#NoWrongPath - SQA Results Day 2019

When I left school to go to uni, my results were way lower than expected and I missed both my firm and insurance choice! I sent 2 of my 3 subjects back for remarks and they went up to the required grades for my firm, but by that point they had given away my place to a near-miss candidate and told me I could instead be placed on a waiting list and be given deferred entry for the next year. My insurance choice also offered me a place for the original year I had applied, but I had my heart set on my firm so although I really didn't want to take a gap I said yes to my firm. After a few weeks of waiting (while I was on holiday with no internet ) they finally got back to me and said I'd been successful on the waiting list!

3 years later and I've just graduated from Law, and although I missed out on training contracts to become a solicitor, it was a blessing in disguise as I'll be starting the Civil Service Fast Stream in September

Throughout my education I've always felt like I've missed out on my first preference and had to settle for second best, but it all turned out great in the end good luck to everyone receiving their results, and don't lose hope if it isn't what you originally expected!

On results day last year, when Track opened in the morning nothing had changed for me. I went into my school to collect my results and they were a lot lower than I expected, and I missed the offer for my firm uni by 3 grades and my insurance by 2. I was gutted as I'd worked really really hard. After hours and hours of waiting, calling up universities to see if they'd let me in, and trying to resolve an issue caused by my school which meant UCAS and my firm/insurance universities couldn't access one of my grades, I was ready to accept an offer I'd been given over the phone for a different uni via their Clearing hotline. I didn't really want to go there but I really didn't like the idea of resitting my exams and being at home for an extra year. In the end the issue got resolved and I officially got rejected from my firm choice uni, which was upsetting as my heart was really set on it. I had to go through all the steps again with my insurance choice uni, but instead of being rejected as I expected they accepted me even with my lower grades!

I wasn't as keen to go there as I was my firm, but I decided to go and I'm really glad I did. I've had a great first year and I'm really looking forward to the other 3

Good luck to everyone receiving results tomorrow, and remember if things don't go to plan there are always other ways to get to where you want to be!

Best wishes to everyone getting their SQA results tomorrow. I hope you get the grades you're hoping for.

I was abroad when I used a public coin box to telephone the school for my grades decades ago. I'd failed to meet the grades for my Firm, and despite the school's pleadings the uni would not relax their conditions.

I did get in to my Insurance, however, and I had a brilliant 5 years at UCL. I ended up as one of the student union officers, had several part-time jobs, lived in lovely flats in central London, as well as finding myself a spouse! Looking back, the experiences I had at UCL were really rich and worthwhile, and I really wouldn't want to swap it now for my UCCA [sic., I'm that old!] Firm.

Although some will feel some momentary disappointment if their plans don't work out, there is really is #NoWrongPath.

I missed my grades for both firm and insurance when I first applied, and I decided to reapply the following year rather than go into clearing - this ended up being completely the right decision for me, as after a year of volunteering and other experiences, I was so much more confident, and got a lot more out of uni than I would have that first year!