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I'm so scared for results

This isnt about uni but about alevels but i wanted it to be anonymous but it wasnt giving me an option to do that on the alevel forum.

Im in yr12 and i have 1 exam left. I just did maths and im so scared. It was horrible and i have business tmrw and im just a bad writer i wont be able to finish. I revised in the half term and i did past papers but i just feel so let down and demotivated. I feel hopeless and i feel like i absolutely ruined my chances of going to uni. My predicted grades r gonna be rubbish and i wont have any good uni offers. My parents wanted me to go to Loughborough and started wanting to go but now its all ruined. My school is so bad about informing about what these exams go towards and idk if theres anything in the future that i could do. I've been told that the last exams in yr13 aka the real alevels can only be used once i've taken a gap year. I dont want to take a gap year. Im just so confused? How many exams do i have to take that actually go towards uni? idk i feel like im in the dark.
Whats my next step? Can i resit these exams and how do they work? Are my chances of going to a uni like Loughborough ruined unless i take a gap year?

Reply 1

Carrotsroom

Look, youre at the end of Y12, not sitting your final A-level exams. You're self aware that you haven't done well and identified the weakness you have for your subjects. This just means that whatever revision technique you were using is obviously not working for you or you're just using them wrong. If you're bad at writing essays, then you can ask your teachers to teach you the structure and ask them to give you practice essays. When you're done with them, ask them to mark it and give it back. Do it again and again until you're good at it. I did AQA business so if you have any specific questions throw them at me. I also did Edexcel maths and I was in the same position this time last year. I got 2 grades below my target, scoring less than half on that mock paper and I felt terrible. However, this only motivated me more to do better in my next exams. If you're doing past papers without knowing how to answer the questions at first, then you're revising completely wrong. Past paper exam questions should test whether you can answer a question in a different format, not test you whether you can answer the question with little practice. Understanding your maths is just as crucial as daily practice.
Remember that mocks are not the only thing your teachers use. If you know you've done badly in this set of papers, ask them for another opportunity such as giving you another set of papers to do in a few weeks time. This is the time to try to prove to your teachers that you want those grades, instead of not doing anything. If they see that you were truly upset and want to turn it around, then youre more than likely to create a better impression. This just means when it gets to the time to predict your grades, you can have a more flexible discussion with them- if they know you're truly trying to make changes then who knows, they might predict you higher grades.
And, what uni do you want to go to? It's not up to your parents to choose what uni you're going to pay for and spend at least 3 years of your life living there.
My top advice is to not waste time reflecting on things you can no longer change, just think about what you can do in the future to amend whatever youre regretting, such as trying different revision methods- you have the whole summer for this. Yes, its crucial to relax but A-levels require studying outside of school hours, especially since youre doing maths. If youre not some maths genius then realistically spending at least 1-2 hours of maths a day will make a huge difference.

Reply 2

toxicgamage56

Universities Forum Helper

I'm doing my A-levels and I'm scared I won't meet the offer for a university I want to go to. That's much worse. You're in a better position because it means you get a second shot at getting good grades next year and your parents won't have as much expectations for you next year if your university offer is lower. Don't stress because I'm pretty sure A-level predicted grades are hyper inflated - like we were told at our school that only 20% of people actually meet their predicted grades or something along those lines, so that should give you an idea of how high predicted grades are.

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Original post by toxicgamage56

if i get better grades next year, can you still go to uni in september? or do you have to take a gap year then go?

Reply 4

ohdearieme

Original post by Anonymous

if i get better grades next year, can you still go to uni in september? or do you have to take a gap year then go?

From the best of my knowledge, I think universities only consider your predicted grades in year 13? Listen to @Carrotsroom's advice and try to prove to your teachers that you will work hard to get the predicted grades you want so that you can apply to more universities.

If you're not choosing a degree such as Medicine or Dentistry (and I think Law?), you still have a couple of more months to submit your UCAS application which will be good for convincing your teachers or preparing for upcoming exams.

If it offers any comfort, I felt horrible after sitting my official A Level English exam but managed to get a good grade. At the end of year 12, I was still stuck on grades I wasn't happy with (scraping by a B, getting a C). At the end of year 13, I managed to get top grades. It's good that you're making your mistakes now because it means you can work on them and improve for next time.

I've also taken an unexpected and unwanted gap year, but it turned out to be one of the best years of my life and I got to know myself a bit more and what I really want and value.

You still have a lot of time. Take it day by day. Just work at it bit by bit.

Best of luck.