3 facts I wished I knew before starting A level

“Every beginner possesses a great potential to be an expert in his or her chosen field.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita,

---

Introduction

what is A level and why would it be beneficial as an international student to know about it?

A level is a 2 years course that its qualification is accepted by all the universities in the UK.

As majority of websites site that ''it's typically taken by school students aged 16–18'' but I can confirm that you can be younger or older and still be accepted to undertake this course.

You will start your A level by choosing 3 to 5 subjects and study them for whole year, this year is called As , the exam that you are taking by the end of the first year is usually internal exams and you will be predicted by your teachers, that what would you potentially get in your exams by the end of the second year based on your current results.

Then you send these predicted grades and your personal statement to those lovely universities and wait for your offer!!!

After you got your offer you will take your exams by the end of the second year, which is called A2. You have to get the required grades and get to your dream university!!

In this post I will talk about what I would loved to know before start studying this course.

---

1.The available subjects

I always though I can only study three subjects. However, I found out I can actually do more.

I don't know what is the limit but I believe you can do 5 A levels and it's still fine.

As an international student I have to tell you that you can actually take your language as one of your A levels.

For instance, If you are Persian you can take Farsi A level, and in most cases you even don't attend any classes you just take an exam.

Furthermore, remember you can drop a subject if you have more than 3 of them, so don't get scared of starting with more than 3 A levels, I personally started with 5 but I dropped one just before my A2 exams.

2. What universities want

Before choosing your A levels take a look at UCAS https://www.ucas.com/

It's an amazing website with all the universities and courses. It shows you what subjects and which grades do universities ask for, and it's so important to know what A levels you have to get if you are already interested to study a specific course.

For example, If you want to study medicine don't pick further maths if you are doing maths and always pick chemistry.

I know it sounds weird, but more universities require chemistry than biology.

and some universities don't even accept your further maths qualification if you are already doing maths.

I'm emphasising again this is just for medicine they may accept your further maths and maths combination if you want to study something else so just sit down make yourself a cinnamon tea and go though this website and find out about the subjects that you have to take.

3. Scholarship

As an international student when I was coming, I didn't know how can I apply for scholarship. If I be honest I didn't have that confidence to even ask for requirements.

So if there is only one tip that I can give you is please ask about it, and if you even didn't manage to get any scholarship at first don't worry if you go to their school and prove that you deserve a scholarship and ask for it again they will probably give you one.

So don't be shy, go out there and shine.

---

Summary

A level is only one of the ways that you can get to the university with. You can study IB or the equivalent degree from your country.

So before even applying for it, send an email to the university that you like they might even accept your current qualifications.

to put in a nutshell, A level is a 2 years degree that can get you to the university and the course that you love.

Hope I could help you to find out more about A levels. I'm planning to post more about this topic so don't miss them and subscribe.

XOXO

---