I feel like I made so many stupid decisions in life

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

Right.

Firstly, BCC at A-level is absolutely fine. No, it’s not good enough to get into medicine, but there are plenty of allied courses like the alternative you found which could see you working in a similar sector and supporting those on the front line. I got BCD (Chemistry, Biology, Computing), made absolutely no effort at the time and overthought it a LOT like you’re doing, and now I have my degree and a job nobody is bothered. I quickly learnt that I didn’t need to be bothered about it either and that once you have one qualification you just move onto the next. If I were to apply for a job now, they would be more bothered about the 2.5 years I’ve spent in the lab than the content of my degree, and although my A-levels might be mentioned on my CV, they probably won’t take any notice because their only purpose was to bridge the gap to uni.

MMU was one of my university choices for medicinal chemistry. I was aiming for cosmetic science and went to De Montfort University instead because it was that or London College of Fashion at the time (I could never live in London!). It seemed fine when I looked around, it was the course content that made me choose otherwise. Once you have that certificate at the end of it all, employers won’t care where you got it from as long as you can apply that knowledge and enrich their team.

You are 2/3 of the way through your degree. Get to the end of it, and employers won’t care about your A-levels. They will want to know that you have a scientific degree, anything you specialised in in your final year, and whether you have maths and English to GCSE.

Placements: if you look hard enough, you will find one. When I did my placement, I contacted every cosmetic company with a lab I could find in the UK. Two offered me a placement, and the one I took has taken in students since me so I created that connection with my course. Beyond university, that placement gave me a really great base for my first post-graduate job, also in a lab environment. I also found this job by contacting cosmetic companies! Sometimes you have to make the effort to reach out. That way you have absolutely no competition when you apply. The position can be pretty much made for you, especially in a smaller company.

Part-time work: Again, both of my part-time jobs behind bars, one at uni and one between graduation and starting my job over the summer, we’re found by walking in and asking about availability. When I first started looking, I applied to countless retailers and chains online, and I heard back from barely any of them. If you want to get the experience and have less competition, you need to go into your local pub, corner shop or independent cafe and see if they have any openings. Better yet, take a basic CV with you to introduce yourself and they then have a note of your details to give you a call if a slot needs filling. Coming across as confident, open and easygoing will help you out here as customer facing roles depend on your personality rather than qualifications.

You have a perfectly good education. Just because you didn’t get what you wanted doesn’t mean you’re “failing” at life. Just wait until you land that first job after graduation and realise how far you’ve come. And if what you’re looking for isn’t advertised, dont be afraid to find it yourself. You’ll bother some people by using their contact form that way, but if some people reply and can help you out then it will all be worth it!

Sorry that was sooo long 🤣 Basically, don’t worry about it. Life’s too short - move on to the next goal.

I studied Biomed too and now I'm going to start a Physician associate MSc. You should look into it — you can still be a GP (if you want) and support doctors in all clinical settings. You can get onto some courses w/o placement as long as you have relevant experience. Don't give up!

As for a job, I always say working in a bookies (e.g. Ladbrokes/Paddy's) is a great job for students (it's what I did anyway and it worked for me). You could get a 17h contract or even 10h, and they'll take anyone because there's a high turnover of staff because not everyone has the confidence for it. It's the best type of retail IMO as you get to sit down, and you may be able to study while you work (if you're in a quiet shop). And if you're nice you can make lots of tips.
Or bar work is very good too (and it can be fun) — if you don't mind standing for long hours. And if it's anything like where I've worked you can make tips here too.
Try to work somewhere where you'll have direct contact with customers, you can always brag about that in place of clinical experience with patients because there are similarities. But most importantly DON'T GIVE UP! You've made it this far

BCC at A-level is actually good. I wanted to do medicine and got ACE and rejected from university even for other courses. Instead of resitting, I decided to do another subject at college and then did a BTEC extended diploma at college and got D*DM and I am nearly completed my first year of university

Jobs or placements are hard to get anyway, don't worry. Life is hard but you need to be stronger.

Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.

There’s plenty of allied health professional degrees you can do. For example a physician associate works very closely with doctors and can work in settings like hospitals and GP practices. Most of the PA degrees are post graduate so i guess that works in your favour! There’s always nursing, pharmacy, optometry etc. The list is endless! Don’t give up now. If you want medicine that badly then work for it. Don’t let the competition put you off. Because at the end of the day, someone has to get that GEM place so it might as well be you! It’s never too late, chase your dreams. The only person stopping you is YOU.

Heyy
So sorry to hear that. I can’t say I completely can relate to your specific situation but I can definitely relate to some of the feelings you have. Just know that your a levels don’t define you. As you go through more stages in life it gets less and less important. What matters is what you do from now on and just trying your best. I know it can be really hard to see this right now but hopefully this will give you a push. Gooodluckk xx

So 2 years ago I pretty much failed my A levels.. I got BCC and I always wanted to do medicine which requires AAA so obviously that dream will always remain a dream. I tried my absolute hardest, my parents even paid tonnes of money for private tuition yet I still completely failed and let everyone down. I was not coping well mentally during my A levels as I couldn't cope with the amount of pressure there was placed on me and my social anxiety was also getting worse since I had no friends or nobody to talk to, as I made a stupid decision of going to a completely new sixth form, leaving behind close friends from high school.
In High School, I was always a high achiever, I'd always get straight A's and everyone in school knew me as the "smart kid", but as soon as I hit A levels I completely flopped all of my exams and had times when I just felt like seriously giving up with life. At age 20, I'm just now starting to realise just how important those exams really were and I should have tried MUCH harder! Those A level grades really determine the rest of your future, it really isn't a joke when they say that!
So then after receiving my horrendous A levels, I thought about resitting....But back then I just wanted to rush straight into Uni and do a Biomedical Science course at MMU (not a respected uni at all) because I really didn't want to put myself through that mental trauma again and maybe I could do grad entry medicine (but again I never realised how competitive GEM actually was so I'm defo not doing that).....So I thought I'd go to Uni, forget about my A levels, make new friends and enjoy the uni experience....well boy that was another terrible decision because the pandemic has ruined all of that and my social anxiety has just gotten even worse as i'm stuck isolated in my bedroom doing online classes with nobody to talk to.
Now I feel like i'm doing a rubbish degree with no good job prospects, I can't get a placement because it's too competitive and i'm going to struggle to get anywhere with this useless degree especially since its from a terrible university! So maybe I was better off resitting my A levels after all....But man I'm in a complete mess becuase of the terrible decisions i made without thinking carefully about them and of course.... my EXAM GRADES!!! and I don't know what to even do anymore.....I'm coming to the end of my 2nd year of uni and I feel like i'm constantly regretting my A level performance to this day. I can't even get a simple part time job at a supermarket, even got rejected form Mcdonald's and Primark so I'm seriously not going to get anywhere in life .....Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for reading.