Missed out on my offer due to mental health issues - I can't be the only one right?

During exam season and to a lesser extent all year round I always have pretty messy mental health symptoms pop up, usually I just assumed that these are normal for everyone under stress and part of why school is supposed to be tough but this year they were getting REALLY intense, I could tell they were having even more of an impact on my exams than usual and after the amount of effort i put in this year I wasn't happy with letting them ruining it. I decided to be more open with my friends about them and ask them what they do to cope and none of them had any idea what I was talking about

So after making most of my fiends uncomfortable I decided to hit up a friend of mine with bipolar disorder. After that I realized that my current and more long term issues were in fact very far from normal (I'm seriously not sure how I didn't realize I sooner my life is a mess) and booked myself an emergency GP appointment. I figured I wouldn't be given any wonder drugs to save me but I at least expected to get a referral to adult mental health services and some short term coping tips. Boy was I wrong, not going into details but the doctor insinuated that I was making it up and dismissed me entirely.

Not wanting to give up I decided to speak with a few senior leadership people at my school and a friend of a friend who works in mental health and found the most promising option to be a self referral. The place I referred myself to took an entire month to get back to me and gave me a phone appointment mid September (god bless the NHS).

So cut to results day and I open the envelope to find I've gotten ACC - this is SO much more than I expected to get but not enough for my ABB offer at UCL. Unfortunately UCL don't do clearing and I couldn't get in contact with the professors for my course. I can probably get a place at a few unis through clearing etc because my grades realistically aren't so bad but UCL was really the only uni I wanted to go to. I just feel so cheated by my own brain chemistry If I had known that I wasn't neurototypical sooner then I could've had coping mechanisms or medication or just anything to stabilize me through exam season and I would've gotten in. Has anyone else been through this kind of stuff? Or does anyone have any advice here?

Reply 1

Fred5134

7

What problems are you having exactly? Nobody can give advice without specific details.

Reply 2

nikolateslacles

OP

1

Original post by Fred5134

What problems are you having exactly? Nobody can give advice without specific details.

I mean I'm not looking for any advice on my symptoms but if you must know I get very rapid cycling depressive and dissociative episodes, as well as periods of general anxiety and depression.

Reply 3

Ethereal

19

At the moment you are self-diagnosed so there really isn't a lot you can do.

Reply 4

Minerva

17

Original post by nikolateslacles

So cut to results day and I open the envelope to find I've gotten ACC - this is SO much more than I expected to get but not enough for my ABB offer at UCL. Unfortunately UCL don't do clearing and I couldn't get in contact with the professors for my course. I can probably get a place at a few unis through clearing etc because my grades realistically aren't so bad but UCL was really the only uni I wanted to go to. I just feel so cheated by my own brain chemistry If I had known that I wasn't neurototypical sooner then I could've had coping mechanisms or medication or just anything to stabilize me through exam season and I would've gotten in. Has anyone else been through this kind of stuff? Or does anyone have any advice here?

Congratulations on achieving those results in spite of everything. You certainly aren't the only person who's had to deal with significant mental health issues during A levels, but as Ethereal says you do need a proper diagnosis, so this may not be a great time to rush into a Clearing choice. Instead, a proper re-application when you have had time to stabilise your situation and consider all your options, including resits, with people who know you well. It's certainly worth remembering that UCL certainly isn't the only university that will suit you, though.

Reply 5

nikolateslacles

OP

1

Original post by Ethereal

At the moment you are self-diagnosed so there really isn't a lot you can do.

My symptoms were diagnosed informally by a senior A&E mental health liaison team member, not myself. I'm unstatemented not self diagnosed.

Reply 6

Ethereal

19

Original post by nikolateslacles

My symptoms were diagnosed informally by a senior A&E mental health liaison team member, not myself. I'm unstatemented not self diagnosed.

Same difference. You don't have a diagnosis that will entitle you to special consideration.

Reply 7

ageshallnot

21

Original post by nikolateslacles

My symptoms were diagnosed informally by a senior A&E mental health liaison team member, not myself. I'm unstatemented not self diagnosed.

But the effect is the same as far as unis eg UCL are concerned.

Reply 8

nikolateslacles

OP

1

OH you both misunderstand, I never meant to imply that they effect is different as far as unis are concerned, I was just correcting your assumption.

Reply 9

nikolateslacles

OP

1

Original post by Minerva

Congratulations on achieving those results in spite of everything. You certainly aren't the only person who's had to deal with significant mental health issues during A levels, but as Ethereal says you do need a proper diagnosis, so this may not be a great time to rush into a Clearing choice. Instead, a proper re-application when you have had time to stabilise your situation and consider all your options, including resits, with people who know you well. It's certainly worth remembering that UCL certainly isn't the only university that will suit you, though.

Thanks for your reply, it's good to finally get a useful one. I really don't want to do retakes but I guess if they're the only way for me to get to where I want to be then I'll consider them before I go for clearing. Do you know if special consideration can be applied to exams after results have been published? It would be too late for me to get into uni this time round but I guess it'd make me feel like less of a failure

Reply 10

username1884577

19

Well done on your results!

Unfortunately you need to have been professionally diagnosed i.e. on file - and normally it would be expected for you to have contacted the exam boards. This is what I did and I managed to get an A2 grade given to me despite being too unwell to take the exams. If you still want UCL, don't let this episode stop you! Try and get your mind around retaking? Don't settle when you know you can do better.

I hope everything works out for you :h:

Reply 11

Minerva

17

Original post by nikolateslacles

Thanks for your reply, it's good to finally get a useful one. I really don't want to do retakes but I guess if they're the only way for me to get to where I want to be then I'll consider them before I go for clearing. Do you know if special consideration can be applied to exams after results have been published? It would be too late for me to get into uni this time round but I guess it'd make me feel like less of a failure

As far as I am aware, special consideration has to be applied for and agreed in advance.

You've got good grades there, especially so in the circumstances. I would suggest contacting UCL in due course, when you have a diagnosis, and discussing your position with them. You will have plenty of time to decide about retakes, and other uni choices. It is possible that unis would be willing to take into account that undiagnosed mental health issues affected your grades (this would need to be confirmed by your referee) and make you an unconditional offer on the basis of what you have. However, there is a balance to be struck here: you don't want to give the impression that your mental health issues are so severe that they might cause you to struggle with the degree course. The ideal is to be able to explain the lower grades but also to have convincing evidence that your condition, now that it has been properly diagnosed, is under control and shouldn't cause you major problems in the future.

Missed out on my offer due to mental health issues - I can't be the only one right?

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