ARGH.

rhapsody!

How is it that A-Level students do three subjects and their Uni requirements are like 2 A's and 1 B.

Really annoyed, because I applied for a course in England and they wanted me to get 3a's and 2b's. I got 3a's, 3b's and 1 c.

I was declined because I got a c.

F/CK YOU GERMAN

I'd love to see A-Levelers try to tackle seven subjects.

F/cking annoyed.

Fad

But those 3 subject they take, are meant to have the same workload as 6 LC subjects (± a little bit).

It's not remotely like they are taking 3 LC subjects.

If you understand that, I have no idea what that point you're attempting to make is.

p1akuw47h5r3it

Fad wrote: »

But those 3 subject they take, are meant to have the same workload as 6 LC subjects (± a little bit).

It's not remotely like they are taking 3 LC subjects.

If you understand that, I have no idea what that point you're attempting to make is.

It's supposed to e easier to get an A afaik tho inthe A-levels.

p1akuw47h5r3it

rhapsody! wrote: »

How is it that A-Level students do three subjects and their Uni requirements are like 2 A's and 1 B.

Really annoyed, because I applied for a course in England and they wanted me to get 3a's and 2b's. I got 3a's, 3b's and 1 c.

I was declined because I got a c.

F/CK YOU GERMAN

I'd love to see A-Levelers try to tackle seven subjects.

F/cking annoyed.

So u got the matriculation requirements there was prob another reason u didnt get in tbh

rhapsody!

DanDan6592 wrote: »

So u got the matriculation requirements there was prob another reason u didnt get in tbh

....

Care to elaborate?

Fad

DanDan6592 wrote: »

It's supposed to e easier to get an A afaik tho inthe A-levels.

According to who exactly?

p1akuw47h5r3it

rhapsody! wrote: »

How is it that A-Level students do three subjects and their Uni requirements are like 2 A's and 1 B.

Really annoyed, because I applied for a course in England and they wanted me to get 3a's and 2b's. I got 3a's, 3b's and 1 c.

I was declined because I got a c.

F/CK YOU GERMAN

I'd love to see A-Levelers try to tackle seven subjects.

F/cking annoyed.

rhapsody! wrote: »

....

Care to elaborate?

u needed 3a's... U got 3a's.... U needed 2b's....U got more then 2b's...I dont see wer the C comes into the equation...

I'm not 100% on the UCAS system but dont they send letters into colleges sayin why they shud get in etc.?

Maybe they prefered someone elses letter to ur letter or Results?

Fad wrote: »

According to who exactly?

Sorry I meant relatively easy to get an A... Didnt mean to compare the A-levels to the LC.

It was a silly pt to make

ZorbaTehZ

rhapsody! wrote: »

How is it that A-Level students do three subjects and their Uni requirements are like 2 A's and 1 B.

Really annoyed, because I applied for a course in England and they wanted me to get 3a's and 2b's. I got 3a's, 3b's and 1 c.

I was declined because I got a c.

F/CK YOU GERMAN

I'd love to see A-Levelers try to tackle seven subjects.

F/cking annoyed.

So if you had dropped the subject, you would have got in - instead you kept it up and passed it, and now they won't accept you?! That's bloody retarded... did they tell you this before hand?

rhapsody!

I know.

I went over in March to the Uni, and they said if I missed the 4-year course by one grade, I would get into the 3-year BA. degree course which is 3 years.

They said they had to be strict because they got loads of applicants and A-Level results were outstanding this year apparently.

Maybe they prefered someone elses letter to ur letter or Results?

It's a personal statement, and they were extremely impressed with mine because the professor guy actually told me.

I guess demand was just too high this year.

sron

Fad wrote: »

According to who exactly?

BBC reported that 26.7% of all A-level results were As. Ours are usually in the 10-15% range. Also, their As are 80% in an exam, not 85% like ours. That would explain some of the discrepancy but still it appears far easier to get one in the A-levels.

GallowsGhost

Fad wrote: »

According to who exactly?

I heard about a recent report by UCAS comparing the Leaving cert to the A levels. Apparently this report discovered that leaving cert student do a subject in just as much detail as the A level students. Considering this, it probably would be easier for A level students to get an A in a subject, because they don't have as many other subjects to do as us leaving certs.

rhapsody!

Yeah cos though they might do like three modules of one subject for each subject, it's still within the same bloody subject. Not seven totally different ones.

It's weird, because I was thinking of dropping German not long ago.

And German isn't exactly a Science subject so I don't know why it mattered. I got A's in two science subjects.

Saul-Good

GallowsGhost wrote: »

I heard about a recent report by UCAS comparing the Leaving cert to the A levels. Apparently this report discovered that leaving cert student do a subject in just as much detail as the A level students. Considering this, it probably would be easier for A level students to get an A in a subject, because they don't have as many other subjects to do as us leaving certs.

Ya I heard about this as well, there's very little difference in the courses. Plus we're just unreal which explains how we handle it:pac:

p1akuw47h5r3it

sron wrote: »

BBC reported that 26.7% of all A-level results were As. Ours are usually in the 10-15% range. Also, their As are 80% in an exam, not 85% like ours. That would explain some of the discrepancy but still it appears far easier to get one in the A-levels.

