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2021 A/AS Results Day Countdown: today is the day - well done everyone!

Results day is looming and TSR tradition means we have to have a countdown thread for everyone to get to know each other, talk about their hopes/fears and generally relax (as well as sharing advice and information before the big day). We'll update this post with pointers to advice and support soon but for now introduce yourselves :biggrin:

Introduce yourself
1. AS or A level?
2. What subjects?

For Yr 13:
3. What university is your firm/insurance?
4. Which subject?
5. What grades are required?
6. Going to uni this year or taking a gap year?

For everyone:
7. What grades are you predicted?
8. How are you feeling about results day?
9. Anything else to add?

FAQs

RESULTS

When can I collect my results from school/college?

That depends on the arrangements your school/college make and is likely to be different this year - if you don't know the details then ring them up on Monday the 9th (there should be someone in that day) and ask.

How do I collect my results online?

Again, this depends on your exam boards and/or your school/college. If you don't know then ask them directly.

When do unis get our results?

UCAS get the results from the exam boards approximately a week before results day. They spend a day or two matching them to your applications and then send them on to universities either overnight Wednesday or Thursday.
Universities then spend Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday MANUALLY comparing every offer to the results to decide whether applicants have met their offers or not (and if not whether they can be accepted with lower grades).

I've change my mind about the course/university I want to go to - what do I do?

See this article https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/apply/changing-your-mind-about-your-firm-or-insurance-choice

Track on Results Day

When will Track update?

Track will go live AFTER 8:30am on results day. UCAS say 8:30am (and 8am for Advisers) - it used to go live a little earlier, but the embargo time that UCAS and universities work to has been pushed back from 6am to 8:30am this year so it WILL NOT be before 8.30am. The embargo agreement is between UCAS, Universities, SQA and A level Exam Boards - no one is going to risk getting in trouble by releasing information early.

It WON'T go live at midnight.

Once it "goes live" EVERYONE will be able to see any decisions that their universities have sent to UCAS. Just because it's live doesn't mean it will update for everyone. About 100,000 people every year don't get a clear answer from Track first thing on Results Day - they have to collect their results and then ring up their firm/insurance uni.

My Track didn't change - is it worth hitting refresh until it does?
NO - once Track goes live again it then gets re-frozen in that state (because UCAS need to handle everyone and their dog hitting refresh constantly). Track WILL NOT CHANGE between 8am and midday. Hitting refresh just slows things down for everyone else.

Give yourself some good karma - get off Track and go and have a look on UCAS course search, get together your contact numbers for your unis, top your phone up with credit (and charge it) and get your results from school/college.

what will Track show?

It depends how quick your universities are. There's a lot of scenarios. The post below gives an idea of what might show,what that means and what you need to do about that. Use the flowchart at the end of this post as a quick reference :smile:

Track scenarios

Original post by PQ

Ok let's break it down Firm is X, insurance is Y
X -CF, Y-CI - neither has decided ring firm
X-CF, Y-UI - insurance has accepted but firm not decided. Ring firm
X-CF, Y-R - insurance has rejected, firm not decided. Ring firm.
X-UF, Y-CI, firm accepted, insurance not decided. Celebrate.
X-UF, Y-UI, both accepted. You're going to your firm. Celebrate.
X-UF, Y-R, firm accepted, insurance rejected. You're going to your firm. Celebrate.
X-R, Y-CF firm rejected, insurance not deciding. Ring insurance.
X-R, Y-UF firm rejected, insurance accepted. Celebrate
X-R, Y-R both rejected. You're in clearing.
This ignores changed course offers which either university can make. Both universities do their own thing. They don't have time to look what the other is doing.

My Track didn't change! That means I failed!

NO - Universities have to MANUALLY compare every set of results with the offer conditions - even if it's a simple YES or NO for every one of those that means a lot of data input to put in to their database to send through to UCAS.
If Track hasn't changed then that means that either:
a) You've met your offer and your uni knows that and hasn't got round to telling UCAS.
b) You've met your offer and your uni doesn't know that because your results got muddled up so they're waiting to talk to you to check before telling UCAS.
c) You've missed your offer but your uni wants you anyway but hasn't got round to telling UCAS.
d) You've missed your offer but your uni want to make you an offer for a similar but less full course and haven't got round to telling UCAS.
e) You've missed your offer and your uni haven't decided yet whether they can take you or not - they might need to see how many Insurance people they have to take before they know they've got room first.
f) You've missed your offer and your firm uni doesn't want you but hasn't got round to telling UCAS.
In other words - if Track hasn't changed that doesn't give ANY indication as to whether your results are good or bad. In fact in some ways it's good - of those applicants who got a definite answer on results day last year...?....150,000 of them were rejected by both their firm and insurance and placed in Clearing. Being in limbo for a couple of hours is a GOOD thing compared to that.

My Firm place has confirmed me! That means I passed my A levels!

NO - remember - these things are decided MANUALLY....someone somewhere sits down with a pile of UCAS forms and a list of results and ticks off results against offers.

If your firm has confirmed you - well done! You're in! BUT don't go expecting to see a long line of A grades. Just as a lot of unis can be slow in sending decisions to UCAS, some unis are VERY quick and will not only confirm the people who met their offers but will have confirmed a whole BUNCH of people who missed their grades.

Clearing ARRRRGH!

quick guide to Clearing

Spoiler

See the FAQ for more help.

I did really badly - what do I do now?
The lovely @SarcAndSpark will be putting together a thread with information and advice on remakes/remarks/appeals
There will be threads in the applications, clearing and ucas forum for people planning to take a gap year and reapply and help available in the gap years

Results day stats from previous years:

Spoiler

Results Day Flowchart

pdf version

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 220

Unknown1232003

14

Original post by PQ

UCAS have worked their little socks off and matched the exam results to applications in record time.

