<p>I, due to extenuating circumstances, had to retake some AS and A2 examinations during my gap year. Whilst I have done very well it's obvious why I am anxious/disappointing because the state of my transcript will be pretty dodgy.</p>
<p>My transcript will have good grades for every AS and A2 level Unit but they will be spread over 3 years which is hugely unconventional. Does this render my application hopeless? Regardless of my great extra currics and SAT's?</p>
<p>It shouldn’t do, and it isn’t that unconventional. I know a number of people who took their third year as a way to “top up” their grades to A*s and get accepted by Oxford or Cambridge.</p>
<p>Really? But in the FAQ section of the International freshman section of Yale’s website it said it needs all my test scores/grades from the past four years. So does this mean I would need to absolutely put all my grades on the transcript?, even the bad grades I received before my retakes as well as the good grades in the same test I received after resitting? Or could I just put the final highest test score for each test on the transcript?</p>
<p>Your transcript usually needs to be written by your schools. You would not need to put your bad grades on your UCAS application if you were applying to a UK university (better grades always override bad grades), so I would think it should be OK to omit those results, but I suggest you make sure with Yale’s admissions office (a regional representative could help you best).</p>
<p>If you find out that you do need to include your bad grades, be sure to include the reasons as to why. Furthermore, make sure you explain that such practice is not uncommon in the UK, especially among public school students.</p>
<p>Ok, but surely they would make me if they new lol. I was considering just putting my good grades down. I went to a different school to do my A levels and both the schools I have attended are really really terrible state schools. As a result, they are hugely disorganized and I am sure I am the only kid who has ever considered applying to an Ivy League. I don’t think they would know what a transcript is to be honest. </p>
<p>If I end up putting my good grades down, they would know surely because of the weird dates on which the exams were taken. For example, whilst half my January AS exams will seem normal the other half will have dates corresponding to almost two years after instead of the summer following, because I will have retaken them some time after. They will want to know why the dates are so sporadic and far apart.</p>
<p>If I do put my original grades (which sucked), regardless of any extenuating circumstances, I will get rejected straight away. Yale is not the type of college to pick a kid who messed up his exams even if he/she experienced adversity (in my case, documented by a doctor) over someone who has a perfect first time record. Whilst my initial failures were not due to laziness or lack of academic skill/application, Yale won’t care, as 899 other kids with the same grades achieved first time are ready to fly from the UK.</p>
<p>You do not need to write the dates down on the transcript. Write subjects like this: “GCE Biology: A”. And at the bottom write something like: “GCE examinations are taken by UK students during Year 12 and 13 (equivalent to 11th and 12 grade in the U.S.)”. And same for GCSEs. </p>
<p>I understand that you went to a bad public school. I also looked at your GCSE scores (a previous post), they are not stellar (but OK since you went to a bad school). The following information is very important. Go to the department of education website and look at your school’s statistics, and report them on the common application, i.e. "the school’s graduation rate is 40% (percentage of students getting 5 A-C grades." * Also look at average letter grade awarded, percentage of students passing English Baccaleraute subjects. Furthermore, look at your school’s average GCSE point score, and compare it with yours. </p>
<p>Yale knows that schools in the UK can be unfair, especially for those who go to public schools. I know that you need to send a lot of school data, but you should include them! A Stanford alumna told me this (she was also accepted to most of HYPSM). </p>
<p>If your grades are substantially higher than your school you should have no problem, especially because you even have extenuating circumstances even documented by a doctor.</p>
<p>The report for my school said -</p>
<p>“Attainment by the end of Year 11 has risen over several years but
the
proportion of students gaining five or more GCSE passes at grades
A*
to
C
,
including
English and mathematics
,
is still low”</p>
<p>roughly 43-49% 5 A* to C’s achieved in my year and I had extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>Also, all the transcripts I have seen have a bracket above the box for the grades asking for the month and year in which it was taken.</p>
<p>It’s great that you found the information. The pass rate is very low, indicating that less than half of the students can go on to take A-Levels, the number of students going to university will be much lower. I would suggest that you look at the pass rate that excludes BTECs and DIDAs, as universities do not recognize them. </p>
<p>Dates are usually necessary in the U.S., where curricula vary greatly among different schools. But you can include the dates just to be sure. Tell Yale that you were greatly disadvantaged due to the bad atmosphere of the school you attended and that you also had extenuating circumstances. Make sure the admissions committee knows that you didn’t give up, and spent another year at school making sure you could get an excellent education. </p>
<p>If you are applying this fall, make sure you use this time very well! Yale will ask what you have done after you left the “bad” school.</p>