The Student Room Group

Going to fail A-Levels

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!!!
Reply 1
Original post by Anonymous
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!!![/QU

do you really believe you are going to get U grade predicted grades? and how many exams do you have left? dont give up dude. if you mess up you should yes, retake (self teach) and apply for university in the same year, so with predicted grades. if you get predicted grades like C's which are not enough for your course then set up a meeting with your teachers and ask them to change them. also predicted grades dont make up 100% of your ucas form. what you need to do is write a great personal statement also. i know someone who got EDB in there alevels. instead of going to clearing they retook and set up a meeting with there teachers and they gave him predicted grades of As and Bs and he explained in his personal statement why his results were not good the first time and how he is aiming to do better. ( he got 5 offers by the way,4 from russel group unis) you just need to convince your teachers why you messed up and that you believe you can do so much better and will do better. ( i dont mean call them, i mean actually go and see them in person 1 to 1 shake hands like an adult and discuss the mistakes and goals after results, they are more likley to predict you better this way) hopefully you dont mess up exams though
(edited 5 years ago)
same situation
Reply 3
[QUOTE="Ninic;78164508"]
Original post by Anonymous
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!!![/QU

do you really believe you are going to get U grade predicted grades? and how many exams do you have left? dont give up dude. if you mess up you should yes, retake (self teach) and apply for university in the same year, so with predicted grades. if you get predicted grades like C's which are not enough for your course then set up a meeting with your teachers and ask them to change them. also predicted grades dont make up 100% of your ucas form. what you need to do is write a great personal statement also. i know someone who got EDB in there alevels. instead of going to clearing they retook and set up a meeting with there teachers and they gave him predicted grades of As and Bs and he explained in his personal statement why his results were not good the first time and how he is aiming to do better. ( he got 5 offers by the way,4 from russel group unis) you just need to convince your teachers why you messed up and that you believe you can do so much better and will do better. ( i dont mean call them, i mean actually go and see them in person 1 to 1 shake hands like an adult and discuss the mistakes and goals after results, they are more likley to predict you better this way) hopefully you dont mess up exams though


You mention that you know someone who met up with their teachers who gave them predicted grades of As and Bs. Did that person sit their exams independently? Because the issue here is that after I finish my A-levels I will probably end up with like CEU, and then I will sit an independent exam in June 2019, but when I apply to unis through UCAS how will that independent A-level be predicted since I am sitting it independently and self teaching my self. That is my main issue because of course I am going to enter my original A-level grades, but that isn't a predicted grade so it can't be altered, but how will the independent exam be predicted?
Reply 4
Yes my plan is to take a gap year, and since I'm going to be applying with Es and Us next year (while sitting an independent a-level) i feel as if there's no hope other than clearing, and then again top unis don't offer clearing for the best degrees.

That being said i feel like the best way to take advantage of this gap year (or maybe even a 2 year gap due to my circumstances as mentioned) is to work directly in relation to economics so that i've already got 2 years of proper work experience directly related to economic when I come out of uni when i'm about 24. However this can only be done through an apprenticeship since I am not a graduate so it will be hard finding work directly relating to the field. I am going to try speaking to career advisers but THEY NEVER HELP. So is this an effective choice since I don't want to waste any more years and make the most of all the time i have now for the long run?
Original post by Anonymous
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!!!


Hate to be a prick (but somebody has to say it) - Your not making the right choices.

If you can't even pass A-levels, how do you expect to sail safely through university? Don't you know Degree-level is many times harder than A-level?

You should give up on this path, it's time consuming and costly. I say go and apply for a apprenticeship, it's your best bet for a good future.
He's already failed AS because of said 'circumstances' and managed to sail through the retake year. He's now doing A2 and saying he's going to fail due to another set of said 'circumstances', and that he wants to retake.

Blaming bad results on circumstances is just an excuse among many, I've had extenuating circumstances when i was doing my GCSEs - but i never blamed my average results due to them.

Honestly from my point of view; he could be a slow learner, however you need to be able to quickly grasp concepts and strategies if you wish to pass exams. If you just barely passed the 2 smaller hurdles (AS & A2) how do you expect to pass the big hurdle (Undergraduate degree) - that's staking too much for little gain, since he might not even be good at the job he seeks after the getting the degree.

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