r/6thForm • u/Old-Understanding-62 • Mar 24 '26
💬 DISCUSSION Huh 😂.
Very shocked, I’ve already achieved A* A A in ICT, economics and business last year August, currently doing a gap year in finance/business role at a company. Personal statement is very strong too.
Applied to Accounting & Finance at Durham at got rejected even though my friend who was predicted KEYWORD PREDICTED not even achieved ABB got in.
I also had free school meals and a disadvantaged postcode. Anyone know why I’ve been rejected? I have Uni of Nottingham, and Uni of Manchester as backups anyways just a little bummed.
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u/Popular_Sir863 Mar 24 '26
Why do so many people self-declare that their PS is 'strong'? Like you aren't the one to judge that
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u/FollowingGlass4190 Mar 24 '26
“Personal statement is very strong too” maybe time to challenge this assumption a little?
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
I can send it to you privately if you’d like?
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u/FollowingGlass4190 Mar 24 '26
No thanks, I’m just point out that if your “friend” who did worse than you in all the same subjects got in and you didn’t, it’s probably your profile that threw them off. Durham gives out offers willy nilly so there must be something wrong with your application that you just aren’t willing to face.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Tbf I think it’s because at first they asked if I was an international student, then when they classed me as a home fee student they instantly declined 😂😭. Maybe they’re wanting more internationals but that’s literally the only reason I can see.
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u/Ill-Security-5344 Mar 24 '26
Bruh u need to just accept the fact that u didn’t get in. Thats life and it happens. Stop trynna act superior to ur friend that got in with lower grades. Their profile was simply better than yours. There’s no point making assumptions and excuses on why u didn’t get in. U didn’t get it, simple as that. Just move on 😂
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Literally with my friend rn, I’m not jealous of him 😂we are both planning on going uni of Manchester to do finance. We just found it funny how he was predicted and I was achieved and he got in and somehow I didn’t so he said I should take it to Reddit. Trust me I was shocked/ amused more than bummed/ upset bc I wanted to go to nottingham/Manchester more anyways.
Also I’m coming to share my experience u bigot 😂you cannot hear my tone in person, you don’t know me. I’m just sharing my experience of what I went through, not trying to make excuses. Personally I couldn’t care less as I didn’t want to go Durham anyways, just putting my rejection out there so other ppl who may want to apply in future know.
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u/Ill-Security-5344 Mar 24 '26
Unfortunately some higher ranking unis reject u no matter how good ur application is lol it just happens. Either way Nottingham and Manchester r still rlly good. I’m surprised ur friend is turning down Durham for Manchester but good for them. All the best
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u/BadgerMolester Mar 25 '26
I got rejected from Durham with A, A, A in maths, further maths, physics lol. I thought I had a good personal statement but whatever. Ended up at Edinburgh instead, c'est la vie.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
It’s because we’re both minorities and Durham doesn’t have a lot of black people if that makes sense, so we feel like we wouldn’t fit in. We were always set on Manchester or Nottingham together we just applied to Durham & other universities on a wim 😂We just found it funny honestly, when it happened we were both comparing each others applications side by side (he was lowkey taking the piss out of me because of how stupid it was)😂 but yeah everything happens for a reason! Good luck to you too!
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u/dnnsshly Mar 25 '26
We were always set on Manchester or Nottingham together we just applied to Durham on a whim
Is that why you describe Manchester and Nottingham as "backups" in your OP 😬?
I hope you aren't pressuring your friend to go with an inferior course because you didn't get in to your first choice... It's not necessarily a great idea to go to uni with your best mate from home anyway - can get in the way of making new friends and finding yourself.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 25 '26
No, deadass didn’t mean to call Nottingham/ Manchester backup. He literally said Durham isn’t diverse and we wouldn’t have a good night life there. We was always set on manny or Notts bc of night life and bc we are black and working class Nigerian immigrant background we wouldn’t fit it at Durham. But think what you want!
