AAB at A-Level = very little chance?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>I am applying having finished high school back in June 2008 but narrowly missed out on AAA by 5 marks (out of 600).. therefore ending up with AAB. Do you think adcoms will look at this particularly unfavourably and will they even consider how close my B was to an A?
- Will they look at these grades in relation to my GCSEs (which were 10A*s and 1A) do you think??</p>

<p>Also, do you think that it is worth noting on the transcript that A*s have only been made available this year - and so were not available at my time of graduation?</p>

<p>Any thoughts please... :)</p>

<p>Hope everyone's applications/interviews etc are going well!</p>

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<p>For the first point:</p>

<p>The B should not kill your chances, however they may put a minor setback. Your GCSE’s look fantastic so most likely your GCSE results will far overpower your A-levels. </p>

<p>Also, you CAN note about the A* thingy on your transcript just in case but they’re likely to already know.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice Grisam! Good luck for all your applications!!</p>

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<p>That’s four years away lol. :D</p>

<p>Though I’m putting some minor thought in them anyway. :)</p>

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<p>I’m not sure how much emphasis they place on A-levels.</p>

<p>Guys from my school who have applied ALL got 5 90%+ in A-Levels (even though its still A only A grade and not A*) and all but one was rejected.</p>

<p>Ironically, one of them applied to Cambridge and was rejected too … I mean what more could they ASK for???</p>

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<p>I got in, and I had AAB for A-Level (along with some Bs at GCSE too, and I wasn’t a recruit before someone asks). I wouldn’t worry too much. In fact, you could even come off in a negative light by trying to portray your B grade being close to an A. Harvard keeps up on the UK education scene, so they will probably be familiar with the A* situation. They have a very good team that specialises in applications from the UK and Canada.</p>

<p>I think you’ll find that whilst grades and academic prowess is important, there are other factors the admissions office find compelling. It’s not like Oxbridge, where you’ll get tossed out of the pile with Bs at A-Level for some departments.</p>

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<p>Haha. 10char</p>

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<p>^ What’s 10 char? Everyone keeps saying it and I’m clueless on what it means.</p>

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<p>There is a 10 character limit. 10char is for preventing that limit.</p>

<p>What I meant was, GCSEs are so basic they don’t really mean a thing. My school provided only 6 IGCSEs and I’m taking 5 A-levels right now.</p>

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<p>??? Ten character limit for what?</p>

<p>Obviously admissions staff have to look at something other than A-Level and SAT results as everyone gets the same high scores; they have to distinguish between individuals’ results somehow. And obviously they do look at GCSEs as these are equivalent to the US applicants’ 9th and 10th grade scores.</p>

<p>Please try not to be so condescending in your posts - I could easily point out that only 6 IGCSEs may portray a lack of academic range or depth in the eyes of the admissions officers.</p>

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<p>They do. And they don’t matter much in comparison.</p>

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<p>Condescending? Good grief, I should actually try being condescending.</p>

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<p>I could easily point out that that’s the maximum my school provides, do you really think I’d get diminished for it? Same reason why people who can’t interview don’t get diminished.</p>

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<ul>
<li>And therefore the same reason why a 3 A-level student shouldn’t “get diminished” if that is the maximum number their school allows.</li>
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<p>What I want to know is if they distinguish between the different boards?? I’ve heard that the UK A-levels have something lik 20% getting As where the international A-levels hav around 10% so is said to be harder?</p>

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<p>I find that ridiculously hard to believe.</p>

<p>If it’s true, then state it.</p>

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<p>Maybe it’s cause British kids have better prep for it. Then again the opposite can be argued.</p>

<p>It depends on the board the international schools chose really.</p>