applying for medicine with biology as her back up course if she didn't get into medicine. I can't remember what Southampton (medicine only) said on the subject; Leeds definitely made different offers for biology but I am not sure about the medicine there and I think Leicester made different offers for Biology and Manchester different offers for medicine. Don't remember about Newcastle which is where she ended up. Don't rely on this though, not just because my memory isn't brilliant for the details but also because things do change year to year. For the medicine courses the Student Room has a place where people post on a table what offers they are made, whether they were interviewed and dates etc so that is useful for comparing both within an institution and across the different institutions. The majority of medicine courses still seem to ask for 3xAs, which nowadays seems to be a low offer compared to some other courses! We never considered Oxbridge which probably works rather differently.

For medicine it is really important to research the courses and "play to your strengths". Some require high UKCAT scores or BMAT scores; others look more at GCSEs and AS grades; some interview and some don't; some take a lot of notice of the personal statement at an early stage, others not till later or put less emphasis on it. The Student Room is your friend in need as there is a wealth of information there once you have learned to find your way round.
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Amber »

Thank you Alex; that is interesting and helpful.

I am so glad I am not young any more. :(
Marylou
Posts: 2164
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Classical Civilisation

Post by Marylou »

Alex wrote:For the medicine courses the Student Room has a place where people post on a table what offers they are made, whether they were interviewed and dates etc so that is useful for comparing both within an institution and across the different institutions.
They call it the "stalking page" :shock: :lol: . There's a similar one for veterinary applicants, which DD found very useful.
Marylou
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