They’re now available to universities.

So no delays or late nights. Universities will be getting busy from tomorrow morning and hopefully as many decisions as possible will be sorted and sent to UCAS before Track is unfrozen on Tuesday

Thank you so much for putting in so much effort to keep us all updated!!

Reply 221

Ten-Ten

19

Original post by PQ

UCAS have worked their little socks off and matched the exam results to applications in record time.

They’re now available to universities.

So no delays or late nights. Universities will be getting busy from tomorrow morning and hopefully as many decisions as possible will be sorted and sent to UCAS before Track is unfrozen on Tuesday

Do you work for ucas

Reply 222

PQ

OP

PS Reviewer

21

Original post by Ten-Ten

Do you work for ucas

No

Reply 223

Ten-Ten

19

Original post by PQ

No

How do you know so much about it

Reply 224

LawStudent456

22

Track WILL NOT CHANGE between 8am and midday.

So if at 8:30 it doesn't say whether I've been accepted or not, I have to wait 3 hours for track to update?

Track will go live AFTER 8:30am on results day. UCAS say 8:30am (and 8am for Advisers)
I've seen a school say that people can collect their results from 8, is that not breaking the embargo then as the 'advisers' will be staff at the school? Or is this embargo only for university places and not A Level grades?

Reply 225

LawStudent456

22

Original post by Ten-Ten

How do you know so much about it

The information is reliable if that's what you are worried about

Reply 226

K Russell

12

Hi

I know I'm late to this thread but:

1. I'm doing A Levels
2. The A Levels I studied are History; English Language & Literature; Philosophy & Ethics
3. My firm university is University of Brighton and my insurance is St Mary's University
4. I am going to be doing Primary Education (with QTS) ages 5-11
5. The required grades are B,B,B
6. I'm going to uni in September 2021
7. The grades that I was predicted were A,B,B
8. I'm really, really nervous about results day because I have put an idea in my head of what I am going to get, and now I am worried my results won't be what I expected.
9. Good luck to everyone else for results day!!!

Reply 227

K Russell

12

Ahhhh! I can't believe it is six days away! If I'm being honest I just wish it was tomorrow because I want to get it over with.

Reply 228

frenchie_

16

Original post by K Russell

Ahhhh! I can't believe it is six days away! If I'm being honest I just wish it was tomorrow because I want to get it over with.

yeah same

Reply 229

CurryCurry2468

14

Original post by LawStudent456

Track WILL NOT CHANGE between 8am and midday.

So if at 8:30 it doesn't say whether I've been accepted or not, I have to wait 3 hours for track to update?

Track will go live AFTER 8:30am on results day. UCAS say 8:30am (and 8am for Advisers)
I've seen a school say that people can collect their results from 8, is that not breaking the embargo then as the 'advisers' will be staff at the school? Or is this embargo only for university places and not A Level grades?

This is what I am kinda worried about, like imagine it don't update for us so we wont get that pre warning in a sense of what our results will be like. My initial plan was to check track at around 08:00 AM to see if I got into my firm, that way I will know at minimum I got AAB but I found out yesterday that it is going live at 08:30 AM so I will have to check track on my way to school lol which will be annoying but it must be done.

Either way I want to pre warn myself in ample time for 09:00 AM where I will go into school and collect my results

Also yeah one of my mates told me his school is giving results out electronically via email at 08:00 AM, I assume the embargo is for university places.

Anyways best of luck to you for your results

Reply 230

Cote1

20

Understandable to be very nervous. Everyone will soon know now.

Reply 231

CurryCurry2468

14

Original post by K Russell

Ahhhh! I can't believe it is six days away! If I'm being honest I just wish it was tomorrow because I want to get it over with.

Since last week I was thinking about it so much but I am working so this week it sort of not on my mind as much surprisingly even tho it is 6 days away.

Best of luck to you on your results and your next steps

Reply 232

Ten-Ten

19

Original post by LawStudent456

The information is reliable if that's what you are worried about

Nope. Just wondering how they know so much

Reply 233

Ten-Ten

19

That would make sense

Reply 234

04MR17

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

22

Original post by Ten-Ten

How do you know so much about it

PQ has years of experience working in universities (including admissions) and has also had training from UCAS about the clearing and applications process (as have several TSR helpers and volunteers). When in doubt, PQ has the answer. Whether it's personal statements or unblocking toilets, I've relied on PQ's advice many a time. It's free and it's golden.

P.S. Incorrect pronoun

Reply 235

Unknown1232003

14

Original post by 04MR17

Whether it's personal statements or unblocking toilets, I've relied on PQ's advice many a time. It's free and it's golden.

Lmao love this reply🤣🤣🤣

Reply 236

Cote1

20

I was thinking the same. The reply was nicely phrased.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 237

04MR17

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

22

Original post by Unknown1232003

Lmao love this reply🤣🤣🤣

Genuinely, I've seen PQ give advice about toilet blockages. :tongue:

Reply 238

Ten-Ten

19

Original post by 04MR17

PQ has years of experience working in universities (including admissions) and has also had training from UCAS about the clearing and applications process (as have several TSR helpers and volunteers). When in doubt, PQ has the answer. Whether it's personal statements or unblocking toilets, I've relied on PQ's advice many a time. It's free and it's golden.

P.S. Incorrect pronoun

There’s something about the way people “defend” PQ on this site that’s very interesting 🤔. I’m intrigued

Reply 239

frenchie_

16

Original post by Ten-Ten

There’s something about the way people “defend” PQ on this site that’s very interesting 🤔. I’m intrigued

What do you have against this person?? lol

2021 A/AS Results Day Countdown: today is the day - well done everyone!

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