Triple science award at gcse and gpa

glowgirl_2

Hi:) this isnt a money saving question but I would really apppreciate some advice if anyone can help - dd took triple science at gcse level last year, taking all her exam results into consideration she has a gpa of 6.4 but if she removes the results of the triple award (she got bbc) her gpa goes up to 6.8 as she got As at double award and we are thinking this might be better on her uni applications as she is aiming for Cambridge. She isnt doing any science subjects or related at A level. Does anyone know if this is possible or even worth it? Thanks for any help:)

Elle7

No, it will be against the terms of her UCAS application to omit results.

Cambridge would be within their rights to remove her offer if they found out, and then to kick her out, and most probably would.

We don't use GPA here, really. Has she looked at the UCAS application? She'll put all her subjects in with their individual marks, so the admissions team will be able to see her strong subjects and how they correlate with what she wants to study.

glowgirl_2

Elle7 wrote: »

No, it will be against the terms of her UCAS application to omit results.

Cambridge would be within their rights to remove her offer if they found out, and then to kick her out, and most probably would.

We don't use GPA here, really. Has she looked at the UCAS application? She'll put all her subjects in with their individual marks, so the admissions team will be able to see her strong subjects and how they correlate with what she wants to study.

Thank you, she wouldn't omit results but I'm wondering if she could officially get the results removed now, shes only just started her A levels so we have a while to wait for uni applications to start but shes thinking ahead, shes looking at doing an English Lit degree and shes an A* student in that and English Language.

Elle7

glowgirl wrote: »

Thank you, she wouldn't omit results but I'm wondering if she could officially get the results removed now, shes only just started her A levels so we have a while to wait for uni applications to start but shes thinking ahead, shes looking at doing an English Lit degree and shes an A* student in that and English Language.

No there isn't a way to get the results removed.

Before 2010 I believe you could leave some results out of the UCAS application, but I think this was only failed results - so F's, E's and U's. I think she'd have had to declare her BBC then, too.

BBC is a good score, and if she is an A* student, then it won't matter at all. They are highly unlikely to look at science when considering her for an English course, and if they do, they will just be looking to see if she is competent, which her marks suggest she is.

Her A level results are a lot more important then her GCSEs anyway. If she's worried, is she considered extra curricular activities? I've heard that the admissions team at Cambridge are big on these, things such as the debating team which she might find interesting.

She really has done well, so tell her to stop beating herself up and focus on some amazing A level grades. All the best

glowgirl_2

Thank you, that really has cleared things up, I've just read your post to dd and its encouraged her a lot:)

Shes already on the extra curricular activities, one of which is the debating society;) also a BHS qualification in horse riding and Latin GCSE so she has a language - thanks again for your informative and helpful replies:)

thegirlintheattic

GPA isn't really used in the UK, you need to work out her UCAS points score.

juno

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

GPA isn't really used in the UK, you need to work out her UCAS points score.

But that isn't used by Cambridge, so is equally pointless

Elle7

glowgirl wrote: »

Thank you, that really has cleared things up, I've just read your post to dd and its encouraged her a lot:)

Shes already on the extra curricular activities, one of which is the debating society;) also a BHS qualification in horse riding and Latin GCSE so she has a language - thanks again for your informative and helpful replies:)

No worries She sounds like she is really on the right track, and they will love the Latin. My interviewer was a language fanatic!

glowgirl_2

Elle7 wrote: »

No worries She sounds like she is really on the right track, and they will love the Latin. My interviewer was a language fanatic!

Are you at Cambridge Elle7? If you are I have a few questions on behalf of dd if you wouldnt mind:)

apple_pies

English is a very popular course and she is fairly likely to lose out to someone with higher science marks before the interview stage, but there is no way to remove the grades from her record. Refusing to declare any results is considered fraud.

Though they will look at students' strong subjects and how relevant they are, Oxbridge really like "rounded" students that are generally great at everything and show a commitment to studying. The best course of action would be to ensure a straight sweep of A* grades at A Level in "proper subjects" - no media studies - perhaps even taking a science through to A Level to compensate for the GCSE grades.

My secondary head of sixth recommended that everyone should take at least one "contrasting subject", i.e. humanities/arts students taking a maths or science A Level and vice versa, especially when applying to Oxbridge.

Trinity College's page confirms this:

ARTS
All Arts applicants should offer a minimum of two subjects from Lists A1 and A2. They should also offer a third A-level from Lists A1, A2 and B. Some List B options are restricted to applicants in particular subjects, which are specified in brackets where relevant. In addition, there are a number of subject-specific compulsory A-level requirements: applicants for the three-year Classics course must have at least Latin or Greek A-level; Economics applicants must take Mathematics A-level; English candidates need to take either English Literature or combined English Language and Literature at A-level; History applicants must take History A-level; Music candidates need Music A-level; and applicants for Modern Languages must take at least one of their selected languages at A-level.


LIST A1
Generally Suitable Science A-levels

Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Physics


LIST A2
Generally Suitable Arts A-levels

Art History
Chinese
Classical Civilisation
Economics
English Literature
French
Geography
German
Greek
History
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Latin
Music
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Russian
Spanish
Welsh


LIST B
A-levels of More Limited Suitability

Archaeology (Arch & Anth)
Art & Design (Arts)
Business Studies (Economics)
Design & Technology (Architecture)
Drama/Theatre Studies (Arts)
Electronics (Engineering)
English Language (Arts)
Film Studies (Arts)
Government & Politics (Arts)
Law (Land Economy & Law)
Media Studies (Arts)
Psychology (Arts)
Sociology (Arts)


LIST C
A-levels Suitable Only As Fourth Subjects

Accounting
Applied Science
Citizenship
Communication Studies
Computing
Critical Thinking
Dance
Environmental Science
General Studies
Health & Social Care
Home Economics
ICT
Leisure Studies
Music Technology
Performance Studies
Performing Arts
Perspectives on Science
Photography
Physical Education
Science
Science for Public Understanding
Sports Studies
Travel & Tourism
World Development.

Trinity is one of the more popular colleges, so your mileage may vary, but taking a science at A Level and working really hard to get at least an A in it would make her application much more competitive, and I'd advise anyone to do that.

glowgirl_2

Thank you apple_pies, the thought of her taking a science or maths further than gcse makes her feel physically ill:eek: I'm not exaggerating either at present she has 4 A levels from A2 although she might be dropping one of those and one from List C, gcse Latin and BHS horse riding, she is very strong in her A levels subjects with As and A* in the ones she has carried through from Gcse, she has looked at Trinity but is also researching other colleges and we been given some excellent advice including other uni's to consider as well as Cambridge.