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Mitigating Circumstances Form, Anxiety sufferer

Hi everyone. Apologies, I wasn't sure what section I should post this in sorry! Basically I've been suffering with generalised nxiety for quite a few years (I wasn't really aware that it could be anxiety until recently really and I only got it diagnosed by a GP last week). During my GCSE years I was able to cope with it and got really high results in everything but since starting A-Levels, the anxiety started to invade my school life too. It also made me extremely tired (the doctors explained that having constant high levels of stress and worry can lead to constant fatigue and to feeling low, which only worsens the fatigue even more!) to the point that I was finding it hard to stay on top of work and revision. I'm from Wales and so sat AS exams last summer which obviosuly did not go well. I applied for Psychology in December at Bath, Birmingham, Exter, Surrey and Warwick with predicted grades of AABA (Welsh, Chemistry, Maths and the Welsh Baccalaureate). The uni I'd really like to go to is Bath but as some of you will know it is one of the most competitive Psychology courses in the UK and their standard offer is A*AA or AAA + a B in Welsh Baccalaureate, so I am 1 or arguably 2 grades below it. I'm considering filling out a mitigating circumstances form to send to them with details of my anxiety struggles. I'm just wondering if any of you have any experience with these sort of forms/procedures and if it's worth me sending one in? On one hand I feel like maybe I shouldn't use anxiety as an excuse and that filling out one of these forms feels like trying to get special treatment and robbing someone with better grades than me of an offer (if Bath decided to offer me a place), but on the other hand I do feel like my anxiety has really limited me over the past year and a half, especially when undiagnosed, and the extreme fatigue it's caused and can continue to cause meant that I didn't accomplish what I perhaps could have in my AS exams. It's also worth noting that I already got 3% extra given for each exam after sending a letter in to WJEC Exam Board about my tiredness (but at that point the doctors believed it to be due to a lack of Vitamin D in my blood) and that the mitigating circumstances form states that it may be invalid if you've already had special consideration from an exam board. Let's be honest though, 3% is nothing, I know it could put you up a whole grade if you're lucky but I know that in my case it hasn't (worked it out from the raw marks on my results sheet and grade boundaries on the WJEC website). Anyway, sorry this is a really long post and thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read it, I'd really appreciate your opinions on if it's worth filling out a form or not.

Reply 1

Jess104

Why not? I'd say just fill in the form. Unfortunely, I doubt it will make much difference/increase in your grades, but if you qualify for it then you should. You only get a lower grade offer/contextual offer if you satisfy the unis criteria for this (I think it's different for each one and you have to meet multiple (but not all) criteria). Therefore, you won'y be 'robbing someone' with better grades. Alternatively, the course you want may have a foundation year for those who did not achieve the a-level grades and 'don't wish' to resit.

Reply 2

returnmigrant

Simple question that you need to think very carefully about - do you think leaving home and going to University will make your anxiety better, or worse?

You need to consider deferring for a year and getting your anxiety under control. Universities are great places but they are not there to give people mental health support when they didnt actually work out that it wasnt the right time in their lives to be there. Be realsitic about how much your anxiety will impact on your entire student experience.

In a year's time, University will still be there - and you will be better prepared to cope with all the stresses it brings.