Exam results

[Raiyuu]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Okay, A Level results are released tomorrow [b](Thursday 18th August)[/b]. So are you serenely, supremely confident? Nail-bitingly anxious? What grades do you need to get, and where are you hoping to go next year?

I've been trying not to think about this, but I've realised more and more that these are possibly the most important exam results I'll ever receive. They'll determine what happens to me for the next three years, in effect. I need ABB to go to my first choice, Royal Holloway, to study Drama with Creative Writing, or if I slip up I can go to Bournemouth and do Screenwriting with BBB.

Of course, you can come back to this thread tomorrow and post what you actually [b]got.[/b]
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[Dagger]

Not to be a total ignoramus, but it would be cool if you explained how the system works. I'm actually quite curious. Do colleges state explicitly that they will only accept people who score above a certain grade on the exam, or is it simply a given?

Also, what's the A Level like? Is it more analogous to the SAT (mainly mathematical & verbal multiple choice, with one relatively short essay) or to APs (multiple choice plus either open problems or essays, depending on the subject)?

~Dagger~

[Raiyuu]

[font=Trebuchet MS]D'oh, I forgot not everyone was British again...

Colleges or universities will give you an 'offer' based on your University Application (on which go your current A Level courses, various stupid little details like your last six months' employment history, that sort of thing) and sometimes, depending on the place and the course you want to do, an interview.

[i](Sorry if I'm being patronising and going right back to basics, I just don't know how similar the system is in other countries.)

[/i]The offer'll basically say, 'get these grades and you can have a place here'. So I'm doing Drama, English and Classics, and out of those three I need at least an A and two Bs to go to Holloway. If I don't quite get those grades, I have two options: a) go to Bournemouth, for which I need at least three Bs; b) phone up Holloway and plead for the place. If it turns out this year's exam was exceptionally tough, or they liked me enough at interview that they're not too bothered about a slip-up in the exams, then I might still get a place.

If the uni decides they love the pants off you and can't afford to [b]not [/b]have you, they might make you an Unconditional Offer, which means your A Level grades don't matter a jot, you have a confirmed place and you can slack off school for the rest of the year. But that's for genii.

It sounds from your descriptions that the A Level is more like the APs than the SATs. Because of the literary-type subjects I'm doing my exams were entirely composed of essay-writing; typically two essays in an hour and a half. It's the very last set of exams you can possibly take in Secondary (High) School.

Just so as not to discriminate, this thread is for International Baccalaureate or National Diploma people too ... although I don't know whether the results for those come out at the same time. (Those are other, equivalent qualifications, but I know next to nothing about them.)
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[Doukeshi]

[SIZE=1]I always find it really difficult to explain A levels and the process of getting into University to anyone not from the UK.

I've already had one year at uni but when I had to collect my A level results I was really nervous. I had to get a BBC to get into my first choice at Newcastle University to study Archaeology and Ancient History. I specifically her to get a B in history, the other two grades could be in anything. Ironically I get BBC but the C was in history, by one mark.

But they let me into Newcastle anyway ^_~. So if your grades aren't what you need make sure you phone your uni before you panic, they might just let you in anyway.[/SIZE]

[Lord Dante]

Are you including GCSE marks in this thread? If so, they come out next week, and it's driving me round the bend. I know the gcse is not as important as the A level, but still, it is an examination nonetheless.
I have absolutely no idea how well i've done, and i nead at least 6 B grades to get into my chosen college.

[Red]

Good luck to all those getting their results either tomorrow or in the coming weeks for GCSE, hope you all did your coursework.

Never done an A-level besides a mock ICT, but I've seen the stressed faces. :]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]The only exams I've done are my Yr 11 mid-semesters. I did pretty good in them. I got over 80% in Chemistry, Intro Calc, Physics and Economics. I got my worst English result of 68%, but still got an A for my semester. G&T I got 64% in, and passed semester with a 'C', which was good.[/size]