Post by Luke ElsonPost by cowboy carlPost by SamsonknightPost by Ian/Cath FordOn Wed, 20 Oct 2004 23:34:57 +0100, Toby
Post by TobyWell some of the best students still get EE offers, though of course
that means they probably attain 6 A grades...As to getting 3 E grades,
if they've worked hard and get accepted on a course and are happy, I
wouldn't even consider feeling sorry for them...
My absolutely favourite student in the last ten years got 1 E (and a U
for the other A level she kept on doing). She was the first person in
Well I got a U for maths, so I know how that I felt at AS. Was gutted.
Post by Ian/Cath Fordher family (of 18 children - yes, really; I find 2 difficult) to get
Wow!
Post by Ian/Cath Fordan A level. And she was lovely - I happen to teach her cousin who
told me this week that she said "Hi". Reminded me of her, hence this.
Nowt wrong with Es, as Tobe suggests. Nothing to feel sorry about.
I feel sorry for those people that want to goto top unis yet get E's -
not 1 E's but all 3 E's....because it dashes in most people cases their
aspirations and goals to be something that unfortunanly requires higher
grades to do e.g. medicine. A good friend of mine got BCDD - he wants to
be a Doctor , yet is so gutted he cant go into medicine due to his
grade. Another friend of mine got a U in physics at A2, he started
crying...I probably would too. AS for those that got 3 Es, I cannot
imagine how they felt at the end of it - personally I would feel like I
wasted 2 years of my life - as all E's in terms of Universities
application is not v good. Maybe I am wrong, think we need Matthew on
this one!
I feel sorry for all those people who view academic qualifications as the
only way of getting anywhere in life.
As if nobody ever did anything before GCSEs/O-Levels and A-levels were
invented.
Or as if anyone who doesn't acheive a certain number of grades is gonna
spend the rest of their life homeless and unemployed.
Richard Branson anyone?
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Oh please - nobody suggested that academic quals are the "only way of
getting anywhere in life" - but it remains true that they are necessary
for the things that are mentioned: medicine and getting into the top
universities. You may well question why people want to do such a thing,
but it is necessary if one is to succeed in the nowadays-conventional (and
possibly boring, and certainly not Branson-esque) means of reaching the
top: specialised medicine, law, the city etc. Try getting a job at UBS or
a training contract with a city firm without having gone to one of the
"top unis" - there are exceptions, but of course they are just that.
If your definition of 'success' is making lots of money, then sure,
qualifactions help, but they are by no means essential.
By the time you reach 30, employers aren't gonna be looking at GCSEs, or
A-level results, and they probably won't care too much about what degree you
have ... they will be looking at your work experience and your references.
Post by Luke ElsonNobody suggested you need good A-levels to make something of oneself, but
to do so via the "good university" route one certainly does. And surely
for those with their hearts set on this route, you can see why GCSEs, O-
and A-Levels are so valued?
Okay, I missed the point of the guy I replied to a bit.
He said he would feel sorry for someone who had applied to a 'good
university' but ended up getting Es.
I was responding to an earlier person who was saying he would feel sorry for
someone who got three Es peroid, as if that means his life is suddenly over
and no longer has anything left to live for and therefore deserves our pity.
If you apply to a "good university" and end up getting three Es, then
someone has gone wrong. Either you deluded yourself into thinking you were
smart enough, or you were ill during exams, or something like that. But if
you are just a grade E or below student, then academic stuff isn't for you,
but there's plenty of other fun and interesting stuff to do in life.
Post by Luke ElsonAs if nobody in life got anywhere before qualifications were accepted??
Well, I think you're largely right! Such things are invaluable in a
meritocracy, they provide semi-independent proof that a working-class
person is talented. Pre-war it would have been extremely difficult for a
working-class child to make it to the top without some kind of
middle-class patronage.
Homeless and unemployed? Not in a country with almost full employment. But
stuck in a menial job you hate for 40 years followed by a pitiful pension?
Possibly. And to hold up Richard Branson - a clearly exceptional
individual who has succeeded despite his lack of qualifications - as
evidence otherwise is disingenuous at best.
Now you seem to suggest that good A-levels and a degree is the only way for
anyone to get a job they enjoy, am I right?
Your life is what you make of it, if you choose to position yourself in a
crappy job and allow yourself to feel defeated and hopeless just because of
some poor a-level results, then you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Plenty of people make a life for themselves which they enjoy without a few
a-level certificates. Happiness in a job has no correlation to success at
a-level or degree level.
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