another one of my mates has just left college having done a two day a week course and gained 3 distinctions, the equivalent to 390 UCAS points, which will get him into a very good university!

i however had to slug out 2 years of A-levels to end up in a just below average uni,

its just not fair!!!!

Why didn't you do what your mate did?

Don't worry about other peoples paths mate, just get on with yours.

You can still achieve a first at a below average uni 😉

Don't worry about other peoples paths mate, just get on with yours.

Very good advice.

Don't worry about other peoples paths mate, just get on with yours.

and stop moaning.

What course did your mate do?

Unis know how much work/effort goes into various level three courses and adjust their offers accordingly…

What the bloke above said. The other thing to take into account is how many employers want to see A-level results, for graduate jobs. A decent set of A-levels is likely to be worth more to you than an ace set of vocational stuff.

Welcome to the big bad world.

Also, what are these very good and just below average unis? Some would say that the uni I go to, Glasgow Caledonian, is just below average. But if you do an Engineering or Health based course you are getting one of the best degrees of that type in the world.

obviously he is smarter than you!

i however had to slug out 2 years of A-levels to end up in a just below average uni,

You should have studied harder then 😉

Chill out. Two weeks after you graduate relatives will stop asking you what degree you got, and from that point on nobody will ever ask you again! (IME)

But if you do an Engineering or Health based course you are getting one of the best degrees of that type in the world.

All crap unis tell you that.

obviously he is smarter than you!

Definitely a better researcher.

Try getting into a top ranked Russell Group institution without A Levels….

i have to agree to an extent….at my school we we pushed into 6thform and not told at all about the whole ucas system.
I now am struggling with my a levels but im trying hard to get my grades to get me into uni.However i have friends who have got huge amounts of ucas points for kicking a ball around 2 days a week and handing in page long essays and getting a high grade.
College is usually seen as less quality than a good 6th form but i think i certainly go it wrong
Bruce
currently doing ;geography,food tech,chemistry and general studies.

Try getting into a top ranked Russell Group institution without A Levels….

+1

not all universities are equal and the people that count know that

College is usually seen as less quality than a good 6th form but i think i certainly go it wrong

College is a type of institution. I did my A levels at a college. I couldn't have got into the university I chose without good A levels in maths, physics and chemistry. It depends entirely on what you plan to do and where, as above – if you want to go to a russell group uni you need A levels in something very closely related to your chosen course, and outside interests to match, points mean nothing. My previous place of employment (a uni) would tend to select candidates partly by what college they attended too, not just what subjects and grades, as they knew how the courses were taught and which colleges had a tendency to have certain backgrounds etc.

Points might mean prizes, but they don't mean uni places. You can get UCAS points for doing your Grade 8 piano; doesn't mean a uni will accept them.

Try getting into a top ranked Russell Group institution without A Levels….

+2 (again).

I'm currently studying at one of the better unis in the UK. They have equivalency tables for qualifications all over the world – don't think they'll go solely by UCAS points. They work out the equivalent mark in something they understand (probably A-levels), then take the top ranked from that. I even know guys who did GCSEs and A-levels as kids in Sri Lanka with the intention of getting into a good UK uni.

If your mate did a Btec then the points are micky mouse ones and not proper UCAS ones. No chance of getting in to a Uni that wants 3 As at A level.

ianv – Member

If your mate did a Btec then the points are micky mouse ones and not proper UCAS ones. No chance of getting in to a Uni that wants 3 As at A level.

Not true, I got into a top uni for my subject with a BTEC. Its all about grades and showing a willingness to learn, you can do that with very good BTEC results (mostly distinctions) or via traditional A levels.

Its all about grades and showing a willingness to learn

Hah! It's all about how many places the uni has to fill on the course!

Not true, I got into a top uni for my subject with a BTEC

I don't want to sound snobbish here, but which uni was that? Neither of the universities I went to would have accepted a BTEC, even for the more practical subjects such as engineering.

Am I just misreading the UCAS tables?

http://www.ucas.com/documents/tariff/tarifftables2010.pdf

Looks like an 'A*' at GCE A level is worth 140 points.

Diploma in "Fashion retail" 'distinction' gets you 160.

Diploma in "Foundation Studies" (art, design, media) is worth a stonking 285!

Got to wonder if the people at UCAS are perhaps a bit rubbish.

Foundation in art and design is taken after A levels but before uni, the majority of students doing such subjects go through these courses. So the sums are probably correct.

Might be worth more points but getting an "easy" voactional qualification doesn't necessarily get you in to uni. If your mate has done a course at college related to what they want to do at uni (if thats what they're doing), then thats good! But whatever course it is you want to do might not accept someone unless they have an a-level or equivalent in certain subjects.

how totally barmy the system is…give me a proper interview alone and i would get myself in most places.
on paper….
Bruce

you can have as many ucas points as you want but no admissions tutor is going to see a random college course in painting and decorating as being better than an A in a proper academic subject. All good uni's are heavily over subscribed. Mine has 11 applicants per place LSE is even more so your friend is unlikely to even be considered for a proper course without academic subjects with decent A levels.

Try getting into a top ranked Russell Group institution without A Levels….

..even with it's pretty hard at the moment. I am just finishing up my A-Levels, and got rejected from 3 'top ranked' uni's (following interview at one), despite having everything (academically) they wanted.

However I doubt they would have looked at the application if it had had more vocational subjects on it.. as said above, places are in massive competition everywhere.

Try getting into a top ranked Russell Group institution without A Levels….

I have no A Levels and got into a member of the Russell Group on merit of my two years at college. Maybe the Scottish members of the Russell Group just have lower standards 😛

I only have 24 UCAS points. I must be thick…

I got into Uni with no UCAS points whatsoever. I knocked on a door, chatted to the bloke for 20 mins and was accepted on the spot. 3 years later I walked out with a Geoff Hurst. Plenty of the College-leavers, with all their UCAS points, scraped through with a Douglas and were lucky to get that. Most of them were ill-prepared, particularly those from the BTEC courses, and the majority lacked desire, discipline, interest, application, time management skills and basic literacy.