What Is The Difference Between AS And A-Level? (In-Depth Guide)

What is the difference between AS and A-Level? Choosing what to do after completing GCSEs can be difficult. There are a lot of options, but the most important is to take up A-level exams. Taking up AS level may be another thing on your mind. Do you want to know how A/AS Levels can help you get the qualifications you need for your job? Here, we will help you to clear all your doubts related to the difference between AS and A-Level.

Quick Takeaways

• When you do A-levels, it is of two years, and AS levels are half of your A-levels.
• Thus you can say that the first year of your A-levels is generally considered your AS levels.
• The content in the second year of A-level is generally harder than the AS-level content.
• You will be getting fewer UCAS points for your AS levels when compared to A-levels final year.

Further have discussed what are A-levels and AS levels and how both are different from each other.

What are A-levels?

Your A-levels are the exams that are important in your life. You will take your A-levels after your GCSE. They are tough and involve tough content. A-levels are qualifications offered by schools and colleges to students aged 16 to 19. They typically concentrate on academic subjects, as opposed to more practical vocational qualifications such as BTECs and NVQs. There are over 40 different A-level subjects available, some of which you may have studied at GCSE. The rest of them may be new to you. However, you must revise them properly so that you get good grades in them and apply for the A-levels before the deadline.

What are AS-levels?

Again after completing your GCSE exams, you can take your AS Level qualification. This is simply the beginning of a full A-level. You will be studying a subject for a year and obtain an AS-level qualification. It is separate from the issues you continue to study to the full A-level. The majority of students who choose to take an additional AS-level, want to focus entirely on their A-levels in their second year. When you continue an AS subject into your A2 year, you are pursuing the full A-level qualification.

What is the difference between AS and A-Level?

An AS Level, as previously stated, is half an A Level. In other words, you can say that it is the first year of a full A-Level qualification. A Levels are divided into two years: the AS Year (year 1) and the A2 Year (year 2) which is the year 13.  A and AS levels are taught similarly. However, your AS-level results are used to be added to your final A-level grade. You can still study an AS level along with the initial year of your A-level course. Though your A-level result will be entirely based just on exams you take at the end of your two-year course. 

Unlike A Levels, you cannot achieve an A* at AS Level. A is the highest possible grade for your AS levels.  An AS Level has half the subject matter of an A Level. However, it will give you only half the UCAS points as well. This means that  An AS Level is nearly half an A Level, as you only take the first year and receive roughly half the UCAS points. However, if you have taken any least popular A-level you may find the level of both the years easy.

Is AS-Level equivalent to A-Level?

As we have already discussed that your AS levels are nearly half the worth of your A levels. This means that your AS levels are 40% of your A-levels or sixth form that are a part of further levels. Though this might vary with the subject you have chosen for your A-level as you will be choosing three different A-levels. The below table shows how different AS levels are equivalent to A-levels-

GRADES	A-LEVELS	AS LEVELS
Total	56
A*	56
A	48	20
B	40	16
C	32	12
D	24	10
E	16	6

You must also remember that you can accept more than a single sixth form that will help you to deepen your knowledge.

Which is harder, A-level or AS-level?

From the beginning, we have been discussing that your A-levels are much tougher than your AS levels as they will have more content. But does it mean that your A-levels are harder than your AS levels? Of course not. There is no doubt that your A-levels are much more challenging in comparison to your AS levels.

But there are still subjects whose second year is much easier than the first year. This means that both can be equally hard depending upon the subject you have chosen. During your AS levels, you may need to study half of the tough content of the subject. Due to it, you may find your AS level harder than your A-level. However, you may not be taking up AS level and directly thinking of completing the A-levels in a single year. It will need a lot of effort and dedication. Therefore you must revise the content properly.

Is AS-level enough for university?

Unfortunately not. As already mentioned AS is the first year of your A-levels. You would not be able to complete an undergraduate degree with only AS Levels. This means that it may be of no use if you pass your AS level and not your A-level. Levels are the best way to get into university. However, they are not the only way to get in there. You have several other options like taking BTEC, NVQ, T-level, etc.

Why are AS levels becoming less popular than the A-levels?

Though there are no hard changes made between them, the only thing that students may consider is the importance of choosing A-levels. Obviously, to get into a university or even go for a job, you will need to have A-levels.

Another factor that they may be considering is the grades they receive. As you have seen in the chart in the above section the difference in receiving the grades. Although you will be studying less content in your AS, you will need to get more marks to get a particular grade. Also in your AS levels, you can not get an A* grade. This might be a possible reason why AS levels are becoming less popular than A-levels. Also, there was a subject known as General science which was eventually removed from the list of A-levels.

Conclusion

A-levels play an extremely important part in your life. They may act like a deciding factor of the university you are getting into and also may be a factor for making you stand out among other candidates for a particular job. Many students get confused between the A-levels and AS levels. AS levels are basically like the first year of your A-levels. Though there is almost half of the content of A-levels in it, you also get almost half of the UCAS points for it. 

FAQ