The Student Room Group

I messed up... a lot.

So I knew I hadn't done particularly well during my first year at college, I must have pulled out just about every last excuse in the book within the last few months for bits of coursework and missing homework, but I didn't think I'd do THIS badly. I took Physics, Chemistry, Computing and Maths at AS-level with little to no idea what to do as a career. Throughout the year I narrowed it down to "a branch in engineering" - that's where my AS results come into play.

I failed maths, flatout. I despise maths, it just seemed to go along well with the one thing I do love (Physics). My AS results were: Physics - B/Chemistry - E/Computing - B/Maths - U. I didn't deserve to do any better I admit, but I've always been 'decent' academically: at GCSE I gained 3 A*'s/3 A's/4 B's and a distinction, so not too bad. However at this point I'm at a genuine halt. A fail (U) in maths automatically means I'm unable to continue it into my 2nd year at college (honestly I gave up with chemistry as I thought I'd be dropping that without doubt, another awful mistake). With no maths, as far as I'm aware I can no longer pursue ANY career in engineering, and whatever careers I could possibly touch on in physics altogether seem to be gone too.

Again, to clarify, I put in little effort - not minimal, I did actually do weeks/a couple months of revision for maths and chemistry ironically, yet I know it wasn't as much as it should've been. I'm not proud of what I got in the slightest, but there's nothing I can do now except move on and change myself for the better.

So now I ask for any help whatsoever, in the sense of career advice; Uni advice, apprenticeship advice etc. I return to college in 2 days and, without trying to sound like I should I'm over-dramatizing the situation, I have no idea what to do with my life at this point.

Thanks. :smile:
Reply 1
Drop Chemistry, it's a nasty subject that has screwed many a medicine applicant over. If you don't need chemistry, drop it.

You will have to resit some AS Levels, I would suggest taking up 2 AS Levels that actually interest you.

Keep the Physics and Computing, as those grades are acceptable. But find 2 more AS Levels to do this year.
Reply 2
Original post by Kris_Kershaw
So I knew I hadn't done particularly well during my first year at college, I must have pulled out just about every last excuse in the book within the last few months for bits of coursework and missing homework, but I didn't think I'd do THIS badly. I took Physics, Chemistry, Computing and Maths at AS-level with little to no idea what to do as a career. Throughout the year I narrowed it down to "a branch in engineering" - that's where my AS results come into play.

I failed maths, flatout. I despise maths, it just seemed to go along well with the one thing I do love (Physics). My AS results were: Physics - B/Chemistry - E/Computing - B/Maths - U. I didn't deserve to do any better I admit, but I've always been 'decent' academically: at GCSE I gained 3 A*'s/3 A's/4 B's and a distinction, so not too bad. However at this point I'm at a genuine halt. A fail (U) in maths automatically means I'm unable to continue it into my 2nd year at college (honestly I gave up with chemistry as I thought I'd be dropping that without doubt, another awful mistake). With no maths, as far as I'm aware I can no longer pursue ANY career in engineering, and whatever careers I could possibly touch on in physics altogether seem to be gone too.

Again, to clarify, I put in little effort - not minimal, I did actually do weeks/a couple months of revision for maths and chemistry ironically, yet I know it wasn't as much as it should've been. I'm not proud of what I got in the slightest, but there's nothing I can do now except move on and change myself for the better.

So now I ask for any help whatsoever, in the sense of career advice; Uni advice, apprenticeship advice etc. I return to college in 2 days and, without trying to sound like I should I'm over-dramatizing the situation, I have no idea what to do with my life at this point.

Thanks. :smile:


Have you considered redoing year 12? This time actually put in the effort, then maybe engineering could be back on the cards. In all fairness, you can't blame anyone but yourself. Sorry to sound blunt but I would rather have someone be honest with me if I was in your position. Your GCSE grades are really good and shows you have the ability to perform well academically.
You could redo year 12, which may be the best option. However personally when I got a U in my AS biology, I don't continue it on at school, I got a tutor and sat the exams at school. Overall I got a B eventually in my AS and had the chance to study at a Russell group university. I know chem/maths are much harder but I guess it is possible, however it may require you taking a gap year tbh and reapplying.

But tbh retaking the year may seem like a bad idea, but it could be your best option. A year will fly by, trust me.
Reply 4
Original post by Kris_Kershaw
So I knew I hadn't done particularly well during my first year at college, I must have pulled out just about every last excuse in the book within the last few months for bits of coursework and missing homework, but I didn't think I'd do THIS badly. I took Physics, Chemistry, Computing and Maths at AS-level with little to no idea what to do as a career. Throughout the year I narrowed it down to "a branch in engineering" - that's where my AS results come into play.

I failed maths, flatout. I despise maths, it just seemed to go along well with the one thing I do love (Physics). My AS results were: Physics - B/Chemistry - E/Computing - B/Maths - U. I didn't deserve to do any better I admit, but I've always been 'decent' academically: at GCSE I gained 3 A*'s/3 A's/4 B's and a distinction, so not too bad. However at this point I'm at a genuine halt. A fail (U) in maths automatically means I'm unable to continue it into my 2nd year at college (honestly I gave up with chemistry as I thought I'd be dropping that without doubt, another awful mistake). With no maths, as far as I'm aware I can no longer pursue ANY career in engineering, and whatever careers I could possibly touch on in physics altogether seem to be gone too.

Again, to clarify, I put in little effort - not minimal, I did actually do weeks/a couple months of revision for maths and chemistry ironically, yet I know it wasn't as much as it should've been. I'm not proud of what I got in the slightest, but there's nothing I can do now except move on and change myself for the better.

So now I ask for any help whatsoever, in the sense of career advice; Uni advice, apprenticeship advice etc. I return to college in 2 days and, without trying to sound like I should I'm over-dramatizing the situation, I have no idea what to do with my life at this point.

Thanks. :smile:

U can still do something with engineering because of ur good physics grade. However, how did u actually do in maths. For example could you resit the maths AS exams as well as the maths A2 exams and still achieve a good grade. If so then i advise you do that plus if u maintain your computing grade them you could still go down the engineering path and get into a good uni. good luck anyway :smile:
Reply 5
Physics and Computing are solid B's to have. Maybe resit year 12?
I notice you said you revised maths for a couple of months. Unfortunately Maths needs learning before it can be revised. That means constant practice exercises right through the academic year building up notes and revision checklists as you go. If you are minded to have another go it will help you to really examine your maths "learning process". Your system obviously didn't work. The better you understand what will work for you next time the better you can do. Good luck. Do not despair. Use failure as a springboard to success.
Dude my sister faced the same exact problem as you and i remember her crying and being depressed but the failure really did change her life as it told her to work hard for everything and not to leave anything till last minute, now you can she that with her attitude to not just studying but with life and to this day she says it made her a better person. Just resit year 12 again if possible and do not worry you can change it around. :smile:

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