Results Reactions

Okay hi,

So there are plenty of blog posts on this page at the moment all about A level results day. But while most of them seem to be about preparation (at least, from quickly skimming through them) for the day itself, I have a quick bit of advice for just as you get results.

1. If you get into your first choice: Firstly, well done to you. All the hard work paid off, so you get to start planning for the next few years.

2. If you get into your insurance, but not your first choice: First of all, don’t be disappointed. Well done for getting into University! You chose your insurance because, alright maybe it wasn’t as dreamy as your first choice, but it’s still somewhere you’d feel comfortable. I have a little confession at this point. Leicester University was not my first choice. It was actually my insurance so I know how you feel if this is you. But I promise that it’s not a problem. Although universities differ in a lot of ways, the general university experience is pretty general, and a lot of the enjoyment stems from the people you meet and not on the university itself.

3. If you don’t quite get the grades: Phone up the University anyway, they may still have a place for you. Universities know your results a week before you do, so they’ve already had time to think about it. Plenty of people who end up going to university don’t actually quite meet their offer (or get, for example, ABC instead of BBB or something). They all realise that everyone can have an off day, so of course they understand that, if you drop a grade or two, that’s not necessarily an indication of how you will perform at university.

4. If you don’t get the grades, and still don’t get a place: Try looking through clearing. Even quite prestigious universities don’t always manage to fill all their places on particular courses if the applicants don’t get the grades. So try looking around a bit. But just be sensible about it; if you want to study a science, then don’t settle for French just because you could get a place for it. It’s always better to take a year off and try reapplying the following year than to do a course you don’t really want to do just for the sake of it.

Whatever happens, don’t be embarrassed of your results. At university, it’s effectively reset anyway. Once you’re there, you get a chance to start over, so after you’ve got in, it doesn’t matter exactly what path you took to get there.

If you go to Leicester, or if you go to another university, I would bet money on the fact that you will enjoy yourself. Yes okay it is all a bit daunting but, and I can’t stress this enough, everyone is in the same boat as you. If you’re really nervous, there are all sorts of Facebook groups and other online forums where people introduce themselves and try to get to know a couple of other people before they go. Just go on one (or more) of these pages and say hi. Chances are you’ll get to know a couple of people either in your halls or on your course, and it makes it SO much easier if you have people that you at least recognise on day one.

However you do tomorrow, well done. Well done for getting through two stressful years. Well done for getting into university. Enjoy the rest of your summer. And go celebrate, you’ve earned it. And have a drink for me. There’s lots of fun to come.

Loveyoubye