Does anybody here know how much ucas points there are per grade. Does it go up as the grades get harder and does theory count too?
Any answers would be very much appreciated hehe
Thanks PSL

You get points for anything grade 6 upwards (theory or practical)

i can't remember the details, but points range from 5 for grade 6 theory pass to 75 for practical grade 8 distinction.

*goes to look it up properly*

Also, you can add up points from multiple instruments. There was some doubt over whether or not you could do that or just take the best, but i checked with UCAS and they said you take the highest from each instrument.

BUT most offers are X UCAS points from A Levels, so for most places, the fact that you might have several hundred points from music grades wont make a difference to whether you get in (although it would be impressive!)

EDIT:

Ok, have looked it up,

For Theory:
Grade 6: P=5, M=10, D=15
Grade 7: P=10, M=15, D=20
Grade 8: P=20, M=25, D=30

For Practical:
Grade 6: P=25, M=40, D=45
Grade 7: P=40, M=55, D=60
Grade 8: P=55, M=70, D=75

Some universities will only consider ucas points achieved from A-Levels or similar qualifications. They won't necessarily count music related ones unless you are applying for a music course.

I find it amusing and annoying that you can get more UCAS points for a distinction at grade 6 than a pass at grade 7, and likewise more for a distinction at grade 7 than a pass at grade 8...am i missing the basic point, how did that come about, how is that fair?
Surely by having a pass at grade 8 shows you're better than a merit at grade 7- which gets the same point marking...

I think these are so pointless- lol...pointless...*ok, stopping laughing at terrible unintentional joke*

i like the fact that they consider a pass at grade 6 theory is 5 times less valuable than the same for an instrument...
*malicious email time*
joking...
But thats bad.. apparently its harder to learn an instrument than to learn harmony, reading music in 5 clefs, history of music, and more.
And there i was thinking that theory was slightly more complicated!

Do you know I was just thinking the exact same thing!! Grade 6 theory is way harder than the practical I think!!

Yep.
I think anyone really can learn the peices for grade 6 and the scales ei, for piano without any tutoring beforehand (as shown by berfaceno1) but with theory, you need to learn so much more, there is a 33% chance of passing practical, but only 30% for theory (if you know what i mean, you get less of a 'pass' window for theory, you can only use 30% of the marks, but 33% for practical)

We were told last year that unless you're going to study Music, the music grades aren't huuugely significant - they work more on your predicted grades, GCSEs (or equivalents) and personal statement. So talking about music in your ps. shows you have a well-rounded personality, sense of commitment, all that twaddle...

Are universities paying attention to ucas scores now? For '94 entry only one place mentioned them, everywhere else jut made A-level grade based offers.

I think its about 50% use UCAS points, but i havent found one yet that isn't just A Level points.

I don't think any of the Russell Group universities use UCAS points, though many of those catering for the slightly less academic do. In fact, some of the higher universities are now asking for A grades in specific A-level modules, as well as for A overall.

hey but can you add the music ucas points to any subject or is it just for the subject music?

Theory is worth SO little. Why??????

BerkshireMum,

I'm sure you are right about Russsel Group universities not making offers based on UCAS points, but when I applied to Cardiff (a member of the Russell group) to read music, my offer was in UCAS points, and only stipulated a Grade B in Music A level.

I also agree that Theory points seem disproportionately low compared to Practical, but ABRSM do not decide them - it's outside of their hands.

It seems to me that UCAS points for music exams are considered in lieu of A level Music, but not in addition.

correction - 'Russsel' = Russell

For those wishing to read Music for a degree, higher level (6-8) graded music exams must be useful and advantageous, and are often expected, but I doubt whether they would count in addition to A Level Music in terms of UCAS points, as the overlap of subject matter is so great. It's probably best to check with individual departments on their admissions policy.

Yes indeed I am sure Denmark77 is right.


ALL universities in the UK (possible exception is Buckingham, which is private) use the UCAS points system for candidates taking UK qualifications other than the IB (which has its own points system). The only difference (and this is NOTHING to do with being in or outside the Russell Group - many other individual institutions also do this not just members of that self-appointed club) is that some institutions like to specify that they want the (say) 340 points that they require to come from three A levels (===A A B) rather than being spread across a plethora of other qualifications (like 6 AS levels and so on).

Surely its already elitist enough that so many institutions are selecting and determining life chances of our young people by requiring the equivalent of three As or the like ---- as if this necessarily equated to any sort of real basis for determining who was likely to make a significant contribution to society in the long run!

Having grade 8 just means that you're technically more advanced - the musicality bit is graded with pass/merit/distinction. I'd rather have a G7 distinction than a G8 pass I think it's just a way of balancing musicality with technical ability.



Theory/compositional skills are just as useful as practical! What would we play without people with the knowhow to write down the music they compose?



I didn't know that...




I don't think anyone said that it did...

They do look at your GCSEs as well as your A Levels, you know and the personal statement plays a big part.

I know someone who was offerend a place at Oxford (not to read History), providing she got an A in History. This seemed rather bizarre, as she wasn't doing A Level History (she hadn't completed AS due to illness). She double-checked, and explained the situation, but they stuck to the offer! Ridiculous!


They're going to introduce an A* into A Levels in the near future

Basically, universities will ask for whatever they believe you need for your course. A student where I work was offered a Cambridge place provided he gets an A in Further Maths - as in your story, he wasn't actually doing Further Maths at the time, but it didn't take him long to arrange to do it! If your friend had really wanted the Oxford place, she'd have taken up History.

The A* grade is desperately needed to prevent universities setting up their own entrance exams. Imperial College have already announced plans to do this, and you should have seen my son's offer for a Maths place from them this year: they required A grades in about 6 different modules! The funniest part of the offer was where they said "and A in FP3 - if youre sitting it" - cue to substitute D1, I think!!

It is far too easy to get an A grade now, because you can resit modules as many times as you like, thus getting lots of marks from the easier AS year. Most subjects have at least 25% of candidates achieving A these days. A* (90%+) will pick out the better candidates, but will also put them under a lot of pressure.

There's a world of difference between knowing 80% of something and knowing 95%. I don't think an A* is necessarily a bad thing - but what next? A**? It could get ridiculous.

Scurra - what subject was she applying for? I could kind of understand if it was related, but that just seems odd.

Just to point out, they do equate the IB with UCAS points these days. It was introduced the year after I did my application.

Was hopping mad though. Turned out my university had demanded the UCAS points equivalent of 4A's!! For a course that was supposed to have a standard BBB offer.

Honestly though, I'm not convinced by the way they've been equated. Its left me with nearly 800 UCAS points, and another friend with over 1000! (Though we both did certain Alevel(s) in addition, admittedly.)

You do get some weird offers, a friend an I both applied for physics at Royal Holloway,
my A-levels were Maths, F Maths, Phys, Chem and an AS Politics
his were exactly the same except with an A level computing instead of the AS Politics.

We had the exact same offer Bs in maths and physics and passes (E) in everything else, except for some reason he didn't need to pass Chemistry!?