Emailing admissions tutors about mitigating circumstances

(Sorry if this is in the wrong place)

I'm in my A2 year and I have an offer from Liverpool uni that I've firmed (law LLB, need ABB).

I have OCD and last year even though I was predicted AAAB I ended up getting BCCD. I do blame a lot of that on my mental health problems but I refused to admit that to anyone. But I had an AS exam last Thursday and I think it went alright but I realised upon reflection how much my OCD has ruined this year as well as last. It got to a point this year where I couldn't even get out of bed to get to college. I was always late and did the bare minimum to get by. I went to my GP and he gave me medication and told me to try therapy. I tried it and hated that as well as the medication and nothing helped at all. I spend hours a day thinking about my obsessions/performing compulsions and so I was wondering if this is a reason to apply for mitigating circumstances?

I don't really want to call anyone. Can I email? Or would calling be better? Do I call/email the law admissions tutor or someone else?
What is likely to happen?
Can they somehow reject me if they find out I have OCD?

Thanks everyone!

I haven't been in your situation but I think e-mailing them would be perfectly acceptable. Good luck and hope this gets fixed.

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They wont reject you for OCD, but I would take a step back. You have a mental health condition, which remains untreated and appears to be affecting your A levels. They might make some allowance, but they will want you to be dealing with your problem so it doesnt affect your degree, which it will do unless you get it under control. If its still a problem after your results, then id think about deferring as once you start being financed you will start taking on debt and it would be expensive to redo a year or drop out. Law is one of those subjects where you will need good grades if you wnat to do anything with it.

1. Yes you can email them, but phone is often more immediate. If e-mail is your only choice, then do include all relevant details.
2. You could contact mental health at Liverpool Uni if you are afraid to talk to someone in the Law Dept
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/studentsupport/mentalhealth/
3. You could talk to an OCD charity if current medication and therapy isnt working.
http://www.ocduk.org/adviceline
Advice Line service is usually open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (subject to volunteer availability).

Aw thanks so much . I know I need to get This under control and you're right I should get help again. I don't want to defer but I will definitely be at least attempting to get it under control this summer. Thanks for the helpful links. I also just emailed a senior tutor at my college asking for advice.

If you dont do well in your A levels then resit. Its importnat you are in good shape yo do your degree so you can enjoy it, but also do your best. There are plenty of posts on there with people dropping out.

Try and learn as much about OCD as possible. Dont forget there may be other medication and there will definitely be other forms of therapy and therapists. Even if you dont want to defer then think long term. You may not need to but its not a disaster if you do.

Dont forget e-mails are good because you can send and forget, but the phone is often better when you need an immediate response. For any mitigating circumstances you need a medical professional to back you up and evidence. GL with your exams.

Im already a year behind everyone because I dropped out of my first sixth form for the reasons listed above But yeah taking another year out definitely isn't the worst thing in the world. Good luck with your exams too!

Given what you have said, I agree that you need to sort out your issues before getting anywhere near university - otherwise the same things will happen all over again.

Yeah I'm realising that. I'll see what happens this summer but I'm determined to not let this hold me back. Thanks

The uni may be more lenient with entry requirements, but they're not going to be more lenient throughout the degree. If you then have the same issues each year they can't just award you a degree you haven't done the work to earn. So whilst it might seem that delaying now will hold you back, in the end you'll get a better mark so it will be worth it.

Remember that many students do go to uni after a gap year or several, and mature students decide to go to uni later in life. People used to get a "job for life", so entered a career after leaving school and stayed there - but now career changes are much more common. So even people who do go to uni straight out of school might find themselves wanting additional qualifications later.

I definitely don't expect anyone to just award me a degree. I don't just sit around all day feeling sorry for myself. I work hard it's just that it's hard to focus etc because of it. I've emailed the university and they have put it on file to take into consideration if necessary. Thanks