[quote=BBC News]A pupil who gained three A* and three A grades at A-level has been left without an offer from a single UK university.
Ben Scheffer, 18, had his dreams of studying economics dashed by Oxford, London School of Economics, University College London, Bristol and Warwick. The bright pupil, from independent Brighton College, was awarded A* in maths, economics and physics, and A in further maths, chemistry and German.
He was happy with his grades but said university would have made him happier. "It would also be better if we applied after you'd got your results.”
Asked why he thought he had failed to receive any offers, Ben said there were not enough places available and suggested a change to the admissions system.
The pupil, who is originally from Germany, did not take GCSEs at 16. He wondered whether this had been a problem. But his school said he had done very well in the German equivalent of the exams, had passed the college's competitive entrance exams and had been predicted to do well at A-levels.
Every year thousands of foreign students are awarded university places on the basis of the exams they take in their home countries.
Ben said: "They should put more value on the AS-levels." These are the first part of the two-year A-level course for which students get marks.
"It would also be better if we got the results earlier and applied after you'd got your results," he added. He also said: "I didn't write the best personal statement, to be fair, it just wasn't special. And it's a really hard course to get into."
The head of admissions at Brighton College, Stjohn Rowlands, said Ben was the school's best pupil and that he could not understand why he had not received any offers at all.
"You would have thought that he would have got in to one of them with an offer of three A*s. It has been really difficult because he's actually our top candidate and not many people get six As at A-level, including three A*s. It's been hard on him when the other pupils have been getting their offers but they haven't done so well."
"Ben came here to get a good education and he did and he wanted to go to a good British university."
Ben said he would probably take a year out instead and work as a ski instructor in Switzerland.[/quote]
[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11023939]Source[/url]
Talk about a kick in the teeth.
:irony:
Wow, that's fucking sad
Just bad luck, and a year out can be good for you, helped me get shit in perspective.
I guess those universities are a bunch of a*holes.
After all this publicity he'll probably get a spot somewhere.
Wow i got shit grades in everything and even i made it into a good university. Later to just jump off.
I would sort of understand if he'd made a Medicine application, but wow..
just wow.
Wow, that is really tough shit.
Oh well, it can be quite a shock at first, but one year of free time to do whatever you want can be quite refreshing, get a summerjob, travel, just relax and chill. One year away from school doesn't crash down the rest of your life, it does quite the opposite.
You get time to think things straight and plan
What the fuck? That's absolutely ridiculous, the best jobs nowadays require Degree's obtainable only at Uni, it's far too competitive, and not in a good way.
Wow, what the fuck.
There are more than 200,000 students not getting into uni this year.
[QUOTE=pyrofiliac;24187826]I guess those universities are a bunch of a*holes.[/QUOTE]
First good pun I've seen in months.
When did they introduce A*'s at A-level? They didn't have them last year when I took them.
[QUOTE=Hallucinate;24188621]When did they introduce A*'s at A-level? They didn't have them last year when I took them.[/QUOTE]
This is the first time they've been in effect. You have to get an A overall in your AS modules, then an average of over 90 in your A2s.
what's an A*?
It didn't say if he had done anything else, most uni's want to see you doing extra work like volunteering and having hobbies to stand up above the crowd.
[QUOTE=Meatpuppet;24188712]what's an A*?[/QUOTE]
An A that undergoes nuclear fusion due to its intense heat and pressure under gravity.
[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;24188779]An A that undergoes nuclear fusion due to its intense heat and pressure under gravity.[/QUOTE]
How the fuck do you get 'under' gravity?
[QUOTE=Nerts;24187810]Just bad luck, and a year out can be good for you, helped me get shit in perspective.[/QUOTE]
I understand how a year break from education could help you think about stuff but I personally would find it immensely dull :geno:
[QUOTE=Sickle;24188810]How the fuck do you get 'under' gravity?[/QUOTE]
Under the force of gravity you fucking plonker
Everyone and their crack-head grandmother has a degree these days so you're fucked if you can't tick that box
Can he not just wait a year, and then go? I have friends who couldn't get placements in the Unis they wanted, so they gave it a year, then went. It's not a big deal
[QUOTE=Sickle;24188810]How the fuck do you get 'under' gravity?[/QUOTE]
:rolleyes:
universities are full of elitist pricks. it's like facepunch, although much cleverer.
[QUOTE=frankie penis;24189242]universities are full of elitist pricks. it's like facepunch, although much cleverer.[/QUOTE]
:argh: stop being so clever
Thousands upon thousands are denied every year, why does this kid think he's so special?
-snip-
He's not missing out. Degrees are worth fuck all at the moment - better to get out there and start work than to waste 3+ years and a fuck load of money for something that won't help you.
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