Right.. At GCSE I got 11 A*s and was one of the top students at my school, then at AS I ended up with ABC (A in Bio, B in Geo and C in Eng Lang & Lit). I was devastated not only because of the huge drop from my performance back at GCSE but cos I was so set up for English at Oxford. It had been my dream and I spent my entire secondary school career preparing for it, and yet right there I got an E in the Lit paper because I only managed to finish half of it. It was like a slap in my face.
My head of 6th form told me to 'repeat Year 12' and said to me 'alright then now English at Oxford is dead in the water' and 'normally you should even drop English but shame that you're already only doing 3 subjects', right on the day when I was at my weakest. Then I decided to change and apply for Psychology instead and thus ignored him and carried on with Year 13. After some struggle I decided to still go for Oxford. Between Results Day last year and the day my school began, I was spending all the hours except sleeping and eating just studying and preparing for Psychology at uni. I was fueled with the sheer desire and will to rise back up from my rock bottom again and prove anyone who doubted my ability wrong. I had never thought I'd go for Psychology and so I had to catch up with what I think a typical Oxbridge applicant would have done in like 2 to 3 years within 3 to 4 weeks. And that was the only way I could prove to people that I'm capable and deserving of a high enough prediction out of my ABC when I went back in September in order to apply to Oxford.
After I got back to school everyone was telling me not to waste a place, and teachers were advising me not to apply for unis that have offers higher than AAB. The head of 6th form was telling my English teacher not to predict me anything higher than a B. My English teacher though was the one I must thank as he said to me in the end 'I won't predict you anything less than an A. I want to show you that I believe in you.' So there I went and went for it.
And then I got an interview invite. And then an offer. And then an offer for their scholarship.
I've put in a huge amount of work and time both for the preparation for the course and for my EPQ which is subject-related (and it has expanded my mind and knowledge so much; also helped massively at my interview), and an even huger determination and effort for 'upping' my grades. A2 was hard work, resitting was too, but when I found the will, I found the power.
In the end I got 4 A*s for my A2. A* in all 3 of my subjects and an A* for my EPQ. What kicked that head of 6th form and all others who have ever doubted me in the arse the most wasn't even that I got into Oxford, having defied all odds. It was that I got full UMS in my English, while just 10 months ago my head of 6th form was saying 'don't even predict a B'. And now I'm off to read Experimental Psychology at Oxford in October. This past year was my come-back, my rebound. I just want to tell you that if you have the will, you'll keep turning 'impossible' into 'possible'.
When there's a WILL, there's a WAY. Don't ever let anybody tell you that you 'can't', most of all, don't let yourself tell you that you can't. Find your will, prepare to be flexible and be open to changes, and always believe, and always always try, then you'll find a way. I hope my experience empowers you, and I wish you all the best. x