Should I take a gap year and reapply next year?

I think this depends:
Would you be happy at Bath or Southampton?
Do what would you do that would be constructive in your gap year to improve your application?

I think achieved grades are seen as a more solid bet so work hard to get those A*s!

I am not sure if those top two ever have places in clearing?

Transferring is a bit sticky- they may want A*’s and a first in your first year. Not all unis offer transfers or advertise- can you contact the admissions of your top two choices directly to find out?

If you achieved your A* grades where else would you consider? Would you go for all the top tier unis and risk not getting an offer or also reapply for Bath/Southampton as ‘safeties?’ What puts you off Bath or Southampton this year- is it just the ranking? Have you visited both?

Hiya, apologies for the bad formatting.

I'm a current A-level student and have applied for straight economics. My stats in GCSE are 6 7's and 3 6's (English Lit, English Language and history), and I am predicted A*A*A* (Maths, Economics and Psychology) with already achieving a A in AS Finance and hoping for an A* in my EPQ. I was rejected from Bristol and Warwick, but have been accepted by the University of Bath and Southampton. I am very grateful for these offers but a part of me wonders if I should reapply next year.

I didn't try very hard at GCSE and have since put a lot more effort into my A-levels and having good extracurricular activities in preparation for my application. I'm wondering whether I'd have a good chance at receiving an offer from higher tier universities next year were I to achieve my predicted grades as I believe the universities thought my predicted grades were inaccurate due to my GCSEs. I also wonder whether it would be better to apply to another university after my first year of uni.

So really I have 2 questions:
- Do I have a chance of getting an economics offer from Warwick or Bristol next year if I reapply? And is it a big enough change that I should delay my studies for a year?
-Secondly, would it be possible and worth it to apply to change universities after my first year of studying?

Thank you

@ChaletSA

Congrats on your predicted grades!

If Bristol and Warwick have rejected you this year, then there is the possibility that they could reject you again. If that were to happen, it would feel pretty frustrating to have spent an extra year waiting to go to university!

If you reject your offers from Bath and Southampton, if they have more applicants next year or very strong applicants then they might not offer you a place.

It is easy to not appreciate what you already have and to think that something might be better, only to find that you lose out or that it is not so easy to get the other thing. As the saying goes, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’.

What would have changed in your application next year that would make Bristol or Warwick more likely to accept you?

If you start at one university and then move to another it is going to be messy financially, socially and emotionally!

Also, it could be easy to think that another university would be better for such and such a reason, only to find that it is not as good as it first appears. To use another saying ‘All that glitters is not gold’.

It might be an idea to think about what you like about Bath and Southampton and what it is Bristol/Warwick can offer you in addition. Are those extra things worth rejecting an offer this year?

All the best!

Oluwatosin – 2nd year podiatry student – University of Huddersfield.

Thank you Yes it's only just an option right now so I'm not entirely sure what I'll do, but whatever I decide I'll make sure to take both the pros and cons into account.

I did something similar to this. Rejected last year for Maths + CS, got my achieved grades and reapplied this year. I’m holding offers from LSE and Warwick (Maths, LSE Maths with Data Science).

I am occupied with a paid internship, and have managed to improve my cv and personal life a lot.

Certainly paid off for me. If you are interested in applying to the same internship for next year (it/finance area), pm me.

If I did reapply I would likely apply to LSE, Warwick, Bristol, Bath and then somewhere else. That way I'd be able to give it a shot at the higher unis with my achieved grades whilst still having bath to fall back on hopefully. I'm thinking of maybe taking Further Maths or getting some work experience in my gap year but definitely something productive. Though I'll speak to my head of year soon and see what they advice