Competition for places on LSE undergraduate programmes is amongst the highest in the UK. In such a competitive environment AS Levels are extremely important in the admissions decision-making process as they offer a very recent, robust and independent measure of academic potential.
LSE is of the opinion that AS Levels offer significant benefits, both for the student and for universities. Our evidence indicates that AS Levels are an effective indicator of performance at undergraduate level and for this reason we will continue to use AS grades (and in some cases the associated UMS scores) in our admissions assessments.
For students due to start A Levels in September 2015 we recommend that, wherever possible, they sit AS Level examinations at the end of year 12. These AS results will help the LSE Selectors better assess applications in a fair, consistent and transparent manner and will ensure that more subjective indicators of academic potential, such as predicted grades, are less important factors in the decision making process.
LSE understands that there will be some schools and colleges that are unable to teach AS Levels alongside the new linear A Levels and has no intention of disadvantaging students who submit an application without AS Level grades as a result. In these circumstances we will use the information presented on the application form to make our decision (possibly in conjunction with some form of additional assessment).
A Level reform is undoubtedly making for a more volatile educational environment in the short term so during this time LSE will work with our colleagues in schools and colleges to ensure that students are not adversely affected.