Missing A Level Grade Requirements

[Laurenjosephine]

I achieved ABB in my A Levels, but some firms require that you have AAB at A Level. Would this entirely write off my application/ruin my chances of being considered, even if I am on track for 2.1?

 

[Lilz]

I achieved ABB in my A Levels, but some firms require that you have AAB at A Level. Would this entirely write off my application/ruin my chances of being considered, even if I am on track for 2.1?

No not at all. Most people I know with training contracts did not get the minimum grades achieved and they are at top firms. They’ll take it all into consideration and just have these as a guideline.

 

[Dheepa]

I achieved ABB in my A Levels, but some firms require that you have AAB at A Level. Would this entirely write off my application/ruin my chances of being considered, even if I am on track for 2.1?

@Jessica Booker might be best placed to answer this. However, I think that if you do have mitigating circumstances and are including it in your applications then your app will definitely still be considered.

 

[OB]

I achieved ABB in my A Levels, but some firms require that you have AAB at A Level. Would this entirely write off my application/ruin my chances of being considered, even if I am on track for 2.1?

I have the same at A Level and made a list of all the firms that would accept my A Levels. Websites like Legal Cheek are quite good to easily check what the requirements are! Surprisingly quite a lot will still consider us, and some firms have removed A Level requirements completely due to the A Level fiasco in summer. But I have applied to firms in the past when I haven’t met their A Level requirement (Allen & Overy) and they’ve flat out rejected me.

 

[TChopeful2021]

I achieved ABB in my A Levels, but some firms require that you have AAB at A Level. Would this entirely write off my application/ruin my chances of being considered, even if I am on track for 2.1?

This is one of those situations where it is best to ask the firm individually as each firm will have a different approach. You should also pay attention to the wording, some firms label them as a 'preference' (White & Case) whereas other firms have an 'expectation' but are willing to view the application holistically (Mayer Brown and Norton Rose clarified this at their open day). There are also other firms known to be quite stringent with this requirement (Shearman & Sterling). It's different if you have extenuating circumstances as most firms take that into consideration.

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker might be best placed to answer this. However, I think that if you do have mitigating circumstances and are including it in your applications then your app will definitely still be considered.

Look at the specifics of how they word it.

Saying applicants “typically must have ABB” is very different to “must have ABB”

There are some additional factors here too:

- Mitigating circumstances typically negate the requirement

- It will only be a guide for firms who use contextualised processes - if you think you’d be flagged in a contextualised process, the there will be some flex with grade requirements

But as others have said, I always recommend trying to speak to each firm to gauge this. Getting emails back that say things like “you are welcome to apply but it’s a very competitive process” at giving you a very different message than “we’d encourage you to apply”.

 

[Moygn]

I have the same at A Level and made a list of all the firms that would accept my A Levels. Websites like Legal Cheek are quite good to easily check what the requirements are! Surprisingly quite a lot will still consider us, and some firms have removed A Level requirements completely due to the A Level fiasco in summer. But I have applied to firms in the past when I haven’t met their A Level requirement (Allen & Overy) and they’ve flat out rejected me.

I have been subject to the summer fiasco for summer Alevel grades my predicted was AAB and I ended up with CCE and luckily I had a unconditional offer so I continued on to University and was wondering whether I would still be affected by this

 

[Jessica Booker]

I have been subject to the summer fiasco for summer Alevel grades my predicted was AAB and I ended up with CCE and luckily I had a unconditional offer so I continued on to University and was wondering whether I would still be affected by this

Potentially yes. You could claim the mitigating circumstances and explain why you think you were particularly impacted by the circumstances.

You’ll need strong first year results though to show it was a blip.