The Student Room Group

REGRETTING the unis i applied to....BIG time!

well, im predicted AAB and got all my 5 offers for the LLB degree at:

Liverpool AAB
Leicester AAB
Aston AAB - (LLB and Management)
Northumbria ABB
Nottingham Trent BBC

i hardly researched the last 3 unis on the list above, and pretty much applied to them ones because i was scared of getting rejected by AAA unis, and thought "they'll do" without even trying the LNAT or considering unis like Leeds, Sheffield etc where AAB candidates can still have a good chance.

id probably be happy to go to liverpool or leicester, but i have that "feeling" inside telling me i could have got offers from other higher rated unis and could therefore have more unis to pick from :frown:

do i take a gap year (get a job, earn some money, get some good work experience and reapply for law at unis im happier with), all because i feel i picked the "wrong" five?

or, just forget about feeling unhappy with the five i picked and just go to uni, as i planned, this september?

help would be reallllly appreciated :smile: xxxxxx

:confused: i know it sounds silly, but i really am pretty confused about what to do! :confused:
:frown:
Well you could always put Liverpool and Leicester down on your UCAS, see what you get in the summer and decide where to go from there. I mean, if you work hard and end up with AAA, you stand a good chance of going where you *really* want to go.

Have you visited the unis? You may feel different from visiting them :smile:
Honestly, you should of gone with a spread of Unis, maybe replaced Liverpool and Aston with Bristol and Leeds.

If you really don't want to go to any of the Unis mentioned, don't you will only regret it. yo u should only go somewhere your 100% dedicated !
Reply 3
heyy yeah ive visited liverpool and leicester and really liked them but still had that "feeling" that i could be somewhere a little bit better, (no offence to them unis of course, because i did think they were great)

its just that, today, i realised that i might have had a good chance at getting a place at leeds (AAA), and that they give places to people who achieved AAB in the summer, as long as they put leeds as their firm...so hmm it got me thinking that i could have applied to different unis....

yeah i think ill wait until the summer coz taking a gap year is a seriously huge decision, which i had never considered before, but just needed to talk it through with someone really...
although i would feel silly taking a whole year out just coz i applied to the "wrong" five hmm.
guess ill have to talk to my careers teacher tomorrow!
thanks SO much for the replies by the way, really helped :smile: xxx
Reply 4
Just because one uni offers AAA, and another AAB, doesn't make it 'better'. Leicester is every bit as good as Leeds. :smile:

Plus it's a fantastic place to be a student, far nicer than Leeds. I know them both very well.
Reply 5
Dont forget clearing at the end of summer. If you ace your A2s then you might land a place at an AAA uni like Warwick or Bristol. I would say, if you're truely unhappy with your choices, especially for law, it's worth reapplying post a-level to get to the best possible uni you can. After all you don't want to go through three years of 'if only I had...' and work experience, money and holidays are never a bad thing :smile: and well spent if the time lands you a uni place you prefer.
Reply 6
Rudrax
Dont forget clearing at the end of summer. If you ace your A2s then you might land a place at an AAA uni like Warwick or Bristol. I would say, if you're truely unhappy with your choices, especially for law, it's worth reapplying post a-level to get to the best possible uni you can. After all you don't want to go through three years of 'if only I had...' and work experience, money and holidays are never a bad thing :smile: and well spent if the time lands you a uni place you prefer.


I'm pretty confident that neither Warwick nor Bristol will be in clearing; twenty people apply for every place available for Law so they pretty much find their students the first time round. If you're really unhappy, you could always decline your offers and see if you can apply to Leeds through Extra. See here: http://www.ucas.com/students/afteryouapply/extra

Otherwise, if you're worried about "prestige" there's really not much point, as other have said, Leicester is an excellent Law school and it has a very similar reputation to Leeds. Either way, you're likely to be happy wherever you end up, like everything, university is what you make of it. :biggrin:
Accept a place at a University that has given you an offer.

Then bide you time, wait it out, and see how your results go.

