My A level resit journey and why you shouldnt give up!

Congratulations on getting those grades - your hard work is really inspiring and it's incredible how you managed to do that! What course are you going to study at KCL?

For those who did well. Please do not brag... please do not let others down... yes you did well and you must be recognised for it. I really appreciate that... but there are people out there who mightve worked harder. No one can ever say that it is their hard work that got them where they are. If that were true than a garbage cleaner should earn a lot more than a lot of us.

Hi!

Congratulations on your grades - hard work clearly does pay off!

I love this post! I bet this will help a lot of young people!

All I wanted to say is good luck!

Marlena - Official Studnet Rep

You are living proof that all is not lost even if it seems bad on results day, it's possible to bounce back in lots of different ways. And I particularly like your advice for people who have done well to be sensitive to those who are disappointed, which I have been pleased to see most people doing on TSR

Just gonna tell you lot what happened with me and how I did.
So basically...
I applied to uni two years ago in 2018 for entry in 2019. I applied to Oxford and a few other top russel group unis and I got an offer from one. Uni of Manchester. I firmed it and sat my exams (physics, chem, maths and econ) and everything was going well. I was excited to start uni and was really happy til... well results day... yeah you guessed it lol... I got DDCC in the exact same order...
I was devastated... I couldnt see anything apart from me getting into the uni I firmed.. I called up clearing and basically begged them to let me into a BBC foundation year course. They just hung up on me. Dad and mum, well they were disappointed but tried not to show it. I had to live with the shame of telling everyone that I got the grades that I got and everyone around me had amazing A levels and GCSEs or were about to sit their A levels in 2020 and they pulled me down even further.
My mental health was not good at all. I had depression and couldnt sleep at night cause everything that people said would echo. And I knew that all of this would definitely happen, on results day when I held my sheet. I knew that the next 1 year would probably be the hardest year of my life. And I was right.
I had 2 options infront of me, resit and live with it. Watch my friends going to uni and just stay at home and revise for the next 365 days and live with it. Tell people I got Cs and live with it. Tell people I am resitting and notice how their face changes.
Or. Go to a uni via clearing using the grades I had considering I did sit my A levels in one year.
But no.. I chose the former and not the latter cause I couldnt give up. What I went through then was a roller coaster ride. From making bad choices to getting involved in one of the worst thing ever in December 2019... to getting myself back on track and sitting my mocks in 2 months time... to getting 3 offers and insuring Manchesters A*A*A course.
I ended up falling in love with another University, Kings College London and that became my firm choice. I love the people who are going there and now they are so close to me.
And when everyone told me that I insured Manchester cause I "wouldnt get in anyway" I actually proved them wrong yesterday. The students who got A*/A grades at GCSE and who mocked me? They got BDD kind of grades. And they actually went to private schools while I sat at home and self studied and prepared to mocks all by myself to sit them at my centre.
I ended up getting A*A*A froom CDC in Maths, Physics and Economics respectively.
I put in the hard work and determination and I am proud of all of you.
It may seem like it is the end of the road. That everything has fallen apart. But it actually hasnt. Trust me it hasnt. You will only go up but never come down. You never know, you might end up "losing" a year... and that could take you to a whole new level and bring you better opportunities.
If I took the latter option last year and went to just any uni, I would regret it for the rest of my life. And you need to remember that too. I know there is a wierd... stigma attached to gap year students in certain cultures but if you can prove them wrong and change that... you would be over the moon. Now all of those A*/A students who bragged? They are taking a gap year cause now they know that it is a better option and whoever takes one isnt any less.
For those who did well. Please do not brag... please do not let others down... yes you did well and you must be recognised for it. I really appreciate that... but there are people out there who mightve worked harder. No one can ever say that it is their hard work that got them where they are. If that were true than a garbage cleaner should earn a lot more than a lot of us.
So please be humble... I learnt a lot in these past few months which were life changing... and I hope you learn them too..
Thank you dad, for getting me where I am today... I love you