Failed A-levels and top Uni doesn't offer course through clearing

OK so heres my situation. I failed my AS levels, retook them, passed them and now in second year. However I'm going to fail my A2 exams so badly. So my only hope for university now is take a gap year and resit my A-Levels independently and apply for uni for September 2019.

The problem is how am I going to apply? OK so i'll apply with Us in my A-levels and they'll give me a conditional offer, but I want to study in a Russel group uni and none of them allow clearing for the top degrees, like economics, and plus I can't be guaranteed a space because my predicted graeds will technically be Us, and you can't be certain with clearing. So what does that mean for me? I'm so screwed. Does that mean I have to wait 2 years to go uni. I've already wasted 1 year resitting, and then what 2 years wait just to go uni?

Is this my only outcome, because I don't know what to do. I can't be wasting like 5 years just for uni. HELP!!!

Youi might try doing an access course and your course tutor could give you new predicted grades.

You are telling us you want to go to a top uni but you havent made clear if you are capable of top grades. if you have nothing to show then you wait till you have passed the exams and then apply or access as above.

You cant run before you can walk. It is your situation so own it.

Wait, so after I leave college, and say I take a gap year and work while sitting the new A-levels independently, I can get my college tutor to chnage my predicted grades? How would that work because I have already officially achieved my grades? And secondly how would I be predicted for my independent A-level exam, since I am self teaching and sitting it independently?

I am so confused.

Wait, so after I leave college, and say I take a gap year and work while sitting the new A-levels independently, I can get my college tutor to chnage my predicted grades? How would that work because I have already officially achieved my grades? And secondly how would I be predicted for my independent A-level exam, since I am self teaching and sitting it independently?

I am so confused.

OK so heres my situation. I failed my AS levels, retook them, passed them and now in second year. However I'm going to fail my A2 exams so badly. So my only hope for university now is take a gap year and resit my A-Levels independently and apply for uni for September 2019.

The problem is how am I going to apply? OK so i'll apply with Us in my A-levels and they'll give me a conditional offer, but I want to study in a Russel group uni and none of them allow clearing for the top degrees, like economics, and plus I can't be guaranteed a space because my predicted graeds will technically be Us, and you can't be certain with clearing. So what does that mean for me? I'm so screwed. Does that mean I have to wait 2 years to go uni. I've already wasted 1 year resitting, and then what 2 years wait just to go uni?

Is this my only outcome, because I don't know what to do. I can't be wasting like 5 years just for uni. HELP!!!

Your referee makes the prediction. If you get an ex teacher They could say they believe you are capable of such grades or give a reason why you might improve i.e no longer have MH. problems, They have to be prepared to.

You still haven't stated why you know you can get the top grades.

Get your mh and attitude sorted out.
Work out why it fell apart twice.
Get the top grades.
Then you have a choice.
Predicted grades do not matter once you have the real grades.

Don't apply because you won't be going, you've demonstrated time and time again that you are not capable of going to a Russell Group university. If you were good enough you wouldn't have failed once and probably failed again. Look at other options like jobs or apprenticeships, clearly academia is not for you, especially at a top university.

What is going to be so different the next time you resit? The answer is absolutely nothing. Top universities discourage people resitting once anyway, resitting yet again isn't going to look great at all. How do you think you'll cope with university assignments if you can't pass A-levels? You won't.

OK, I see now. You ask why i think i'm probably going to fail where it all went wrong. Well the thing is I've hated my subjects. I picked Politics and scraped a C in the first year because well it's not because i'm not smart enough, in fact I should've gotten an A because the exam and questions aren't too difficult, they just require effort. It's because I absolutely despised that subject hence why I didn't put in much effort.

Also I think I am capable of getting really good grades next year because things will be different. It's not the fact that the exams are so hard and that i'm not so academic. I won't pick subjects I hate and hence i'll put more effort in and enjoy what i'm learning, which means I should get good grades now.

With that being said I will have to hope my referee (my later ex form tutor) will understand this and predict me an A for the subject(s) that I will independently sit in June 2019.

Secondly, you mention that predicted grades do not matter once I have the real grades, but that's only when it comes to clearing, and as I have mentioned before you can't guarantee that:
1) A specific course will be available for clearing, especially at a top uni
2) I will have a spot in that uni, so it will be best to apply and get a conditional offer.

Hi, so I basically resit my A-levels again, and on UCAS I didn’t include my previous results, only my predicted grade which were given by referee.

Honestly you arent really listening to people that know better..
So far you have failed two sets of exams.
Hated or not you have chosen them.

If you believe you are capable of A's in different subjects, then go for it.
Stop obsessing about predicted grades and get the real ones.
All a uni is going to see at the moment until you get the real ones is your two previous attempts, so whether your tutor is willing to say you are an A*A*A* student , it still has to convince the uni.

You are thinking small and like a child rather than a smart young adult and the bigger
picture. You are chasing things you are unlikely to achieve and ignoring the ones you can.

I have told you what you need to do and the mindset that will get you through. Own your situation and make the most of it. A year is neither here nor there.

Nobody is going to take you on a degree apprenticeship either until you get your academic credibility back and show them you are worth investing in. Predicted grades dont do that.

@Doonesbury

So my only hope is to get in through clearing next year WHEN i get really good grades next August. The reason why I talk about predicted grades is because I can't guarantee a spot in a good uni through clearing because anything could go wrong; they might not have spaces available because it does go fast. But if I apply in advance then I might have one reserved.

And you mention I am chasing things I am unlikely to achieve. What are you implying, that I'm not smart enough, or that I shouldn't plan ahead?

Honestly you are focused on the wrong thing.
Whether you go to Uni now or in 3 years time not much difference.
If you dont wish to go through clearing, then apply with your mega grades the following year. That is what i would do if the course i wanted was not on offer.
I doubt many top unis on the basis of your application are going to make you a conditional offer as your track record is not good enough. Actual grades get past all that.

Think about the bigger picture. If you wanted a degree apprenticeship then think about what employers are looking for and what you can provide.


And you mention I am chasing things I am unlikely to achieve. What are you implying, that I'm not smart enough, or that I shouldn't plan ahead?

That even if you convince your tutor to give you A*A*A* predicted then LSE or UCL are going to look at your track record and take that with a pinch of salt.
the advice being given certainly doesnt seem to be going in. Good luck in sorting it out your way.

**All a uni is going to see at the moment until you get the real ones is your two previous attempts, so whether your tutor is willing to say you are an A*A*A* student , it still has to convince the uni.**

This, and this again.

Get those grades, then apply. Provide your certs, and subject to verification, you have an unconditional offer in the bag.