Do i still have a chance if i take a gap year?

Hey everyone, so for A level i took BTEC computer science, Maths, Geography. And in all honesty i did not take it seriously which was stupid from me which meant my predicted are Pass,E,D and since those end of year 1 exams ive now started working hard to improve, Ive asked to resit my Maths mock exam but they said even if i do really well it wont really effect my predicted. So im wondering if i take a gap year then apply for university with my real A level grades which im likely to do better in would that be a viable option?

Reply 1

Pablopip

Original post by KenzyK27

Hey, I took a gap year for different reasons to you, but I'm really glad I did. I found A Levels extremely stressful and applying for uni alongside that seemed a lot. It was was useful to know exactly what grades I had before I applied. I got an unconditional on all my applications because I only applied to courses which asked for less than I got, and so they already knew I had got the grades. So yes, it's definitely a viable option!

Whether it's the best option is another question though. People do gap years for different reasons, for me it was a great stepping stone to being out in the world as I was quite sheltered living in the village I'm from. I got to take the train by myself a lot for example. Taking a gap year also gave me time to research courses so I could choose the right one. It was also a nice detox from studying, and meant that I had a lot more work experience to put in my personal statement. My friend, like you, hadn't originally intended on taking a gap year but ended up taking one so she could get her British citizenship before applying. Now that I'm at uni, I've realised a load of us have taken a gap year. You can do it for any reason and it's fine.

The main downside that I can think of is that your sixth form/college should give you a lot of help with your application, and if you take a gap year you miss out on that. I was lucky that my parents were able to give me a lot of support with my personal statement ect, but if you don't have that support that's something to think about.