Resit the year or settle for crappy uni...

Hi all,

So Ive done my exams and feel that they didn't go too great and that I have got BBB. My firm and insurance were both AAB. Do you think I should resit the year? Or settle for a poor uni in clearing( by poor meaning league table, reputation wise) Bear in mind that this is for History.

Hi all,

So Ive done my exams and feel that they didn't go too great and that I have got BBB. My firm and insurance were both AAB. Do you think I should resit the year? Or settle for a poor uni in clearing( by poor meaning league table, reputation wise) Bear in mind that this is for History.

Hi all,

So Ive done my exams and feel that they didn't go too great and that I have got BBB. My firm and insurance were both AAB. Do you think I should resit the year? Or settle for a poor uni in clearing( by poor meaning league table, reputation wise) Bear in mind that this is for History.

Don't make any drastic decisions until you receive your results. Your university choices might end up still taking you even if you miss your grades. I got BBC (Offer: ABB) at A level and I was let in to the University of Glasgow.

Just see what happens on results day and go from there.

I was in a similar position as you were last year. My firm wanted AAB and my insurance ABB and I was struggling during my exams.

I also thought about resitting but resitting yr 13 just isn't a common thing to do and I didn't want to spend another year in sixth form when I had had the idea in my head of me starting uni in 2016 for a long time.

So I started looking at other unis that i could go to. I think you should do that as well just in case you end up in clearing. You'll surprise yourself when you discover that there's other good unis out there. I had like a checklist of what I wanted out of a uni itself, the campus, and the course and I also looked at my chances of securing uni accommodation and I realised that my firm and my insurance were not be all, end all.

I found 2 potential unis and I sat on them and waited for results day. Results day, I ended up in clearing unsurprisingly. I cried for about 5 mins like at 7am for what could've been, I wiped my tears away, showered and after, got straight to ringing up the unis that I had been looking at weeks before and they both offered me places. It was so easy, so stress free. I was so happy.

I wouldn't trade my place at my current uni for anything, not even if my firm offered me a place for my course for 2nd year. I love my uni so so so much even though it's not an elite one and it wasn't my original choice

Basically my advice is, right now, look up other potential unis out there. Find a handful and wait for results day. If you find you did manage to get into your firm or your insurance, well done, celebrate! If not, it's not the end of the world, you have alternatives to apply for in clearing.

And If you don't wanna go through clearing, you can resit the year.

I'm in the same boat as you, my dream uni wants AAA and while I know I have the potential to get those grades, in reality, my exams went absolutely terribly and it doesn't look like I've got them. Personally, my plan is to re-sit the year just to make sure I get into my dream place because I can't settle for anything else but I think it really depends on you as a person.

How important is uni reputation for getting a job in the field of history? I'm thinking that for the likes of banking, if you are outside of the top 10 or 15 uni's then its significantly harder to get a job in London so it is worth resitting to get into them, but for history it might be different. You'll have to ask around on TSR threads and see how much of an impact it makes.

Also, you could consider going to a worse university but getting a good grade (first class) and then doing your masters at a good uni which sort of overwrites the bachelors. E.g. I know of someone who went to Salford uni (really low, like BCC entry or lower) for engineering and then did a MEng at the Uni of Manchester after getting a first class.

There are plenty of great universities in clearing, especially if you end up with BBB. League tables are usually meaningless unless you're looking at the specific department but at the end of the day if you like the look of the course then most of the time its a good choice. Clearing lists are already up on the UCAS site so its worth looking through your options beforehand.

What I did was a bit strange though, I missed my firm and insurance but got a place through clearing which I then deferred and resat one of my A-Levels so I could then transfer course (in the same university) without having to apply through UCAS again. The point is that it worked out quite nicely and I feel like that's the case with a lot of people going through clearing.

Hi all,

So Ive done my exams and feel that they didn't go too great and that I have got BBB. My firm and insurance were both AAB. Do you think I should resit the year? Or settle for a poor uni in clearing( by poor meaning league table, reputation wise) Bear in mind that this is for History.

Hey thanks for the long reply! I have started to look at clearing and have pinpointed some unis that are in there that are supposedly good for History such as Southampton, UEA, Lancaster and a few others. My problem is that they all want AAB- AAA so I'm not sure even in clearing if my grades would be good enough. It's good that you are enjoying life at a so called lesser uni and it's important to stress that when I say "crappy" I mean it in terms of league table/ reputation wise. My problem is that I have spoken to a few people and a lot of people have said that uni reputation is important for a subject like History because there are so few jobs available. Others have said that it doesn't matter. May I ask the subject you are studying? I won't ask the uni as I'm sure you want that disclosed.

Hey thanks for the reply! Wow that's really unusual what you did there , never heard someone do that before but fair play to you for thinking of that and getting into the uni you wanted. I have looked around clearing and have pinpointed Southampton, UEA , and Lancaster as potential unis. The problem is that they all ask for AAB-AAA so I'm doubt my BBB or less will be good enough even in clearing. I have based my choices so far on league tables that are subject specific so for History, then moved from there to look at the campus, course etc. Yes the course is important but I have heard from a lot of people that reputation is important for History because there are so few jobs around.

I just wanna say kudos for thinking through this possibility. I know it's not fun but it's a lot better to think as plan now than to push it all away until results day and panic then.

I've been in this position and it is so not fun. Missed my firm choice of course and got accepted by my insurance which was far away and not the course I wanted to do. I debated for a full week about whether I should go to my insurance or wait a year. I chose to wait the year and hand on heart I have no regrets.

