A Level Results - the good, the bad and the ugly.. What to do when it does not go your way

The dreaded moment arrives, whether you find out your results by checking your UCAS page, by receiving an email from your school or by gathering at the schools gates to pick them up in person, that all important information is now in your hands. This may be a cause for great celebration if you have met or exceeded your predictions, thus ensuring that you can comfortably relax and look forward with excitement to this next stage in your life. However, the shock of not getting the results you hoped for and missing out on your University place and the subsequent entry into Clearing, is the dread of every UCAS applicant on Results day. Once re-marking options and urgent appeals to universities have been explored and the dream of attending a particular university is shattered the student often looks through the Clearing vacancies with mounting sense of panic, frustration, desolation, failure or anger.

Hard as it is students, and parents, should take a fresh, objective look at where their future is going. Exam disappointment might reflect a numbers of things- yes a failure to work, but perhaps also the result of unrealistic predictions or unsuitable subjects. Is the chosen course really the best option for the student- would an alternative option suit? Unrealistic grade predictions can mean that the student would in fact flourish at an institution with less demanding entry standards. Alternatively, vacancies in Clearing might well reflect popularity rather than any significant differing in standards as the annual variations in patterns of demand for certain courses at certain institutions can be very significant. In fact, the numbers of students accepted in Clearing has increased over the last couple of years despite the fall in overall applicants and this is unlikely to be affected by the slight rise in applicant numbers this season. 2013 saw the lifting of restrictions on the number of students who gained grades of ABB or higher that universities may recruit in contrast to previous year’s cap of AAB. This is likely to mean that there will be a significant number of places available for students who achieve this level this summer and although this will vary from subject to subject and place to place, the Daily Telegraph has reported that 12 of the 24 Russell Group institutions have confirmed that they will be accepting candidates through Clearing in 2015.

Another option to Clearing is, of course, a reapplication either with or without retakes. To reapply does offer the chance for greater reflection on course choice and the process of applying with actual rather than predicted grades can often be more straightforward. Many excellent tutorial colleges offer opportunities for re-takes, although reasons for failure to meet original offers and the abolition of January re-sits should be carefully considered. This is particularly the case if the reason for reapplication is solely to gain that elusive place at the dream university and there is a reluctance to explore any alternatives. Most universities will look favourably on reapplications, although offers may be more demanding if a student is repeating A-Levels, Trinity College Cambridge does not recommend a reapplication unless a candidate has achieved at least two A* grades, despite their standard A*AA offer. If there were extenuating circumstances for the original exam performance these could and should be mentioned, ideally in the reference.

If a student exceeds their original offer Adjustment- a chance to trade-up is another option, although numbers doing this are small, if growing. Very competitive places are unlikely to enter Adjustment and a reapplication may well be more suitable. Though in all these cases careful consideration of the varying options should be undertaken and it is often best for the student to talk to a detached adviser to attempt to try to calmly explore these. UCAS’s Mary Curnock Smiths words that Clearing “should not be seen as a last chance saloon but a creditable application route” may well to be accurate for many in 2015.

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