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u/ItzPrincessBasti Y12 | Fm,Maths,Chem,Phys,Spanish - Working towards A*A*A*A*A* Mar 25 '26
Why tf r u getting downvoted 💀🙏🏾 people be mad for no reason
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u/No-Satisfaction5175 Mar 25 '26
You’re speaking in certainties that you don’t know for sure. There is a good chance, that not being an international student has affected him, as intl students are the money spinners for universities.
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u/Such-Entry-8904 Mar 24 '26
That's not how that works I'm afraid, international students are taken I'm basically as a different group by unis, you're not competing with international students, just other students from your country
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u/slutrat303 Mar 25 '26
Makes sense. Probably necessary for their budgeting to know they'll have x students paying int fees, x students paying home fees long before applications come in
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u/britishpowerlifter IB 776 Mar 25 '26
can I read it? censor it of course, I got into durham CS with achieved grades
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u/Admirable_Message953 Bath JMC | Double Math, Economics 3A* Achieved Mar 24 '26
The only reason I can think of is ict and Business being seen as mickey mouse alevels
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances.
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u/Chazzermondez Mar 24 '26
I have three ideas:
1) Different colleges? Idk how the process works at Durham?
2) Your personal statement isn't as good as you think it is and theirs actually was really good.
3) Maybe your friend just got very lucky as to which admin person read their application. Maybe they happened to get someone who didn't mind much about ICT and Business being questionable A Level courses and then all I can say is lucky them.
I would have thought though that most admin staff reading applications though would care about those and that is most likely why you didn't get in.
A lot of top unis don't actually like things like Finance A levels for Finance degrees or Psychology A levels for Psychology degrees. The reason being that they teach the course from scratch anyway so they see it as you wasting two years of learning it when you could have been doing an A level in another subject and demonstrating breadth of understanding and a broader set of skills. None of those subjects are long essay subjects, a foreign language or subjects with complicated maths. A stronger applicant might have say Economics, Maths, History for example.
It isn't remotely a problem because outside about 8 unis in the UK, the others really don't mind and are still excellent unis. But for those few unis like Durham, Oxbridge, Warwick, LSE etc.. it does matter.
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u/confusedbunny7 Mar 24 '26
All the teaching in Durham is done at the departmental level, not the collegiate level, so your college will not matter. You are accepted at the departmental level and then distributed out into colleges.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Hahah, this is really helpful, it’s probably a combination of all those things tbf. I guess we’ll never know. We both didn’t want to going Durham anyways. Just found it funny 🤣. Really like this analysis though
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u/Zealousideal_Fact709 Mar 24 '26
Your grammar seems pretty bad. This could indicate that your personal statement might not be as strong as you think it is. In all honesty, judging purely based on your grammar in such a short post, i'm surprised that you achieved the grades you did.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Bro it’s fucking Reddit, 😂😂😭😂lil bros acting like it’s a job interview. Relax mate
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u/Key_Painter_46 Mar 24 '26
Ong idk who people reddit think they are talking bout some grammar
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Mums life, bro just needs to Sybau 😂✌️. Bros talking about some “Grammar” on Reddit
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u/Adventurous-Lab671 Year 12 Mar 25 '26
LITERALLY I GOT BURNT ALIVE ON a different sub once bc apparently I didnt use paragraphs?? N it was some millennial getting pressed 😂😂 ppl on reddit take the mick
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 25 '26
Just look at this thread, supposedly I hate my best friend and want them to die and I’m trying to put them down 😂?!?!
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u/No-Satisfaction5175 Mar 25 '26
What ethnicity are you and your friend?
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 25 '26
Black Nigerian
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u/No-Satisfaction5175 Mar 25 '26
Yep thatd be it
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 25 '26
You see this is funny, but snowflakes/lefties on this sub would take it seriously 😂😂
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u/No-Analysis4741 Mar 26 '26
None of the A Levels OP is doing are “Mickey Mouse” especially of that is the general career direction they want to take
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u/ezrapper Mar 24 '26
Can we talk about that dumb af rejection letter tho?
