What to do if you don’t get the A-Level grades you need

A-Level results day is fast-approaching, and many pupils will be hoping they get the grades they need to secure their preferred uni place. But what if they don’t?

As a former Head of Sixth Form, Louis Provis, head of English at MyEdSpace, knows how nerve wracking results day can be, and has seen absolute elation and disappointment. Achieving their hoped-for grades will see some pupils confirm their first choice university course. While for others, results day can mean needing to come up with a plan B.

But try not to stress about your exam results too much. Louis has been astounded in recent years at how many universities will change their offers from Conditional to Unconditional the day before results day, to ensure students are still able to join the course when they may have fallen short of the offer. Really, if they made you an offer, they want you!

Four options if you don’t get the A-Level results you need

That said, if you don’t meet the offer requirements for their university of choice, there remain (at least) four options:

Go with your insurance choice, which should entail an offer you could meet “on a bad day” and so have qualified for.
Decline your insurance choice and enter Clearing (where you apply to a course that still has places, remembering that a course having remaining places does not mean the course is not worth doing).
Re-apply next year, knowing that you are likely to receive a number of Unconditional offers if you can apply with achieved grades instead of predicted ones.
Take a new direction, knowing that you can apply for an undergraduate course later (even in seventy years!) if you want to.

If, on the other hand, you have exceeded your predicted grades and the offers from your insurance and even firm choices, congratulations!

The world is your oyster, and you may wish to look elsewhere. Most people go to their firm choice when they meet or exceed their offer for it, because they applied to it for a reason! However, Clearing is also available for students exceeding offers, not just those missing them.

If in doubt, call universities directly. It is often faster than UCAS. Oh, and act quickly, because things move very quickly as soon as results are released.

Clearing case study: Alice Schumacher

Looking for inspiring stories of students who have found their perfect course through clearing?Alice Schumacher in the her second year of a Costume Production BA at Rose Bruford College, and is currently working for the summer at Shrek the Musical in the West End.

Alice joined Rose Bruford College at the start of the 2022/23 academic year through clearing. She had originally wanted to apply for Medicine, but after missing the required grades she began researching available courses that would allow her to put her love of sewing and theatre to use.

Rose Bruford College offered a hands-on costume production course that would allow her to improve her sewing skills, and gain valuable insight and advice from industry experts. Once she applied, she had a video interview with Subject Leader Natasha Dodsworth that convinced her that the College was the right fit for her. Just a few weeks later, she had moved into student accommodation.

Alice is currently working on Shrek The Musical in the West End for the summer, after being offered the chance to join the team by a fellow Rose Bruford College student.

When asked why she chose costume production, Alice says:

“I’ve always liked sewing and my mum taught me how to sew. I was supposed to study medicine as I wanted to be a doctor, but unfortunately I didn’t get the grades for that, so I decided to apply for costume production courses through clearing. I’ve always been a fan of the theatre so it made sense to combine those two interests.”

Make the most of your options – whatever your A-Level results

So you see, not getting the A-Level grades you hoped for doesn’t mean the end of your career dreams – instead it could open the door to an exciting new world you hadn’t considered. So whatever happens when you open your results this week, promise yourself you’ll make the best of it, and embrace whatever opportunities come your way, or you can make.