I’ve just realised from seeing a bunch of stale memes on Twitter that tomorrow is the dreaded results day.
This happens every year. Schools have probably already enveloped up their results for their now ex-students to collect, universities will be gearing up ready for clearing and news companies will be readying themselves to filming the reactions of young people as they find out their fate.
Trust me, the entire process is over the top. I’ve been there and done it. So let me talk you through my experience.
My A Levels experience was pretty shit to put it bluntly and by the end of it I had convinced myself that I had no where near got my grades and will be applying the year after or going through clearing. Because I live a few minutes walk from the sixth form I went to, I decided that I would log onto the UCAS system at eight o’clock in the morning to see whether I got into my university of choice before walking around to the school to collect the dreaded slip of paper.
This was a brilliant decision for me. When I logged on and saw in fact I had got into my university of choice….well I cried. I couldn’t believe it! It no longer mattered what I got because my university place was mine. That is what mattered.
I did in fact slip a grade, so I did not get the grades required for the offer but they let me in anyway! This is not uncommon. I’m not going to inundate you with stats but more times than not people don’t get the required grades but are let in anyway either automatically through the UCAS process or eventually through clearing.
I’m no expert on clearing but I do know people who went through the process and they’ve said how easy it was. What I’m saying is if you don’t meet your grades then that doesn’t mean you cannot do what you want to do.
Another thing people do is if they don’t get the place on the course they want is reapply the year after. Spend a year working whilst applying. Universities are more likely to give you a place when you already have your grades because they know that you are a guaranteed bum on seat. At the end of the day, that’s all they want. Bums on seat and your money in their bank account.
So what did I do? I deferred my offer. Even though I got the place I did not feel ready to go both mentally and financially. I worked for a year, built my confidence and learnt to be an adult before heading off to uni last September.
But…it didn’t exactly work out. I dropped out in March and I’m going to a different university in September studying something completely different. One thing I’ve learnt this year is that this isn’t the end of the world. Things change.
If you want to read about my change of course you can do here but that isn’t the point of this post.
Tomorrow will feel very odd and emotional – that’s a given. If you open up that envelope and see what you want then I’m thrilled for you and I hope you thrive doing whatever you’ve planned to do. But, remember, life goes on and there are so many options out there. Do not feel intimidated by the piece of paper.
To sum up:
- Get the grades you want? Great!
- Don’t get the grades you want? There are other options:
- Check UCAS, if you’ve slipped a grade the university may have let you in anyway.
- Clearing is always an option for the university you wanted to attend and to others. Just ring them up. Whoever answers the phone will want to help you.
- You can always reapply next year and spend a year earning some pennies.
- At the end of the day, universities need the bums on seats so nothing is out of the question.
- You may change your mind in the future anyway! One year I was going to study Computer Science and now I’m on track to study Music Technology.
Finally, good luck! I will be rooting for you and it will all work out in the end. Trust me 🙂 x
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