Hi!
I'm thinking of retaking a History AS unit in January, although I am not sure, and might not have decided until after my UCAS form is due to be sent off.
Do I put pending, even though I have a grade?
Or do I need to change it at all, and just put the grade I got?
Nicki

Not an expert in this but I'd put the grade you have.
No guarantees it will be better on retake are there?

Thought you got an A anyway? How would resitting make a difference? I'm confused!

That's a good point, but I am doing it to higher my UMS mark, and it probably needs to be official on the form.

I think you put it as pending...

Can you explain to me how that works and why it would make a difference? Ta

To be honest Mr B, I am really confused myself

So why even bother thinking about it? You get stressed up enough about exams which is understandable... why add an extra one or two to your workload if the benefits of doing so are not absolutely apparent?

Let me try and explain. (The college my sons went to had a whole parents' evening to do just that!)

The final A level grade is made up of the totals of all six modules (3xAS, 3xA2) added together. Your final grade depends on which band your total lies in. A grades are 480 points or more, B grades 420-479, Cs are 360-419, Ds are 300-359 and Es are 240-299. Anything below 240 is a failure. Until all marks are gathered in, no-one knows how close to a particular boundary they are likely to end up. So it's worth retaking AS modules, provided it's not to the detriment of A2 modules, to try and raise the score as high as possible to maximise your chances of ending up on the right side of the boundary come Augusrt next year.

Hope this is comprehensible.

You got an A at AS. Chances are you'll get an A at A2. Stop worrying about something which doesn;t need fixed

Thanks andante, if was both comprehensive (my kind of school) and comprehendible

So it's marked out of 600 I guess with Nicki's AS worth 300 of that. Nicki: can you remind me what your total score was for AS?

Because I want to do History at university. I want to retake the unit as I want to take pressure off my final exam in June. Off the top of my head, I need 222/300 points ( to get an A overall



Hmm, not definite if my coursework isn't good. I spoke to my History teacher, who said I might as well go for it. Plus, my 2 excellent History teachers are leaving (one retired, the other is pregnant). So, we get a teacher who has never taught A level History plus a completely new teacher who won't know us.

At any rate, I am getting my paper back so, I can decide whether to resit or not

Should have stuck to understandable, but that wasn't quite what I meant. I blame the beer: I discovered a little local brewery today and bought 5 litres of the stuff, which unfortunately has to be drunk quickly before it goes off. Or that's my excuse, anyway.

You're quite correct about the 300 and 600.

This is a matter of certification. Your grade at AS will be certificated as an A. That means you put it on your UCAS form. It will be, in effect, locked at the mark you got for it. However, you can retake modules which will then be certificated with your A2. That is to say, your A2 grade will be the sum of all your best module scores at that time, it does not necessarily have to include the module scores you certificated in your AS. It's best to talk to the school about certification. You cannot put any grades you have not certificated on your UCAS form, because they can not be verified by the University in question. Hope that helps.

I got 258/300

So you don't know what you overall mark was? Or you don't know what your module marks were? Still, I'm confused (I have 10 years to get a grip before my eldest has to go thru this circus performance )

To retake part of a module you have to reject your grade. That's what we got told and that's what happened with my german. You only have til sept/oct to do that before exam entries go in.

May differ with exam boards

Doesn't make the slightest bit of difference though, if you've got an A already.

I sort of get this. I am not definitely resitting, but might be, and as I have to do my UCAS form by 29th September I need to know.
Will ask college, but they're really hopeless. Asked 3 people about dates on UCAS form and got 2 different responses. They've not given out/said anything to potential Oxbridge candidates, no help on personal statement. etc

If you want to change your AS grade, that's true. If your AS grade is an A, there's no need, because you can put the module you've retaken in your A2.


Ok. If your college are even slightly competent, they will have certificated your AS. It's an A - there's no possible reason why they wouldn't. So the retaken module(s) will go in your A2 mark (even though they are technically AS modules), and help with your grade for that.

My overall mark was 258, I got 104/120, 86/90 and 68/90 (for AS)



So, I can just put 'A' on my UCAS form, what about the date?


I think they have certificated them (though I am not too sure what this means)

It 'locks' your AS grade at whatever it is. You also (cunningly ) get a certificate with it on.

How do I know whether they have certificated them?

Um. Ask them. Or see if you get a certificate.

Will do on Monday Thanks!

Sounds like whatever happens your A at AS stands, Nicki!

Yes - I know that. Ah, I am thinking I won't bother retaking now, I might as well use the time to do some fantastic coursework rather than relearning a year's worth of work

Good attitude. It will also reduce the pressure on you later in the year.

For medicine I had to have my UCAS form in by 15th October, it was the same for Oxbridge folk. Everyone else started theirs after we'd handed ours in!