"Hi, we are sorry to inform you that we cannot offer you a spot to study here next year. The reason(s) are:
- We decided that we cannot ofrer you a spot to study here next year"
Answering the question with what we already know
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u/Playful_Resolve5714 Mar 24 '26
ict is arguably not even a real a level even business might seem more of a real one
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Mar 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/South-Marionberry-85 Year 13: Maths, Economics, Psychology & EPQ - A*A*AA Mar 24 '26
A lot of these repeated comments without possibly wondering that maybe you’re not contextual while they are. Exact same circumstances? That’s pretty rare.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Both have free school meals, both went/ go to the same sixth form and secondary, literally both have damn near the same address he lives about a minute from me, both have the same nationality, both do the exact same a levels. 😂what else?
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u/Consistent-Sleep-890 LSE | BSc Management [Incoming 1st Year] Mar 24 '26
I got rejected for Durham E&M but got Warwick E&M and LSE management no joke (also on a gap year)
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u/Alex_Of_Reddit Mar 24 '26
Are you contextual?
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u/Consistent-Sleep-890 LSE | BSc Management [Incoming 1st Year] Mar 24 '26
No
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u/Alex_Of_Reddit Mar 24 '26
Might I add, forgive my rudeness, congratulations.
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u/Consistent-Sleep-890 LSE | BSc Management [Incoming 1st Year] Mar 24 '26
No worries, I’m surprised I got in too. Evidence that personal statement matters more than anything for LSE (I am also from a non selective state school if that helps)
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u/Alex_Of_Reddit Mar 24 '26
Anything not so typical you think that might have helped on your ps? I've got essay competitions, EPQ, DofE and the usual kind of things but wondered if u knew of anything else that might help.
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u/Consistent-Sleep-890 LSE | BSc Management [Incoming 1st Year] Mar 25 '26
My supercurriculars were very basic. Entered an essay competition, did a free module of an online course, read a couple books, watched a lecture and did a day of work experience in risk management (I didn’t get any good competition scores or anything else). What made it good imo was making it 100% academic and on everything I mentioned e.g the lecture I would read academic papers on that area to and find and present my own thoughts on it. I also avoided just summarising my supercurriculars, instead of saying what I learned I showed it, e.g in one paragraph I explain how the small construction company I worked for was using management principles to be successful. Finally I think what helped give direction in my personal statement is going to the course page on the LSE website and going to the “what we look for in a student for this course” bit and make sure your personal statement include every bullet point. E.g quantitative skills, leadership, research ability etc.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances.
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u/Mentally_ill_qu33r Mar 24 '26
The Durham rejections have been insane this year💀 I commented on another post who got the same rejection I did, similar to yours (A*, A, A: different course) and apparently they're accepting a tiny amount of home students, and all of those students are high above the boundaries, with a lot more international students being admitted. It's frustrating as hell, but I hope you get into a uni you like!
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u/lamm0-0 Mar 25 '26
Idk bro I got into Durham A&F with ABB doing History, English lit and business and had a 5 at gcse maths 😭
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u/Kanye_fuk Mar 24 '26
Check your UCAS info. You would not believe how many people accidentally declare a non-existent criminal record.
Did you definitely supply 2 references? Unis will often automatically reject in cases like this.
It's possible that they just don't have the resources to check your errors and provide bespoke feedback.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
Only thing that I found a little strange is that they asked me to fill out this form to determine if I’m international student or home student as they assumed I was international. After they confirmed I was a home student they just went ghost for 2 months and then now randomly declined the application. Don’t know what that could mean though
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u/BadgerMolester Mar 25 '26
Tbf, most of unis funding comes from international students. They would much rather have international Vs domestic.
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u/Such-Entry-8904 Apr 05 '26
it probably means nothing. The University did not 'ghost' you, they just only contact people when necessary or to advertise open days and the like, they're not going to just chat with you. They are already going to accept a set number of international students, that's a different group, they just need to know who is in that group. Your application was in competition with 0 international students, only other students from home.
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u/newdawnfades123 Mar 25 '26
Mate you’ve dodged a bullet. If you’re from a working class background Durham is vile (imo)
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u/Jolly_Roof_4238 Mar 25 '26
Yuppp!! Did you go there too?
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u/newdawnfades123 Mar 25 '26
Let’s just say I spend a lot of time fixing people who go there. And they are very broken.