If you get AAA, I would definitely suggest taking a year out and reapplying. You can ring up the Uni and say "Thanks, but no thanks." I'm sure.
With AAA, you have a decent shot at Uni's like UCL, KCL, Durham... even Oxbridge, if you feel like it.
If you get AAB, seriously think about whether or not you'll be happy at whichever Uni you've Firmed. If you feel you'd be better at Leeds/Sheffield, then JUST TAKE A YEAR OUT. Do it. Travel, earn some money, get some work experience, do some CV-embellishing voluntary work. You won't regret taking a gap year, whereas you might regret being too chicken to actually do it!
Yeah, there's nothing at all wrong with Liverpool or Leicester.
Reply 9
I know plenty of Lawyers here with AAA+, you'll be in good company :wink:
Reply 10
Why do you think you would get an offer from Leeds predicted AAB? I'm predicted AAA and got rejected.
If my memory serves, Exeter and Southampton were in clearing last year.
Reply 12
I think put your top 2 of those 5 as your firm and insurance - just because you can. Then see what you get in the summer. If you're predicted AAB then I'm sure with a lot of hard work it is possible to get it up to AAA - maybe use your feeling that you could go somewhere better as motivation to try to do that. You have until the summer to decide whether to take a year out and reapply or not, but if you still reckon you could do better then just do it. Honestly, most people are in a rush to get to uni but one year out is nothing in the whole scheme of things, and in your case could make an enormous difference to your future prospects. The only risk is if you drop a grade and end up with ABB, your offers the next time around might well not be as good! But hopefully you won't do that.. good luck!
Reply 13
I think you should at least visit the other universities before you make any big decisions about gap years. I've heard the Northumbria course is very good and Newcastle is a decent city to study/play in. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with Nottingham Trent, but if you are capable of achieving AAA then perhaps it might be better to push yourself for something higher than a BBC course.

That said, if you have to take a year out,it's not such a huge deal. Lots of students do it and it will give you the chance to perhaps get some work experience which could help your application if you apply to some top institutions. But yeah, definitely have a look round the ones you have a applied to. It's natural to get cold feet about these things but you should at least have a look before you disregard them.
Contrary to popular belief, a gap year is not that big a decision. I decided to take one just before I did my A-levels because I thought I could go somewhere better, although I didn't actually withdraw from UCAS until September just in case I changed my mind. I got a good job, which has set my CV considerably apart from other people's, and I earned loads of money, most of which is still in my savings account. I'm in the wonderful position of knowing that if I hit my overdraft limit I can just take some money out of savings whenever I like. I'm also at a much better university.

Put Liverpool as your firm and Leicester as your insurance, and start thinking about what you could do in your gap year. Look for potential jobs and travelling options. Wait until you get your A-level grades before you turn down any offers. If you work hard and get AAA, I would definitely recommend re-applying.
My advice to you is that if you chose Leicester and Liverpool because you liked them, and would feel happy spending three years of your life there then go 4 it. don't be put off by people in here who seem to think reputation is the only important factor its also about location/lifestyle/people etc. You've also got to think, would you rather be an aab student excelling at a university such as leicester and perhaps as a result coming out with a high degree, or an aab student struggling at an aaa university, up against a load of aaa students? its just a consideration.

And like everyone else has said, if you do get aaa, or high aab, you can also reject your places in summer when the results come out.
Good luck with your decision!
Reply 16
polkadotprincess
You've also got to think, would you rather be an aab student excelling at a university such as leicester and perhaps as a result coming out with a high degree, or an aab student struggling at an aaa university, up against a load of aaa students? its just a consideration.


Classic misconception about how universities work I'm afraid, you're assessed to the same standards at different universities, and in theory shouldn't come out with a higher class of degree at one institution than another. It doesn't work like that.
Reply 17
don't withdraw from ucas, see what grades you get in summer before you make any big decision
fuzzyduck
Contrary to popular belief, a gap year is not that big a decision. I decided to take one just before I did my A-levels because I thought I could go somewhere better, although I didn't actually withdraw from UCAS until September just in case I changed my mind. I got a good job, which has set my CV considerably apart from other people's, and I earned loads of money, most of which is still in my savings account. I'm in the wonderful position of knowing that if I hit my overdraft limit I can just take some money out of savings whenever I like. I'm also at a much better university.


Fuzzyduck, I might be in a similar position this year. I'm just wondering... where did you apply to first-time round? And which Uni are you at now?