First of all, don't panic. No matter what grades you get you will have options available to you.
When is A level results day?
A level results day is Thursday 17th August 2023.
You will be able to pick your results up after 8am or when your school or college opens on the day.
UCAS will receive your results directly and will update your Hub, this can happen as early as 8.15am. The system will be very busy so you will need to be patient. If your Hub hasn't updated by mid-morning you will need to phone the university as it suggests that they have not made their final decision. regarding your application. If you have achieved the grades, you will get confirmation from your firm choice.
When you go to pick up your results make sure you take the following with you in case you have to apply through clearing.
• UCAS personal ID
• UCAS clearing number if you have one.
• contact details for your firm and insurance choices.
• GCSE results.
• copy of your reference
• copy of your personal statement
Even if you are confident that you will get the grades you need it doesn't hurt to be prepared. There are other routes if your grades don't turn out to be what you were hoping for or expected. You could choose to go through clearing, re-sit your exams next year, look for an apprenticeship or go for vocational training.
If your grades are better than expected, you can look at other courses using the UCAS adjustment service. You can use this service to see what alternative courses are available. It may be that these courses are full, but it can be worth having a look around, plus you won't lose your original offer if you're just having a look. This service doesn't have a vacancy list though, you will need to call university admissions direct. Tell the university that you are now applying through adjustment, confirming that you are just getting information at this time and haven't made any definite decisions. If they come back with an offer you can choose to accept it.
If you didn't get the grades you can choose to do one of two different things. If you think your grade is incorrect you can have your paper remarked by another examiner. Make sure that you let the university know to see if they can hold the place for you. You do need to be aware though, that your grade could go down as well as up. You also need to know that you may well have to pay a fee for the remark.
If you do worse than you expected, you could always use the UCAS service called clearing. This allows you to find any courses that are available at universities all over the UK. It may mean that you end up going to a different university than you originally planned on attending This could be the perfect option if there is a specific course you're set on studying. If you're set on a particular university, contact their admissions office and ask if they'll still take you. If it's a case that you've just dropped one grade you might still be able to start that degree.
They may offer you an alternative course or suggest that you take a foundation year if it is available.
You've got your university place you now need to make sure you've got these arranged as well, especially if you've gone through clearing and are now going to a different University.
• accommodation-don't wait around as what is left will soon be snapped up.
• get your finances in order.
• research the area if you've gone through clearing.
If, despite all of that, you still don't secure a place you could decide to resit your A levels and apply again next year. You may only need to retake one which would free you up to study something else, gaining extra qualifications. You may choose to go on a gap year or not go to university and look at alternative routes into the career you want to go into.