Ye I rememer readin reports like this and that is wat I was basing my point on but I think it is beside the point (altho I still beleive A-levels are easier then LC:pac:)

Sulmac

Apparently 1 A-level = 1.5 Leaving cert subjects.

In my opinion, the Leaving Cert is superior because it offers more variety and also the grade system.

In the Leaving Cert the grade boundaries NEVER change (eg. an A1 is always over 90%, making it easy to compare results between years), whereas in the A-levels (especially in the Northern system, CCEA) the boundaries are changed every year (eg. A could be over 80%, or 85% or 75%...), meaning it's impossible to compare year on year results. This allows them to change and give A's randomly and is one thing I could NEVER understand. That's also one reason there appear to be far more A grades on the A-levels (especially in NI compared to England and Wales...).

To be honest, from what I've seen and heard from friends, family, etc. the Leaving Cert seems harder, but far more developed and varied than A-levels.

The only thing better about the A-levels is that they're done in modules, apart from that it's a broken system.

Fad

But that doesnt take into account that lesser achievers are sort of weeded out of the system before they ever get to A-Levels. You have to be a fairly decent student and get good grades in the GCSEs, so you can get into A-Levels, and even then, you might only get to sit AS-Levels, because if you dont do well enough in them you can get kicked out.

The GCSEs are a much better qualification than the Junior Cert, and leaving school with them is much more likely to net a job (Of some description) most people stay on to do the Leaving Cert here (Or a significant proportion)

medcon

rhapsody,

Were they all higher level grades that you got?

NoHands

rhapsody! wrote: »

How is it that A-Level students do three subjects and their Uni requirements are like 2 A's and 1 B.

Really annoyed, because I applied for a course in England and they wanted me to get 3a's and 2b's. I got 3a's, 3b's and 1 c.

I was declined because I got a c.

F/CK YOU GERMAN

I'd love to see A-Levelers try to tackle seven subjects.

F/cking annoyed.

DUUUDE im in the exact same kind of situation. I was offered AABBBB (a in maths and physics) but got AAAAAB (with a b in physics....) now they have to see if they let me in, even though points wise i completely overachieved

fingers crossed anyways! BE NICE ADMISSIONS TUTORS@!

OxfordComma

The A-Levels are definitely easier than the LC. A rather high percentage of UK students get all As in their A-Levels, compared with ~0.25% of Irish students getting 600 points. UK colleges are forced to hold interviews and aptitude tests (and request personal essays) to differentiate between applicants, because the A-Levels are no longer suitable for this! And correct me if I'm wrong, but don't students study for their A-Levels for three years?

Fad

1fahy4 wrote: »

And correct me if I'm wrong, but don't students study for their A-Levels for three years?

You're wrong

Read my post, and I think it's more that colleges over there have correctly asserted that exams like the leaving/a-level arent a sufficient basis to select students on.

rhapsody!

5 HL and 2 OL.

OxfordComma

Fad wrote: »

You're wrong

Read my post, and I think it's more that colleges over there have correctly asserted that exams like the leaving/a-level arent a sufficient basis to select students on.

Fair enough if I'm wrong about that (:) ), but the fact remains that the A-Levels are still undoubtedly easier than the LC.

Listen to this (taken from www.timesonline.co.uk )

"One in ten A-level students achieved at least three grade As this summer, increasing pressure for reform of the examination.

The record haul of almost 200,000 A grades prompted complaints from leading universities that they were increasingly unable to distinguish the brightest candidates."

randylonghorn

1fahy4 wrote: »

UK colleges are forced to hold interviews and aptitude tests (and request personal essays) to differentiate between applicants, because the A-Levels are no longer suitable for this!

Or because it gives a broader basis on which to assess students' suitability?

Or perhaps a bit of both?

I'm asking, more than pressing a point, as I wouldn't claim much experience of the A-levels or indeed UK college admissions.

I would note that most US colleges for example use personal essays / interviews / aptitude tests (well, mostly SATs) / etc. to assess college entry.

We are probably one of a minority of countries which is so heavily dependent solely on a points system in this regard, and even here Art students submit portfolios, other courses conduct interviews or auditions, etc.

OxfordComma

randylonghorn wrote: »

Or because it gives a broader basis on which to assess students' suitability?

Or perhaps a bit of both?

I'm asking, more than pressing a point, as I wouldn't claim much experience of the A-levels or indeed UK college admissions.

I would note that most US colleges for example use personal essays / interviews / aptitude tests (well, mostly SATs) / etc. to assess college entry.

We are probably one of a minority of countries which is so heavily dependent solely on a points system in this regard, and even here Art students submit portfolios, other courses conduct interviews or auditions, etc.

Yeah, I'm not disputing the value of aptitude tests/interviews (in fact, I think they're a very good thing, especially for courses such as Medicine), I was merely making the point that UK colleges seem to feel that achieving straight As in the A-Levels isn't necessarily a significant indicator of a candidate's academic ability. My point was about the value of the A-Levels rather than the value of aptitude tests etc! According to the Times website, a Professor from University College London said that “We can now regard A levels only as a starting point in measuring aptitude and achievement."