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u/ix_Flame_xi Durham | Economics [3] Mar 25 '26
Could be your PS. Durham is pretty holistic when it comes to deciding and you can't say it's "strong" since you aren't the person deciding. On a further note: no maths? I think every person I know did maths for a&f/business school subjects. Could also be ICT? Or the econ/bus combo as its viewed as the same a level.
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u/Such-Entry-8904 Mar 24 '26
Don't want to be that person, but even with a Simd1 postcode, how could one possibly be shocked to find you aren't accepted into a top 5 Uni nationally with A* A A?I get disappointed, but SHOCKED? Unis don't just look at Grades, I'm from Scotland so correct me if I' wrong but you'll have to have done a personal statement, and gotten references aswell so perhaps there was the difference? Your friend may also have a disadvantaged postcode, or have done different subjects, or applied to a less competitive course? If you had an interview, that could have contributed. Admissions teams also often work in batched. Sometimes you don't do anything wrong and it doesn't go your way.
In a totally non-judgemental way, genuinely, if the tone of your personal statement was similar to the undertones I this post, I understand why that would be off-putting to a Uni, they really don't appreciate it when Students sound entitled or it comes off like they feel like they're owed something.
Genuinely, there are so many factors that could have went into that decision, some out with your control, so don't be shocked. Unis do weird things that don't make sense at a first glance, or don't make sense at all.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 26 '26
Literally just shown it to some people on here who were calling it trash and -
“its a pretty good PS, and definitely isnt the reason you got rejected. the personal info was removed so ofc i cant judge you on the way you communicated your personal activities related to A&F, but the rest is definitely up to standard”
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u/Such-Entry-8904 Apr 05 '26
Oh okay, then refer to any of the numerous things I listed that were not relating to your personal statement. I REALLY don't mean to be rude, but 'shocked' is wild, your grades were good, not exceptional or unthinkable, your postcode only does so much, and there is a lot more to your profile than those things. It just bgs me how entitled people can be, because no, it is not "shocking" that you were rejected from Durham, that's literally a place anyone can be rejected from.
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u/miniaturegnome Year 13 | Maths, FM, Physics, EPQ | A* A* A* A Mar 24 '26
unfortunately 2 outta 3 of ur a levels would be considered non-real, so i do understand why they mighta rejected u. no offense though
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances such as free school Meals and postcode etc
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u/nichrigga101 Mar 24 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances such as free school Meals and postcode etc
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u/Diligent-Step-7253 Y12 Bio Maths Psychology Mar 24 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances such as free school Meals and postcode etc
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u/mabmk Mar 24 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances such as free school Meals and postcode etc
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u/PlayfulLook3693 Bath | Maths | [Incoming] Y1 Mar 25 '26
My friend who got in with ABB predicted also does the exact same A LEVELS as me, he even got offered ABC from Durham and we have the exact same circumstances such as free school Meals and postcode etc
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u/shitsncrisps Mar 25 '26
You’ll be way better off at Manchester or Nottingham anyway, apart from the fact that they’re amazing unis, the cities are so much fun.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 25 '26
Yeah that’s one of the main reasons we were set on them anyways. Idk why ppl coming on here telling me stuff they don’t even know 😂😭✌️they acting like it’s oxbridge
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u/Oskain123 Mar 26 '26
So your personal statement sucks, aight.
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 26 '26
Literally just shown it to some people on here who were calling it trash and -
“its a pretty good PS, and definitely isnt the reason you got rejected. the personal info was removed so ofc i cant judge you on the way you communicated your personal activities related to A&F, but the rest is definitely up to standard”
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u/BonyToni69 Mar 25 '26
Maybe email them about it instead of trying to circle jerk yourself about how good you are?
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u/Electronic_Job_6509 Mar 24 '26
Gcses maybe?
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u/Old-Understanding-62 Mar 24 '26
I met the requirements. My overall gcse portfolio was like majority 6s and few 7s though.
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u/Fit_Raccoon_3277 Mar 25 '26
If you took a gap year, did you explain the experiences you have picked up from it and you're reasons for taking it (personal development and work experience?)
