Careers Advice Blog

Do A Levels actually matter?

No comments

It’s both ridiculous and hilarious how important a set of size 12 letters on a sheet of paper can become over the course of two years. Whether you’re off to university or not, A Levels eventually start to feel like the heaviest weight pressing on your shoulders.

At sixth form

I like to look at A Levels, and their consequent results, as a matter of climbing a ladder. Remember at GCSE level, when everyone was convinced that if they didn’t get their five A*-C then they’d never get into sixth form and spend their life working at Tesco? For most of us, it didn’t happen. Whether we got the grades or not, we went on to study for AS Level or BTECs. There was a solution.

At university 

It’s basically the same with A Levels. As soon as you’ve got the keys for your new university room, no one will sit around at pre-drinks comparing their A* in Government in Politics to your high B in Maths. The thing is with exams,  they are there to prove you can do it. Whether you can recite what you’ve learnt a month after an exam is a completely different story. But it doesn’t matter. The hard part is over.

Overall

Obviously its important to aim for good A Level results, whether for your own satisfaction, for the beaming smiles of your parents, or for the chance of a nice meal out for doing so well. Whatever your motivation is, there’s always the overarching thought of not reaching your university offer (which should be motivation enough unless you’re lucky enough to be given an unconditional). Working hard for A Level results will get you into a good routine when it comes to university deadlines, but providing you’ve got a strong personal statement, A Level results are not the be all and all of your future prospects.

Do you think A Levels actually matter? Tell us in the comments below.

Photo: Gabbitas / Flickr

Georgie DarlingDo A Levels actually matter?

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *