It’s August and that means results day tomorrow for those of you who took your AS and A2 Levels just a few months ago. We’ve got our fingers crossed that you’ll get exactly the right grades you need to get your place at University on your chosen course. But what happens if things go wrong and the grades aren’t what you expected?
– The first thing is not to panic – both your college or school and universities are used to (and set up for) dealing with students who didn’t get the grades they expected (and it works both ways – maybe your grades are better than you thought they’d be; Alevel-results better than expected? ). The first thing to do is take a deep breath and then find someone to talk to – it could be your personal tutor/head of sixth form, an advisor at college (there may be people around specifically to help you) or someone at the university you applied to. All these people want to help you and your school or college will help you look at different ways of getting you on to the course or university you want to be at. If you have a good relationship with your tutor they may be willing to speak directly to an admissions tutor. It’s always worth checking with the university that you don’t already have a place (mistakes can happen!).
– If you haven’t got the grades you expected it doesn’t instantly mean you won’t get the place or course that you applied for. It’s not easy to get onto competitive courses if you haven’t got the grades they wanted but do call the university and speak to the admissions tutor – if there are specific reasons why you didn’t get the grades you thought you would then be prepared to explain them. If you really want to get on a course then you may have to fight your corner.
– If your grades mean you can’t get on the courses you wanted then you can consider going through clearing. Again your first port of call should be your school or college who can point you in the direction of suitable courses and universities.
– If you think clearing isn’t for you (and you have to think carefully about choosing a university or course at speed) then how about other options – lots of people take a gap year and work or travel, maybe you might decide to work full time or try a more practical route like an apprenticeship. Look at www.notgoingtouni.com.
– You can always go back. For most students the prospect of resitting fills them with dread but for the sake of a few months you could get on the university course that you want. You can usually resit modules next January and reapply through UCAS. The advantage this time is that you probably have a good idea of where you went wrong and how you can fix it. If you decide to resit then this can be the ideal time to get the help of a private tutor who can help you make the most of your study time.
If you need to talk to someone about your exam results in confidence then call the exam results hotline on 0808 100 8000. If you need to talk to someone about private tutoring in Manchester, Stockport, Wilmslow and Cheshireareas for A Level, AS Level and A2 Level then contact 121 Home Tutors.
Tags: A level, A level results, A2 results, GCSE results, university study