Resit Applicant (A-levels done in 3 years) and UCAS

I had to resit my first year because of an operation I had, it left me in pain and agony and out of college for 2-3 months and I wasn't even supposed to sit my exams, but I did anyway with the aid of painkillers. I wasn't prepared for the exams as school had been the last thing on my mind given my painful recovery, thus didn't perform well (UUEE). My second time I recieved BBB, though I was originally aiming for 3 A's, so will be retaken a few modules. It's worth mentioning that I was a year ahead before I retook a year, so now I'm with my own age group - will this help?

Now I'm doing my A2's (3rd year of a-levels) and need to send of my UCAS application quickly, and I'm stuck with the Education section. I understand if I'm resitting an AS unit I need to create another AS for that subject and mark it as 'pending' but what do I do when I have retaken a whole year? Do I have to declare the first year? If I do, this is what it will look like:

Biology AS E (2011)

Biology AS B (2012)

Biology AS (pending 2013)


Does this look right? I'd appreciate any help as soon as possible!

I did AS and A2, had a year out and am now doing A2 again. A little different to yourself- I just put my AS and A2 grades up and then made another section for my pending A2s. As far as university goes, I too was worried how they might see it.

If you are now on track to do well, and your personal statement/references show you will be an asset, then universities will be happy to offer you a place.

I got CCD at A2 originally when I could have got A's. I'm predicted A*AA this year and have an offer from Durham so it happens! They know things don't always go to plan.

Best of luck with everything!


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If I do, this is what it will look like:

Biology AS E (2011)

Biology AS B (2012)

Biology AS (pending 2013)


Does this look right? I'd appreciate any help as soon as possible!

I don't think you have to put your original AS grade in, since you retook the year you only have to put the latest one in.
So Biology AS B (2012)
Biology AS pending (2013) - I also put my module that I'm retaking just to show I'm not doing it all again.
Biology A2 pending (2013).

No need to put your Biology AS E (2011) since you don't have an E anymore, you have a B

Yes Aswell as the A2 as pending and your reference will attach your predicted grade. Don't mention what happened to you in your PS, get your reference to mention it.



This is wrong. UCAS have said that you have to declare all your courses you've done, including AS and A2 separately and even if you fail. Up until last year you didn't have to declare AS grades, only a2 predictions.

This is what I did..
Yes you declare your AS and A2s seperately, which is what I have shown.
But, the old achieved AS (2011), and the newer AS (2012) are not seperate things but the same thing. OP has a B in AS biology now not an E. [You could argue that it's likely their AS has not been cashed in and this way it would be correct, but even if it had been cashed I'd still be right].
What you state UCAS to have said sounds like if you fail something you would have to still state it. For example, had I done AS Psychology and got a U, I would still have to declare it. However, had I done AS Psychology, got a U first time, then decided to retake and get an A, this having been achieved before applying, I would only have to write the A grade and not the U grade- because I don't have a U anymore.
Either way, no matter how you show it, they'd still understand and apparently they have access to all your exam results anyway (according to some guy from UCAS but we all know even the call centres aren't always reliable).

Well when I did it, my sixth form checked it over and said that I had done it the right way.

Hey, thanks for the replies guy - but now I'm confused Should I or shouldn't I declare my first set of results? I wouldn't mention the U's as you don't need to, but the E's are technically passes so I will have to. But is there a chance that I can get away with not mentioning them?

Damn, I need to send my application off and I don't know what I'm doing!?

Also, I mentioned my operation etc in my personal statement, should I take that out? I'll inform my referee to put it in his reference but I was under the impression that I should also mention it in the PS, I had to take chunks out of my other things so I could fit that in there

I'm also applying as a independent applicant, so I'm in a quite a mess right now and need to get this done with... Can someone confirm exactly what I can do? If I didn't mention the first AS's (even if it was due to mitigating circumstances) no one would know I retook because I was a year ahead and was 15/16 in my first year, and now in my 3rd year I just turned 18. Could they possibly overlook this??

If you've actually resat some exams and got new grades then I can't see how you'd need to put your U's on


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Yea, I wouldn't be mentioning the U's at ALL, but it's the E's I'm not sure about, because as I said, they're considered passes even if they are hideous.

It's not fair, I thought whne we retake and get higher grades, they override the original ones...

:| So confused.

You need to include your first year in the education section and you must declare your Es.

However, you also need to ensure that your referee mentions your extenuating circumstances in your reference. Have a chat with them and make sure they're aware about how your operation affected you. If it's something that requires a long explanation then it's fine for your referee to write a short sentence in your reference and then to follow this up with a letter on school headed paper directly to the universities. If you have any proof, like a letter from your doctor, then this can also be sent to universities.

Hey, thanks again - very helpful answer. I'll be including my first set then, including the latest one, so in effect it will look like this:

Biology AS E (2011)
Biology AS B (2012)

Biology A2 (2013) - pending

I was also wondering, if I'm retaking units in January/June, do I NEED to declare them also, or are they exempt from the education section? And as for proof, does my referee have to send a letter from school, or can I just get an official document/ letter from my GP which explains the operation in detail and how exactly it affected my performance, and hence, the reason for my retake? (My referee would still mention this in his reference though.)

How would I go about sending it to the Uni's, do I just pop it in the post, or hand it in myself, what exactly would I need to do? Thanks again!

Declare rerakes. See sticky thread for details.

Letter from referee is better, but youncan just send in gp letter. Remember to add cover letter with ucas number! Email unis to ask who to address it to and take photocopy/get proof of posting.

On tablet so cba about typos, sorry

Thanks! Last question, I swear; should I or shouldn't I include retake mitigating circumstances in my ps?

There is no need to include it in your ps as the right place for it is in the reference

Thanks! Last question, I swear; should I or shouldn't I include retake mitigating circumstances in my ps?

I did AS and A2, had a year out and am now doing A2 again. A little different to yourself- I just put my AS and A2 grades up and then made another section for my pending A2s. As far as university goes, I too was worried how they might see it.

If you are now on track to do well, and your personal statement/references show you will be an asset, then universities will be happy to offer you a place.

I got CCD at A2 originally when I could have got A's. I'm predicted A*AA this year and have an offer from Durham so it happens! They know things don't always go to plan.

Best of luck with everything!


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