So, you’ve spent the last two years studying hard, attending classes most of the time and planning your future. You’ve applied to your top choice universities and you’ve picked which degree you want to do and at last you’ve finally finished your exams and are patiently (albeit anxiously) awaiting your results. The results that will determine your future.
For some, on this glorious day, they will be ecstatic and bouncing about with the sheer joy of it all. Others are somewhat less fortunate and didn’t quite get the grades they were expecting and may feel that all hope is lost.
So what camp will you be in? What are your options?
Go You!
Option 1 is that you got all the grades that you needed to get onto your course, in fact, you’ve done better than expected and, quite frankly, life couldn’t get sweeter! Not you? Okay, then…
You got the grades you want, but you aren’t sure you want to go to university just yet.
Studying for you’re A-Levels can be hard work and you might want to take a year out just to relax. After all, it’s not just A-levels you’ve done; before that there were GCSE’s and another ten years of school. Maybe you need a break, or maybe you just want the chance to earn some money so that you can make sure those three years won’t be as much of a struggle financially.
If this is the case you can simply contact your university and ask them if you can defer; most will say yes and give you a valuable year out of education.
You didn’t get the grades you wanted
If you still want to go to university but you didn’t get the grades that you were expecting then don’t panic; there are still plenty of options. From results day at 8am universities list clearing spaces. These are the places in courses that haven’t yet been filled, and in order to fill the courses and keep the funding they are a tad more relaxed about your grades. 12% of all university spaces are filled by clearing and this means you can still go to university even with lower grades than you wanted.
Retake your exams
If you are pretty set on the degree that you wanted to do, at the place you applied for but you didn’t get the grades then you always have the option to retake your exams. You can repeat your exams the following January or in the summer.
Take some other qualifications
Not all jobs require a degree, and there are plenty of different industries that you can get in to and work your way up or take a vocational qualification such as an apprenticeship.
No matter what results you got for you’re A-levels, don’t lose hope. There are options and the opportunity for a great working life will not stem solely from getting the results that you wanted.
Good luck
