Grade Requirements vs Actual Grades (my grades were far below what I need)

If you've got complicated personal circumstances, you do really need to contact universities directly as they will be considered on a case by case basis.

Usually I'd say you'd struggle to get a place at a uni asking for ABB with CCD, but given your circumstances some unis may be more lenient. Usually unis won't discount their offer by more than 3 grades (so ABB down to BCC) and this is much more common in clearing than in the main application cycle, but their are exceptions.

It may also depend on whether the uni is struggling to fill the course or not.

Thanks. I'm really at my wits end here. I didn't apply last year whilst doing my A2, as I knew I was spiraling in terms of mental health, etc. and knew it would affect my grades. Now, the stress of only having 2 universities available to apply for that course, and the poor grades, and the inability to do anything about them until next year (unless I can find a relatively local place that will accept me retaking those exams), is even harder. It sucks. I know that both universities (UCLAN and SOAS) Korean and English courses were on clearing this year, but due to Korean becoming more popular thanks to the further explosion of Kpop's popularity, it's not guaranteed they're going to struggle for applicants next year too.

Doing an access course is always a possibility. Have you thought about that?

Yeah but I'd still have to wait until next year now either way. I would have been on it this year, but I was in hospital over results day, and that day was the day I had to inform them whether I needed to join the course or not, but I didn't get my results until the Tuesday the following week as that was when they were next open. So I'd rather try my chances this year too and then see. If I get all out rejections I'll definitely go back to college and take the access course. :/ But at the same time I really don't want to add on another year.

There's nothing wrong with taking time out-your health is a priority. I was in the School of East Asian Studies at Sheffield (they offer Korean, but not Korean with English unfortunately) and we had so many students coming in with access courses.

Uni's are getting stricter with entry requirements for Korean, especially considering the Hallyu Wave. Last year, no one got accepted for Korean at Sheffield with less than the advertised ABB due to numbers.

Thanks. I'm really at my wits end here. I didn't apply last year whilst doing my A2, as I knew I was spiraling in terms of mental health, etc. and knew it would affect my grades. Now, the stress of only having 2 universities available to apply for that course, and the poor grades, and the inability to do anything about them until next year (unless I can find a relatively local place that will accept me retaking those exams), is even harder. It sucks. I know that both universities (UCLAN and SOAS) Korean and English courses were on clearing this year, but due to Korean becoming more popular thanks to the further explosion of Kpop's popularity, it's not guaranteed they're going to struggle for applicants next year too.

My best friend's currently (technically) at Sheffield right now, she's in Seoul studying at Sungkyunkwan University, but according to her some of the students in her class got offered a place with results lower than asking (one she complained got 'far lower' but again, with the explosion of the Hallyu wave it's going to get more and more difficult, in the last year alone there's been a massive explosion of recognition and fans meaning more are going to pursue this path. It's a shame they don't offer Korean with English, I really truly enjoyed the university, the tandem partners are amazing, and some were truly lovely, and their resources given to students are really easy to study with (she sent me almost all of them). The maintenance guys in her block however, are incredibly rude which was literally the only downside.

Yeah, I've heard a lot of people in 2nd year have dropped out already, because they just couldn't hack it. They started the year with around 70-80 students and by April, they were already down to around 45. Have to make sure you're really into Korea and learning Korean for the right reasons. The courses at Sheffield are intense (definitely a lot more intense language wise than UCLan) which does trip up people a lot

I know, my friend was 1 mark off on a subject, which means she wouldn't have been able to go to Korea had she not luckily emailed and been granted a single mark increase. But yeah, she's planning on dropping out this year (or after this year), but she's met a guy in Korea, so she's staying for the moment, she was gonna go home after she spent a week there, but even then as much as I love her I don't think she'll last due to the intensity of the course and her lack of studying beyond listening to certain Hallyu artists.
But yeah, I've done extensive research on Korean culture and history and I'm trying my best to learn Korean in my spare time. TTMIK lessons for grammar and pronunciation, a dictionary for vocabulary and duolingo for on the go, as well as a few resources she's sent me, and using dramas/songs/movies etc to practice my comprehension and understanding. I know it's not gonna be easy no matter which course I (hopefully) get into, but I do know from another (kinda) friend that I met at KCon in 2016, that UCLAN seems to be the most relaxed and less intense course out of the three uni's. But at the same time their year abroad is in the 3rd year, which whilst gives you more classroom time learning Korean, I know the best proficiency and capability tends to stem from being immersed in the language (aka. going to Korea). But as a plus side (or negative) of UCLAN, their partnerships stem throughout the whole of Korea, as said Kcon friend was situated in Busan, with her best friends were in Jeju. Whilst with SOAS and Sheff you're guaranteed to be studying in Seoul (which is a major plus side because you don't have to worry about issues with dialect / satoori) as well as having to catch the KTX/travelling to other parts of the country.

Yeah, I did Chinese studies at Sheffield which also does the YA in second year and we had students from UCLan at the same university as us and Sheffield kids were just as good if not better in second year than 3rd year UCLan students, as well as 3rd year students from other unis like Manchester, Southampton, Goldsmiths etc. Thats the kind of level expected at Sheffield. AFAIK, passing TOPIK 4 is a requirement to pass the year abroad and advance onto 3rd year for Korean studies. You'd definitely get the highest level of language ability at Sheffield.