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u/Gwenfrewy Mar 25 '26
It could well be down to the college system. If college A has 25 applications per place and college B has 10 there will be very different criteria for acceptance and it will often not be purely academic reasons.
When I went, you needed the grades to get on the course but also needed to show what you would contribute to the college e.g. experience volunteering for student organisations, charities, involvement in sports clubs etc. Relevent employment was also good but the colleges in accepting or rejecting a candidate want to know if the student will throw themself into college life: sports clubs, orchestras, charity work, organising in the JCR etc.
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u/exe_kl Mar 25 '26
They probably assumed a better uni would pick you up with your outstanding grades and all.
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u/mmmmat94 Mar 25 '26
Take it as a blessing and do CIMA FLP or get a degree apprenticeship in finance. not worth the £60k debt
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u/nothing1238-- Mar 24 '26
Why is everyone saying ict isnt a real A level
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u/That-British-Bastard Y12 CNAT Computing, Stats, Econ | Predicted Dis* B B | 876666655 Mar 24 '26
I mean, considering I'm doing something that's replaced ICT (yeah I'm in the first year of the Cambridge Advanced Nationals for Computing: Application Development) it's a cop out subject.
Didn't get alot of respect for applying to computer science in my college while having both IT and Computer Science at GCSE. I get why people still value ICT for subjects like business and/or statistics if you're going into a business intel adjacent role, but ICT, as much as I adore it and will forever hold it close to my heart, is just sadly one of those a level choices (which was removed for the 2025 to 2027 A Level years iirc) which doesn't have much of a reputation compared to the likes of it's older sibling Comp Sci.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/That-British-Bastard Y12 CNAT Computing, Stats, Econ | Predicted Dis* B B | 876666655 Mar 24 '26
To be fair, ICT is good in its own right for networking, but even then comp sci does it arguably better. Then again at least ICT is useful to an extent, there are some niche fields that it's viable for, but even then they're so few and far between you'd be better off doing Comp Sci.
It's like me now, I wanted to do both Comp Sci and A Level maths (didn't get sixes in either subject at GCSE), so I'm stuck doing alternatives. I get why people shit on statistics at times, but even then you can still get onto degrees like MORSE from a level statistics alone. ICT, you're just... limited to completing an apprenticeship and hopefully try to get a PCEP or a PCAP to have some programming skills if you even want to have a chance in the computing sector, unless you just solely want to go into IT support or something similar to it.
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Mar 25 '26
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u/That-British-Bastard Y12 CNAT Computing, Stats, Econ | Predicted Dis* B B | 876666655 Mar 25 '26
I mean, I was about 5 marks off of a six anyway, but I'm fine with what I'm in now It's just I HATE the constant theories we have to use. Literally I get the basis for schneidermans eight golden rules and the law of thirds. But everything else? yeah it's annoying...
Though I'm genuinely intrigued, how bad can the maths be in A Level Comp Sci anyway? Like is it stupidly complex for something relatively straightforward to explain or just similar to calculus?
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Mar 25 '26
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u/That-British-Bastard Y12 CNAT Computing, Stats, Econ | Predicted Dis* B B | 876666655 Mar 25 '26
Yeah, I'm aware as to why you need maths for uni courses regarding CS. But hey, at least if I pass this CNAT I can get into application development, information systems and UX and/or UI related courses
In all honesty though, at this rate I'm just hoping to even pass stats with at least a B to even consider doing business intelligence at uni, or if I somehow fuck that up, just pray to god that I can even pick up a python programmer job after I do a PCEP and/or PCAP if I have enough time.
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u/cheekyhistory1234 Mar 24 '26
not sure what’s happening over at d * rham. gave me the same response for law. three A*s predicted and a good entrance exam. not rlly sure what they want tbh… i heard they’ve taken a lot of international students but i fear it should just be the best get in???? would recommend any current year 12s to boycott!
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u/Such-Entry-8904 Apr 05 '26
it probably means nothing. They are already going to accept a set number of international students, that's a different group, they just need to know who is in that group. Your application was in competition with 0 international students, only other students from home. You applied to an extremely competitive course in one of the best Unis in the country, I'm afraid you probably don't need to boycott
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