A Level Results – Good or Bad – What Next?
Are you getting your A-Level results this week? Have your anxiety levels reached an all-time high as you await the conclusion of two years of work at school or college?
This article is also available in Welsh. I ddarllen y cynnwys yma yn Gymraeg, clicia yma
Whether your results are better or worse than expected, Meic is here to help with some advice. We’ll look at your University options if your results are different from what you expected. We’ll discuss resits, look at options other than Uni, and where to get support.
Going to University?
Your chosen University will get your results from UCAS, which automatically gets them from the exam board. But your results might be better or worse than expected, so you might want to consider different options.
Perhaps there was a course that you wanted to do but didn’t apply for because you didn’t think you’d get the grades. If you applied for another course or University and you got an unconditional place, then you can choose to decline your place and go into Clearing. Make sure that you’re certain that you don’t want to follow this course anymore. Talk to the University and your careers adviser at school or college before making this decision. UCAS has further information about this.
Things didn’t go as well as planned? Don’t panic. The University might still accept you on the course or offer you a different course. Log in to your UCAS account to find out. If not, and you still want to go to Uni, you can choose to go through Clearing and see what other courses or Universities are open to you.
Taking Resits
If you’ve really set your heart on a specific career and need to study for a particular degree to achieve it, then you can resit your A Levels. A Levels can only be sat once a year, so you’ll have to wait until next June to sit them again. Talk to your teachers if you want to return to school for resits. Or you may want to move on from school and re-take your exams at a local college instead. The Mix has some great advice on Exam Resits.
Consider other options
University isn’t your only option. Perhaps you got the grades you needed, but you’ve changed your mind about University. Maybe you didn’t get the grades you needed to do the course you wanted. Take a look at your other options like getting a job, an apprenticeship or enrolling on Jobs Growth Wales Plus. Working Wales has lots of information on alternatives to going to University. If you need help discussing your options, contact Careers Wales to talk to a career adviser.
Don’t let it get you down
Ok, things may not have gone as you wanted them to, but don’t let this beat you. Make a decision to move on from this and look towards the future with a positive frame of mind. Be proactive in making decisions about what to do next rather than getting depressed about how bad things have gone. It might feel like the end of the world now, but you are in control of what happens next. If you need support and help, then our advisers at Meic are here to listen and offer information and advice. We are a confidential, anonymous and free helpline available on the phone, by text or online chat.
; ?>/images/chat-offline.png)