It is not easy, and I'll never tell you that. All of your year is away having freshers adventures while you will be sat at home. It feels like someone has pressed pause and rewind on your life and you have to watch everyone else move on at normal speed. I was lucky to have friends in the same position so I could ***** about life with them and feel better, so life tip, find someone like that.

But you are young, and don't forget that. Giving up a year will never be so easy again at any point of your life. And if it means that you can improve your whole life's prospects, then I consider that a small price to pay.

Follow your gut. If you aren't 100% happy settling, then don't. I knew in my heart that my insurance just wasn't going to make me happy. Not to mention spending thousands of pound in tuition fees and daily spending. It really doesn't make sense.

Whatever you decide, all the very best

Doesn't sound like a bad plan tbh. At this point you should consider the benefits and drawbacks of resitting and logistically how easy this will be, i.e. will you have to pay for them and/or will your college/6th form allow you to stay, etc. Then all you can really do is wait for results day and see whether or not you can get a place. FWIW I got into Southampton with 3 grades below what the entry requirements were in 2015 but obviously it's a case by case basis.

As long as you go in with a plan you'll be alright I think

Ah nice you go to Southampton. How is it? I went there to have a look around and it seemed like nice place to study and I had it as one of my offers before I chose elsewhere. And yeah I think your point about how much the retake would cost and other things is a good one and something I do need to find.

I'm studying BA Sociology & Criminology at University of Essex, I'm cool with having my uni out there 😊.

You've chosen a handful of good unis as back up if things go wrong on results day. UEA is actually the rival uni of Essex. Every year in March, they have this thing called Derby Day where the unis go against each other in a variety of sports to determine who's the best.

In my opinion, it's not just about the uni reputation though but I agree it is a factor worth considering. There are tons of other uni life factors that should also be considered.

You should consider the standard of teaching at the unis you've been looking at because if you don't have good lecturers and class teachers/seminar leaders who are willing to show you the depths of their knowledge regarding a subject, who show great passion for their subject, you're going to struggle to feel inspired in your studies. And also, I know it's uni and you have a greater level of independence but if you have any questions that you need to ask regarding your essays, referencing, feedback, exams, whatever, it's good to know that your lecturers/teachers are just an email away, or you could drop by during their office hours without hassle and they'll assist you with whatever needs assisting.

Also look at the employability centres at the unis, you know, how can they help you become more employable when you leave because just having a degree isn't enough because once you graduate you're gonna be in competition with tons of other history graduates for jobs. Maybe you could study abroad, do a work placement, internships during the summer or during term if your uni has an in-term internship programme. Going to a top uni doesn't necessarily mean that after you graduate, you're gonna slide right into a job with minimal effort. What you should do is foster your employable skills and get as much experience as possible so you stand out through your competition. Say you were getting your hair cut, would you want your hair cut bysomeone who has never cut hair before or someone who has spent time learning about the trade and who was a wealth of experience under their belt?

What is the campus like? Is it a city or campus uni? Do you have a preference?Do you like the style of it? What are the lecture halls like and the teaching areas? Is the campus in bad condition? How much green space is there? Are there ponds and ducks? (Ok that last one isn't really necessary but I love sitting in the library and seeing 20 ducks waddling out of the pond and to see ducks roaming around campus and the accommodations). How many places are there to eat are on campus? Are there post offices, banks there?

Look at the libraries, this is very important. Do they have an abundance of books, independent work spaces, computers, group work, plug sockets? I didn't realise how important the library and the educational resources were until I started uni and my friend was telling me about how her uni library wasn't very good and how they weren't that many books and work spaces. If you want to do well at uni, you need to be going there to get a few books for your essays. You could just do your essays just using textbooks but if you demonstrate a variety of reading, you can get higher grades. Also, this is like a side comment, don't buy all the books that you need for your course. It's something that a lot of first year students do. Buy one general textbook for each module and get the rest of your reading materials from the library. Or maybe your department will have some sort of reading materials book that you can buy for certain modules. I did that, and I only spent around £125 all together and 3/4 textbooks I bought can be used for the whole time I'm at uni. My friend at another uni spent over £300 on books but she also doesn't have a very good library so she kinda had to.

Also consider the types of societies, sports clubs, night life. The student union, how are they rated? How will they help benefit you as a student? I wouldn't put this as major factor in what I want to get out of a uni but that's just my own opinion.

What are the cities/towns like where the unis are based? Is it an expensive place to live? How far is the nearest supermarket? What is the area like? Because you're gonna be living in this town/city for most of the year, unless you choose to commute.

Spending 1 year at uni has taught me about the importance of all the factors I have listed above. If your firm/insurance or clearing option unis have all these factors covered to a high standard, you're gonna have the best time at uni and you're gonna come out so high because you're gonna be so employable. Uni reputation isn't everything.

Also, I'm not saying that this will definitely happen, but unis can be flexible with grades on results day. So you could find that if you missed your offer by one grade, but your firm or insurance still accepted you. They can be flexible in clearing too depending on the uni and the spaces that they want to fill. I got into an ABB course with ACD but my A was in Sociology which was my chosen course.

You probably won't need all this information, it's a lot, I know, but I wrote it anyway because it's important to get the best out of a uni by achieving a mix of a good academic and student/social life.

Cheers for the reply dude. From what you said it sounds like you did the right thing. I think all my friends are going to uni so it could be quite boring for me at home. Also others have brought this up so I just want to know was there any trouble you encountered with reassitting? Did your sixth form execpt you back or did you have to move? Also did anyone look down/ make fun of you ? And did you have to pay a lot of money for the actual exams/ year?