Letting universities know about my situation?

Hi guys,

So I currently hold an offer from UCL to study MSci Physics, and my offer is AAA. I was shocked/elated when I found out I got an offer, since my predicted grades were ABB and I thought I wouldn't have a chance. However, this year I've really struggled coping with the amount of exams I have to do, especially as I've had to self study. Another thing that's been affecting me is my mental health. I've been depressed/had anxiety for as long as I can remember but it got especially bad during A-Levels, on top of poor attendance due to a physical health problem which is why I took a year out to resit and try and get things together. I deferred one of my A2's (F. Maths) and am doing it for the first time this year, as well as some resits from last year. I am quite confident for my resits but having to self study A2 Further in particular has been so difficult to do on my own, as well as having to manage a job around it and my depleting mental health. I can't even revise for 15 minutes without going into an insane self hating thinking cycle and stressing uncontrollably, and every day is painful to push through.

Things at home have also been really difficult (I don't really want to go into it tbh) and my depression/anxiety has gone through the roof. I've gone through suicidal periods, can't sleep and have had panic attacks. I have self harmed several times in the past and have had strong urges to relapse but have resisted so far. It's been difficult for me to call out for help but I have gotten into contact with a counsellor and will be pursuing that soon.

I just can't help but worry that I won't meet my offer for UCL given the amount of strain I've been under this year. I feel like I can get AA or possibly A*A for maths and physics respectively but I feel like for further I'll get a B, and I don't know how they feel about near misses. It's been my dream to study physics for so long and I'd hate to not be able to go to my dream university to pursue the subject I love.

I said on my UCAS form briefly that I've suffered from mental/physical health problems but my unis don't know the whole situation in much depth at all so how can I go about letting them know what's been happening? I know I should contact them but I don't even know where to begin.

Sorry for the long post. I just feel so forlorn. I really would appreciate any help anyone can give about this.

You need to speak to your school initially. They can then tell the uni. But the uni will want confirmation from your referee - they can't just accept your word for it. You'll also need to provide some evidence, such as a letter from your doctor.
The school also need to tell the exam board, and they may award you special consideration.

Thank you for replying.

I emailed my school about it but they said that because I'm sitting my exams as an external candidate and am not on roll, they can't email the universities and said I have to do it myself :/ not sure why, I assumed that because the school processed my UCAS application that they'd be able to help me out in this situation too but idk

Where did your reference come from? Because if it was from the school, they should be able to help with application problems.

If the school really won't help, you can notify the uni yourself. But it's better if it comes from your referee.

You still need evidence, though, so start thinking about that. What have you got that shows how you've been affected? Have you seen your GP? Do you have appointment letters? Medication? Repeat prescription?

It came from the school. And I don't have any letters or anything like that yet.. Thing is when I was referred for CBT I didn't go into depth about the situation with my GP as it was all really new to me and that was the first time I ever spoke to anyone about this. From then on I was just referred to a CBT service, had sessions for a few months with no official diagnosis and then that was that. But I definitely felt like I needed something more in depth so I have gotten into contact with a psychotherapy/counselling service and spoke with them over the phone today, going into lots of depth about the nature of my situation, and will see them in around a month or so. Do you think I should go back to my GP and explain everything I explained to the counselling service so he can also be aware of the situation and perhaps write a letter I can give to my unis?

Your GP will have notes to show that you were referred to CBT. So if you go back to your GP, they can at least write a letter saying you visited them on X date and had Y sessions of CBT. Your GP may charge you for this.